INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
REVIEW
- Evolutionary escalation: the bat–moth arms race
Summary: Bats and insects are ideal animals for investigating predator–prey interactions, both in real-time and over evolutionary time. Here, we review the evidence for adaptations and counter-adaptations in this system.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
- Modeling observed animal performance using the Weibull distribution
Summary: Using the Weibull distribution to model observed animal performance data allows for more robust statistical analyses and estimates of maximum performance.
- Automated detection of feeding strikes by larval fish using continuous high-speed digital video: a novel method to extract quantitative data from fast, sparse kinematic events
Summary: Using machine vision algorithms originally developed to understand human actions in videos, we present a framework for automatic detection of feeding attempts of larval fishes, a fitness-determining behavior that is sparse and unpredictable in space and time.
- Using accelerometers to remotely and automatically characterize behavior in small animals
Summary: Validation of the use of accelerometers for automated collection of behavioral data from two species of small-bodied, free-living animals.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Energetic cost determines voluntary movement speed only in familiar environments
Highlighted Article: Metabolic investment into movement of animals changes with environmental novelty, thereby altering the metabolic dimension of ecological function.
- Biological activity of the enantiomers of 3-methylhentriacontane, a queen pheromone of the ant Lasius niger
Summary: The two enantiomers of the black garden ant queen pheromone 3-methylhentriacontane are both effective in suppressing worker ovarian development but the (S)-enantiomer more effectively reduces aggressive behavior.
- Whiteflies stabilize their take-off with closed wings
Summary: Take-off jumps send whiteflies into the air rotating forward. Air resistance on the wings, in resting position, slows down and even stops the rotation of the body, prior to wing deployment and flapping.
- Beyond body size: muscle biochemistry and body shape explain ontogenetic variation of anti-predatory behaviour in the lizard Salvator merianae
Summary: Juvenile and adult tegus exhibit different anti-predatory strategies at 22.5°C, which can be explained by differences in body size, limb proportions, jaw length and muscle biochemistry.
- Intermittent hypoxia leads to functional reorganization of mitochondria and affects cellular bioenergetics in marine molluscs
Highlighted Article: Mitochondrial reorganization during hypoxia–reoxygenation stress modulates oxidative phosphorylation capacity in a way that correlates with hypoxia tolerance in marine molluscs.
- Desiccation tolerance in Anopheles coluzzii: the effects of spiracle size and cuticular hydrocarbons
Summary: Seasonal variation in desiccation tolerance of malaria mosquitoes is shaped by cuticular hydrocarbon composition and quantity and possibly by smaller spiracles. Seasonal allometries indicate season-specific developmental programs, consistent with aestivation.
- When navigating wood ants use the centre of mass of a shape to extract directional information from a panoramic skyline
Summary: Ants can hold direction relative to a single shape in a panorama by learning the position of the shape's centre of mass on its retina when heading in the correct direction and thereafter keeping the shape's centre of mass in that desired retinal position.
- Phenotypic plasticity in three Daphnia genotypes in response to predator kairomone: evidence for an involvement of chitin deacetylases
Summary: Assessment of a clonal gradient of Daphnia reveals a high correlation between chitin deacetylase gene expression and neck-teeth induction.
- Effects of high temperatures on threatened estuarine fishes during periods of extreme drought
Highlighted Article: An integrative approach to assess the impact of elevated water temperature on fishes of immediate conservation concern highlights the vulnerability of longfin smelt relative to delta smelt.
- The magnetic orientation of the Antarctic amphipod Gondogeneia antarctica is cancelled by very weak radiofrequency fields
Summary: Antarctic crustaceans use a geomagnetic compass for orientation on the sea–land axis. This ability is lost after exposure to extraordinarily weak radiofrequency magnetic fields (2 nT).
- Intraspecific variation in physiological performance of a benthic elasmobranch challenged by ocean acidification and warming
Summary: Juvenile little skates from neighboring locations, developmentally acclimatized to varying levels of ocean acidification and warming, exhibit substantial differences in escape and aerobic performance.
- Programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary–interrenal axis by maternal social status in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Summary: Maternal social status influences development of the stress axis and programmed stress axis function during early development in zebrafish.
- Developmental changes of cognitive vocal control in monkeys
Highlighted Article: Monkeys reliably vocalize on command during juvenile periods, but discontinue this behavior in adulthood. This greater vocal flexibility of monkeys early in ontogeny supports the neoteny hypothesis in human evolution.
- In vitro evidence supports the presence of glucokinase-independent glucosensing mechanisms in hypothalamus and hindbrain of rainbow trout
Summary: The presence and activity of glucokinase-independent glucosensing mechanisms in fish brain regions provide new and relevant information regarding metabolic regulation of food intake and counter-regulatory mechanisms to restore plasma levels of metabolites in fish.
- Recovery of locomotion after injury in Drosophila melanogaster depends on proprioception
Summary: Proprioception plays a key role in the success of long-term recovery of unbiased walking behavior after leg amputation in Drosophila melanogaster.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
The Company of Biologists commits to the Transformative Journal approach
The Company of Biologists is the first not-for-profit publisher to commit to this approach. The Company's three hybrid journals - Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology - have chosen the 'transformative' route towards Open Access. Find out more in this interview with Claire Moulton, Publisher at The Company of Biologists and on our dedicated Transformative Journals page.
Handing over the reins
The start of August signals a change for Journal of Experimental Biology as we say a fond farewell to Editor-in-Chief of 25 years Hans Hoppeler and extend a warm welcome to his successor, Craig Franklin.
Minute mecysmaucheniid spider triggers fastest trap-jaws
Research by Hannah Wood shows that Zearchaea spiders use a spring loaded catapult mechanism to slam closed the fastest spider jaws on the planet, at an astonishing speed of 18.2 m s−1.
In the field: an interview with Sandra Binning and Dominique Roche
Together, Sandra Binning and Dominique Roche investigate how animals respond to environmental stress. In an interview, they talk about taking their children into the field and keeping safe while working in marine locations.
Surviving anoxia: the maintenance of energy production and tissue integrity during anoxia and reoxygenation
In their Review, Georgina Cox and Todd Gillis use knowledge gained from studies of anoxia-tolerant species to identify common strategies and novel solutions for the challenges of anoxia exposure.