Sex-specific energy management strategies in response to training for increased foraging effort prior to reproduction [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Kang Nian Yap, Donald R. Powers, Melissa L. Vermette, Olivia Hsin-I Tsai, and Tony D. Williams Free-living animals often engage in behaviour that involve high rates of workload and result in high daily energy expenditure (DEE), such as reproduction. However, the evidence for elevated DEE accompanying reproduction remain equivocal. In fact, many studies have found no difference in DEE between reproducing vs. non-reproducing females. One of the hypotheses explaining the lack of difference is the concept of energetic ceiling. However, it is unclear whether the lack of increases in energy expenditure is due to the existence of...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 1, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Yap, K. N., Powers, D. R., Vermette, M. L., Tsai, O. H.-I., Williams, T. D. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE 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 pe...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - February 1, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Takahashi, K., Masuda, R. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Sky radiance and spectral gradient are orienting cues for the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Crustacea, Amphipoda) [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Alice Ciofini, Luca Mercatelli, Takahiko Hariyama, and Alberto Ugolini
The sandhopper Talitrus saltator relies on both the sun and the moon compasses to return to the belt of damp sand on the beach in which it lives buried during the day. In addition to the sun, the gradient of radiance and the spectral distribution across the sky could provide directional information that T. saltator can potentially use to orient itself during the day even when the sun is not visible (e.g. cloudy sky). The scope of this work was (1) to determine the intensity levels of sky radiance that the sandhoppers use in their zonal recovery and (2)...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 29, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Ciofini, A., Mercatelli, L., Hariyama, T., Ugolini, A. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
80-year-old Ander's organ mystery solved [INSIDE JEB]
Kathryn Knight (Source: Journal of Experimental Biology)
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 28, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Knight, K. Tags: INSIDE JEB Source Type: research
The Ander's organ: a mechanism for anti-predator ultrasound in a relict orthopteran [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Charlie Woodrow, Kevin A. Judge, Christian Pulver, Thorin Jonsson, and Fernando Montealegre-Z
The use of acoustics in predator evasion is a widely reported phenomenon amongst invertebrate taxa, but the study of ultrasonic anti-predator acoustics is often limited to the prey of bats. Here, we describe the acoustic function and morphology of a unique stridulatory structure – the Ander's organ – in the relict orthopteran Cyphoderris monstrosa (Ensifera, Hagloidea). This species is one of just eight remaining members of the family Prophalangopsidae, a group with a fossil record of over 90 extinct species widesprea...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 28, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Woodrow, C., Judge, K. A., Pulver, C., Jonsson, T., Montealegre-Z, F. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Mechanisms underlying gut microbiota-host interactions in insects [REVIEW]
Konstantin Schmidt and Philipp Engel
Insects are the most diverse group of animals and colonize almost all environments on our planet. This diversity is reflected in the structure and function of the microbial communities inhabiting the insect digestive system. As in mammals, the gut microbiota of insects can have important symbiotic functions, complementing host nutrition, facilitating dietary breakdown or providing protection against pathogens. There is an increasing number of insect models that are experimentally tractable, facilitating mechanistic studies of gut microbiota–host interactions. In this Review, we w...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 28, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Schmidt, K., Engel, P. Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research
Prisoners receive food fit for a queen: honeybees feed small hive beetles protein-rich glandular secretions through trophallaxis [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Zoë Langlands, Esther E. du Rand, Karl Crailsheim, Abdullahi A. Yusuf, and Christian W. W. Pirk
The honeybee nest parasite Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) uses behavioural mimicry to induce trophallactic feeding from its honeybee hosts. Small hive beetles are able to induce honeybee workers to share the carbohydrate-rich contents of their crops, but it is not clear whether the beetles are able to induce to workers to feed them the protein-rich hypopharyngeal glandular secretions fed to the queen, larvae and other nest mates. Protein is a limiting macronutrient in an insect's diet, essential for survival, growth...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Langlands, Z., du Rand, E. E., Crailsheim, K., Yusuf, A. A., Pirk, C. W. W. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Pendulum-based measurements reveal impact dynamics at the scale of a trap-jaw ant [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
J. F. Jorge, S. Bergbreiter, and S. N. Patek Small organisms can produce powerful, sub-millisecond impacts by moving tiny structures at high accelerations. We developed and validated a pendulum device to measure the impact energetics of microgram-sized trap-jaw ant mandibles accelerated against targets at 105 m s–2. Trap-jaw ants (Odontomachus brunneus; 19 individuals; 212 strikes) were suspended on one pendulum and struck swappable targets that were either attached to an opposing pendulum or fixed in place. Mean post-impact kinetic energy (energy from strike converted to pendulum motion) was higher with a stiff targ...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Jorge, J. F., Bergbreiter, S., Patek, S. N. Tags: 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 (...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 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
Comparative cranial biomechanics in two lizard species: impact of variation in cranial design [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Hugo Dutel, Flora Gröning, Alana C. Sharp, Peter J. Watson, Anthony Herrel, Callum F. Ross, Marc E. H. Jones, Susan E. Evans, and Michael J. Fagan Cranial morphology in lepidosaurs is highly disparate and characterized by the frequent loss or reduction of bony elements. In varanids and geckos, the loss of the postorbital bar is associated with changes in skull shape, but the mechanical principles underlying this variation remain poorly understood. Here, we seek to determine how the overall cranial architecture and the presence of the postorbital bar relate to the loading and deformation of the cranial bones during ...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Dutel, H., Gröning, F., Sharp, A. C., Watson, P. J., Herrel, A., Ross, C. F., Jones, M. E. H., Evans, S. E., Fagan, M. J. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Wing damage affects flight kinematics but not flower tracking performance in hummingbird hawkmoths [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Klara Kihlström, Brett Aiello, Eric Warrant, Simon Sponberg, and Anna Stöckl Wing integrity is crucial to the many insect species that spend distinct portions of their life in flight. How insects cope with the consequences of wing damage is therefore a central question when studying how robust flight performance is possible with such fragile chitinous wings. It has been shown in a variety of insect species that the loss in lift-force production resulting from wing damage is generally compensated by an increase in wing beat frequency rather than amplitude. The consequences of wing damage for flight performan...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Kihlström, K., Aiello, B., Warrant, E., Sponberg, S., Stöckl, A. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Tokay geckos (Gekkonidae: Gekko gecko) preferentially use substrates that elicit maximal adhesive performance [SHORT COMMUNICATION]
Austin M. Garner, Alexandra M. Pamfilie, Ali Dhinojwala, and Peter H. Niewiarowski Gecko substrate use is likely influenced by adhesive performance, yet few studies have demonstrated this empirically. Herein we examine the substrate use, adhesive performance, and vertical clinging behaviour of Gekko gecko in captivity to investigate whether adhesive performance influences patterns of substrate use. We found that geckos were observed significantly more often on the substrate (glass) that elicited maximal adhesive performance relative to its availability within our experimental enclosures, indicating that geckos preferential...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 27, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Garner, A. M., Pamfilie, A. M., Dhinojwala, A., Niewiarowski, P. H. Tags: SHORT COMMUNICATION Source Type: research
Asian elephants have less fat than average human [INSIDE JEB]
Kathryn Knight (Source: Journal of Experimental Biology)
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 26, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Knight, K. Tags: INSIDE JEB Source Type: research
Acclimation to warm temperatures has important implications for mitochondrial function in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Lucie Gerber, Kathy A. Clow, and Anthony K. Gamperl
In fish, the capacity of thermal acclimation to preserve cardiac mitochondrial function under future warming scenarios is important to understand given the central roles that cardiac energy metabolism and performance play in this taxa's thermal tolerance. We acclimated Atlantic salmon to 12 and 20°C (for >2 months), and investigated the effects of acute and chronic warming on cardiac mitochondrial respiration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (release rate) using high-resolution fluorespirometry. Further, we compared the sensitivity of mitochondria...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 26, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Gerber, L., Clow, K. A., Gamperl, A. K. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Genomic and physiological mechanisms underlying skin plasticity during water to air transition in an amphibious fish [RESEARCH ARTICLE]
Yun-wei Dong, Tessa S. Blanchard, Angela Noll, Picasso Vasquez, Juergen Schmitz, Scott P. Kelly, Patricia A. Wright, and Andrew Whitehead
The terrestrial radiation of vertebrates required changes in skin that resolved the dual demands of maintaining a mechanical and physiological barrier while also facilitating ion and gas transport. Using the amphibious killifish Kryptolebias marmoratus, we found that transcriptional regulation of skin morphogenesis was quickly activated upon air exposure (1 h). Rapid regulation of cell–cell adhesion complexes and pathways that regulate stratum corneum formation was consistent...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - January 26, 2021 Category: Biology Authors: Dong, Y.-w., Blanchard, T. S., Noll, A., Vasquez, P., Schmitz, J., Kelly, S. P., Wright, P. A., Whitehead, A. Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
