Lifestyle difference gives female yellow-billed hornbills the edge [INSIDE JEB]
Kathryn Knight (Source: Journal of Experimental Biology)
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Knight, K. Tags: INSIDE JEB Source Type: research
Angling gear avoidance learning in juvenile red sea bream: evidence from individual-based experiments [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Kohji Takahashi and Reiji Masuda
Angling gear avoidance learning is a possible factor that contributes to the vulnerability of caught-and-released fish to angling. Whereas past studies suggested angling gear avoidance learning, they were based on large-scale experiments on groups of fish and unable to verify learning accurately. Details of avoidance learning are also unclear. The present study investigated angling gear avoidance learning through a series of individual-based experiments using red sea bream (Pagrus major) juveniles. Fish avoided angling gear after only one or two catches while showing feeding motivation for...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Takahashi, K., Masuda, R. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Tactile active sensing in an insect plant pollinator [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Tanvi Deora, Mahad A. Ahmed, Thomas L. Daniel, and Bing W. Brunton
The interaction between insects and the flowers they pollinate has driven the evolutionary diversity of both insects and flowering plants, two groups with the most numerous species on Earth. Insects use vision and olfaction to localize host plants, but we know relatively little about how they find the tiny nectary opening in the flower, which can be well beyond their visual resolution. Especially when vision is limited, touch becomes crucial in successful insect–plant pollination interactions. Here, we studied the remarkable feeding behavior of crepu...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Deora, T., Ahmed, M. A., Daniel, T. L., Brunton, B. W. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Omega-3 fatty acids accelerate fledging in an avian marine predator: a potential role of cognition [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Jessika Lamarre, Sukhinder Kaur Cheema, Gregory J. Robertson, and David R. Wilson
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) during development improves cognition in mammals, but the effect remains untested in other taxa. In aquatic ecosystems, n-3 LCPUFAs are produced by phytoplankton and bioaccumulate in the food web. Alarmingly, the warming and acidification of aquatic systems caused by climate change impair n-3 LCPUFA production, with an anticipated decrease of 80% by the year 2100. We tested whether n-3 LCPUFA consumption affects the physiology, morphology, behaviour and cognition of the chicks of a top marine preda...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Lamarre, J., Cheema, S. K., Robertson, G. J., Wilson, D. R. Tags: Ecophysiology: responses to environmental stressors and change RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
How hornbills handle heat: sex-specific thermoregulation in the southern yellow-billed hornbill [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
We examined interactions between resting metabolic rate (RMR), evaporative water loss (EWL) and core body temperature (Tb) at air temperatures (Ta) between 30°C and 52°C in male and female hornbills, and quantified evaporative cooling efficiencies and heat tolerance limits. At thermoneutral Ta, neither RMR, EWL nor Tb differed between sexes. At Ta >40°C, however, RMR and EWL of females were significantly lower than those of males, by ~13% and ~17%, respectively, despite similar relationships between Tb and Ta, maximum ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production and heat tolerance limits (~50&...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: van Jaarsveld, B., Bennett, N. C., Czenze, Z. J., Kemp, R., van de Ven, T. M. F. N., Cunningham, S. J., McKechnie, A. E. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Different protein metabolic strategies for growth during food-induced physiological plasticity in echinoid larvae [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Aimee Ellison, Amara Pouv, and Douglas A. Pace
Food-induced morphological plasticity, a type of developmental plasticity, is a well-documented phenomenon in larvae of the echinoid echinoderm, Dendraster excentricus. A recent study in our lab has shown that this morphological plasticity is associated with significant physiological plasticity for growth. The goal of the current study was to measure several aspects of protein metabolism in larvae growing at different rates to understand the mechanistic basis for this physiological growth plasticity. Larvae of D. excentricus were fed rations of 1000 algal cells ml–...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 24, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Ellison, A., Pouv, A., Pace, D. A. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
High-voltage catfish immune to their own shocks [INSIDE JEB]
Kathryn Knight (Source: Journal of Experimental Biology)
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 23, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Knight, K. Tags: INSIDE JEB Source Type: research
Efficient high-voltage protection in the electric catfish [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Georg Welzel and Stefan Schuster
For thousands of years, starting with detailed accounts from ancient Egypt, the African electric catfish (Malapteruridae) has been renowned for its ability to hunt and to defend itself with powerful electric shocks. Surprisingly, the degree to which electric catfish are protected against their own or external electric shocks, how specific any protection would be to the species-specific waveform and whether a discharging catfish has to actively prepare for the onset of its high-voltage discharges has never been analysed. Here, we used digital high-speed video to record catfish during their ...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 23, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Welzel, G., Schuster, S. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Masticatory system integration in a commensal canid: interrelationships between bones, muscles, and bite force in the red fox [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Colline Brassard, Marilaine Merlin, Elodie Monchatre-Leroy, Claude Guintard, Jacques Barrat, Helene Gares, Arnaud Larralle, Raymond Triquet, Celine Houssin, Cecile Callou, Raphaël Cornette, and Anthony Herrel The jaw system in canids is essential for defence and prey acquisition. However, how it varies in wild species in comparison with domestic species remains poorly understood, yet is of interest to understand the impact of artificial selection. Here we explore the variability and interrelationships between the upper and lower jaws, muscle architecture, and bite force in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). We performed ...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 22, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Brassard, C., Merlin, M., Monchatre-Leroy, E., Guintard, C., Barrat, J., Gares, H., Larralle, A., Triquet, R., Houssin, C., Callou, C., Cornette, R., Herrel, A. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Breaking free from thermodynamic constraints: thermal acclimation and metabolic compensation in a freshwater zooplankton species [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
B. L. Coggins, C. E. Anderson, R. Hasan, A. C. Pearson, M. N. Ekwudo, J. R. Bidwell, and L. Y. Yampolsky
Respiration rates of ectothermic organisms are affected by environmental temperatures, and sustainable metabolism at high temperatures sometimes limits heat tolerance. Organisms are hypothesized to exhibit acclimatory metabolic compensation effects, decelerating their metabolic processes below Arrhenius expectations based on temperature alone. We tested the hypothesis that either heritable or plastic heat tolerance differences can be explained by metabolic compensation in the eurythermal freshwater zooplankton crustace...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 19, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Coggins, B. L., Anderson, C. E., Hasan, R., Pearson, A. C., Ekwudo, M. N., Bidwell, J. R., Yampolsky, L. Y. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
High spatial resolution mapping of the mucosal proteome of the gills of Crassostrea virginica: implication in particle processing [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Emmanuelle Pales Espinosa and Bassem Allam
In the oyster Crassostrea virginica, the organization of the gill allows bidirectional particle transport where a dorsal gill tract directs particles meant to be ingested while a ventral tract collects particles intended to be rejected as pseudofeces. Previous studies showed that the transport of particles in both tracts is mediated by mucus. Consequently, we hypothesized that the nature and/or the quantity of mucosal proteins present in each tract is likely to be different. Using endoscopy-aided micro-sampling of mucus from each tract followed by multidimensional protein identif...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 19, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Pales Espinosa, E., Allam, B. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Olfactory tracking strategies in a neotropical fruit bat [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Alyson F. Brokaw and Michael Smotherman
Many studies have characterized olfactory-tracking behaviors in animals, and it has been proposed that search strategies may be generalizable across a wide range of species. Olfaction is important for fruit- and nectar-feeding bats, but it is uncertain whether existing olfactory search models can predict the strategies of flying mammals that emit echolocation pulses through their nose. Quantitative assessments of how well echolocating bats track and localize odor sources are lacking, so we developed a behavioral assay to characterize the olfactory detection and tracking behavior of ...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 19, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Brokaw, A. F., Smotherman, M. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Effects of wave-driven water flow on the fast-start escape response of juvenile coral reef damselfishes [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Dominique G. Roche Fish often evade predators with a fast-start escape response. Studies typically examine this behaviour in still water despite water motion being an inherent feature of aquatic ecosystems. In shallow habitats, waves create complex flows that likely influence escape performance, particularly in small fishes with low absolute swimming speeds relative to environmental flows. I examined how wave-driven water flow affects the behaviour and kinematics of escape responses in juveniles of three coral reef damselfishes (Pomacentridae) with different body morphologies. Tropical damselfishes have similar fin and bod...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 18, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Roche, D. G. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Experience, but not age, is associated with volumetric mushroom body expansion in solitary alkali bees [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Mallory A. Hagadorn, Makenna M. Johnson, Adam R. Smith, Marc A. Seid, and Karen M. Kapheim In social insects, changes in behavior are often accompanied by structural changes in the brain. This neuroplasticity may come with experience (experience-dependent) or age (experience-expectant). Yet, the evolutionary relationship between neuroplasticity and sociality is unclear, because we know little about neuroplasticity in the solitary relatives of social species. We used confocal microscopy to measure brain changes in response to age and experience in a solitary halictid bee (Nomia melanderi). First, we compared the volume of i...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 18, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Hagadorn, M. A., Johnson, M. M., Smith, A. R., Seid, M. A., Kapheim, K. M. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Combined secondary compounds naturally found in nectars enhance honeybee cognition and survival [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Ignacio Luis Marchi, Florencia Palottini, and Walter Marcelo Farina The alkaloid caffeine and the amino acid arginine are present as secondary compounds in nectars of some flower species visited by pollinators. Each of these compounds affects honeybee appetitive behaviors by improving its foraging activity and learning. While caffeine potentiates responses of mushroom body neurons involved in honeybee learning processes, arginine acts as precursor of nitric oxide enhancing the protein synthesis involved in memory formation. Despite existing evidence on how these compounds affect honeybee cognitive abilities individually, t...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 18, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Marchi, I. L., Palottini, F., Farina, W. M. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
