EDITORIAL
INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
REVIEW
- Broadening the functional and evolutionary understanding of postnatal neurogenesis using reptilian models
Summary: This Review highlights our understanding of postnatal neurogenesis in reptiles in comparison to mammals. Research in reptiles will help to address the mechanisms of postnatal neurogenesis and place it within a functional and evolutionary context.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
- Disruption of thermogenic UCP1 predated the divergence of pigs and peccaries
Summary: Thermogenic UCP1 was pseudogenized much earlier than previously thought, in a common ancestor of peccaries and pigs, providing the molecular rationale for cold sensitivity and current tropical biogeography among extant peccaries.
- Use of temporal and colour cueing in a symbolic delayed matching task by honey bees
Summary: Honey bees can learn arbitrary relationships between shapes and colours, but not between shapes and durations of light, indicating a lower efficiency of temporal information as a cueing stimulus.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Does selection for behavioral and physiological performance traits alter glucocorticoid responsiveness in bank voles?
Summary: Bank voles from lines selected in distinct directions do not differ in corticosterone response to stress, but the maximum response and the rate of recovery differ to some extent.
- Adhesive plasticity among populations of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)
Summary: Intertidal sea urchins adhere to avoid dislodgement by intense hydrodynamic forces; this adhesion is plastic and varies as a function of rock type and native population.
- A field study of auditory sensitivity of the Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica
Highlighted Article: The threatened seabird the Atlantic puffin has a comparatively sensitive audiogram, indicating it has fully functioning aerial hearing despite the constraints of its deep-diving, amphibious lifestyle.
- Nitric oxide produced by periostial hemocytes modulates the bacterial infection-induced reduction of the mosquito heart rate
Summary: We unveil an exciting new facet of the integration between the immune and circulatory systems of insects, whereby hemocyte-produced nitric oxide drives the infection-induced reduction of mosquito heart rate.
- The influence of training-induced sarcomerogenesis on the history dependence of force
Summary: The addition and subtraction of serial sarcomeres induced by downhill and uphill running, respectively, does not influence the magnitude of lengthening-induced residual force enhancement and shortening-induced residual force depression.
- A novel cylindrical overlap-and-fling mechanism used by sea butterflies
Editor's choice: Enabled by its highly flexible wings, the swimming pteropod Cuvierina atlantica generates thrust by using a novel cylindrical ‘overlap-and-fling’ maneuver twice during each wingstroke.
- Carbon dioxide-induced bioluminescence increase in Arachnocampa larvae
Highlighted Article: CO2 was thought to act as an anaesthetic producing elevated bioluminescence in Arachnocampa; however, results show that it acts directly on the light organ and does not act as an anaesthetic.
- ABC transporters in gills of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Summary: The gills of rainbow trout as a key organ in solute exchange harbor a diversity of functional ABC transporters.
- How do Caenorhabditis elegans worms survive in highly viscous habitats?
Summary: Survival of Caenorhabditis elegans worms is associated with pharyngeal pump function that cannot be lost at high viscosity, which may contribute to their ability to survive in highly viscous environments.
- nkx3.2 mutant zebrafish accommodate jaw joint loss through a phenocopy of the head shapes of Paleozoic jawless fish
Summary: Jaw dysfunctions are generally deleterious, but zebrafish mutants lacking jaw joints survive and dramatically alter their skull shape and feeding, developing superficial resemblance to distantly related jawless vertebrates.
- Brain size does not predict learning strategies in a serial reversal learning test
Summary: Relative brain size affects differences in advanced learning ability in small- and large-brained female guppies; however, regardless of brain size, they do not learn a generalized rule from earlier experience.
- Stress before training alters memory retrieval of a non-declarative memory in Lymnaea
Summary: Counter to previous proposals, a block of memory retrieval does occur for a non-declarative memory in invertebrates and can be relieved through an injection of propranolol.
- Increased glucocorticoid concentrations in early life cause mitochondrial inefficiency and short telomeres
Summary: Experimental simulation of natural stressful developmental conditions reveals that glucocorticoid hormones induce telomere shortening by decreasing mitochondrial efficiency without altering oxidative stress, suggesting that telomeres are costly to maintain.
- Morphology, performance and fluid dynamics of the crayfish escape response
Highlighted Article: The crayfish tail creates a vortex during the escape response. Momentum is added by the ventral pleopod appendages.
- Greater agility increases probability of survival in the endangered northern quoll
Summary: High agility and body condition are advantageous for survival in female endangered northern quolls; development of predictive models that incorporate both predator and prey locomotor performance will give greater understanding on the vulnerability of native species to introduced predators.
- Fine sand particles enable antlions to build pitfall traps with advanced three-dimensional geometry
Summary: Antlions construct pitfall traps in fine sand to catch their prey. Three-dimensional laser scanning was used for the first time to analyse the shape of an unusual antlion pit.