INSIDE JEB
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
- Simultaneous measurement of 3D zooplankton trajectories and surrounding fluid velocity field in complex flows
Summary: An automated volumetric PIV and tracking method measures time-resolved, 3D zooplankton trajectories and surrounding volumetric fluid velocity fields simultaneously and non-intrusively.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Mechanical and energetic consequences of reduced ankle plantar-flexion in human walking
Summary: Ankle push-off plays an important role of the energy expenditure of human walking, which can be explained by the mechanical work performed by the lower extremity joints.
- Remora fish suction pad attachment is enhanced by spinule friction
Summary: The geometry of remora fish suction disc spinules increases passive friction on rough host surfaces such as shark skin.
- The response of anosteocytic bone to controlled loading
Highlighted Article: Anosteocytic bone can adapt to loads by a combination of bone resorption and deposition, which suggests the presence of a non-osteocytic mechanosensing mechanism.
- Patterns of oxygen consumption during simultaneously occurring elevated metabolic states in the viviparous snake Thamnophis marcianus
Summary: During simultaneously occurring elevated metabolic states, Thamnophis marcianus exhibits prioritization as the primary pattern of interaction in oxygen delivery. The metabolic processes associated with digestion, and perhaps reproduction, are temporarily compromised during activity.
- Acquisition and expression of memories of distance and direction in navigating wood ants
Summary: Wood ants form linked memories of the distance and direction of their homeward foraging route.
- Larger lacertid lizard species produce higher than expected iliotibialis muscle power output: the evolution of muscle contractile mechanics with body size
Summary: Co-evolution of larger body size with greater muscle stress and normalised power output occurred in lacertid lizard species.
- Flea fitness is reduced by high fractional concentrations of CO2 that simulate levels found in their hosts' burrows
Highlighted Article: Fleas living in high fractional concentrations of CO2 have reduced survival and reproduction.
- Evaluating cardiac physiology through echocardiography in bottlenose dolphins: using stroke volume and cardiac output to estimate systolic left ventricular function during rest and following exercise
Summary: Transthoracic ultrasound determines heart rate and stroke volume before and after exercise in bottlenose dolphins, providing the first data on the extreme cardiovascular plasticity in awake and unrestrained cetaceans in water.
- Transcriptome profiling reveals mechanisms for the evolution of insect seasonality
Summary: Evolutionary changes to the timing of diapause will be key for insects to adapt to a globally warming climate; putative loci responsible for timing shifts are identified.
- Interactive effects of seawater acidification and elevated temperature on biomineralization and amino acid metabolism in the mussel Mytilus edulis
Summary: The interactive effects of climate stressors on marine calcifiers highlight the negative effect of elevated temperature based on seawater acidification.
- Spiders do have melanin after all
Summary: Raman spectroscopy reveals that melanins are present in spiders.
- Avian thermoregulation in the heat: resting metabolism, evaporative cooling and heat tolerance in Sonoran Desert doves and quail
Highlighted Article: Species-level differences in heat tolerance may drive changes in desert bird communities as global temperatures continue to rise and heat waves become more frequent.
- Performance trade-offs and individual quality in decathletes
Summary: Human decathletes that excel in one event excel in all events, which is contrary to the pervasive idea that underlying functional constraints limit the development of a ‘master of all events’.
- Chela asymmetry in a durophagous crab: predominance of right-handedness and handedness reversal is linked to chela size and closing force
Summary: Handedness in the swimming crab resides in the claw that is larger with greater apodeme height and has the stronger closing force.
- Effects of estradiol on neural responses to social signals in female túngara frogs
Summary: Estradiol changes the basal activity of the auditory midbrain and limbic forebrain of female túngara frogs, and modifies the response of the preoptic area to mating calls.
- Tight coordination of aerial flight maneuvers and sonar call production in insectivorous bats
Highlighted Article: Flight kinematics and adaptive sonar behavior in insectivorous, echolocating bats engaged in climbing and turning flight reveal tight coordination of adaptive flight and vocal motor systems.
- Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health
Summary: In honey bee nests, the presence of a propolis envelope decreases baseline expression of immune-related genes over the course of the season and appears to benefit colony survivorship and strength in early spring.
- Power amplification in an isolated muscle–tendon unit is load dependent
Summary: Power amplification in a compliant muscle-tendon unit is maximal for intermediate inertial-gravitational loads and can be enhanced by a trigger and catch mechanism for small loads.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Editorial – The changing of the guard
In his Editorial, Hans Hoppeler announces that he will be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of JEB in July 2020. He reflects on the history of JEB, why he has enjoyed his tenure as JEB’s Editor-in-Chief and the recent developments in the publishing world.
Big Biology podcast
JEB is partnering with the Big Biology podcast and in this sponsored episode, JEB Editor Michael Dickinson talks to the Big Biology team about the aerodynamic mechanisms of insect flight, how insects control flight with their tiny 100k neuron brain and his recent JEB paper showing how fruit flies navigate using the sun and polarized light as a compass.
Editors’ choice – An appetite for invasion: digestive physiology, thermal performance and food intake in lionfish (Pterois spp.)
Invasive lionfish are a colossal problem in the Mediterranean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean. Now it turns out that they are successful invaders because they invest more energy in digestion than moving about.
Travelling Fellowship – Anti-ageing in the Greenland Shark
Find out how Pierre Delaroche’s Travelling Fellowship grant from the Journal of Experimental Biology took him to Greenland, where he gathered data to further understand the ageing process in the longest-living vertebrate known to science. Don’t miss the next application deadline for 2020 travel, coming up on 29 November. Where will your research take you?
Commentary – Yank: the time derivative of force is an important biomechanical variable in sensorimotor systems
The derivative of force with respect to time does not have a standard term in physics. In their new Commentary, David C. Lin and his colleagues propose that the term ‘yank’ should be used to denote the time derivative of force.
Runners waste energy every time their legs stop swinging, but now a team of scientists from the US and Canada have shown that a springy ankle tether can reduce runners’ energy costs by 6.4%, which is nearly the entire cost of swinging the limbs. Read the full research article here.
Journal of Experimental Biology is pleased to announce a new partnership with Publons! This allows reviewers to easily track and verify every review by choosing to add the review to their Publons profile when completing the review submission form. Publons also makes it simple for reviewers to showcase their peer review contributions in a format that can be included in job and funding applications (without breaking reviewer anonymity). Read the official announcement here!
preLights – Oxygenation properties of hemoglobin and the evolutionary origins of isoform multiplicity in an amphibious air-breathing fish, the blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus pectinirostris)
Charlotte Nelson highlights work in mudskippers suggesting that a diversity in expressed hemoglobin isoforms is not required for the switch between aquatic and aerial respiration.