INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
OBITUARY
COMMENTARY
- Are mitochondria the main contributor of reactive oxygen species in cells?
Summary: This Commentary addresses whether mitochondria are the main source of cellular ROS. We argue that they are a significant site, but not necessarily the main source of cellular ROS under most conditions.
SHORT COMMUNICATION
- Thirst and drinking in North American watersnakes (Nerodia spp.)
Summary: Relatively small levels of dehydration elicit drinking of fresh water in three species of North American watersnakes, including a semi-marine species in which moderate, progressive dehydration is also shown to inhibit feeding.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
- Rhythmic auditory stimuli modulate movement recovery in response to perturbation during locomotion
Summary: A new method for the evaluation of intrinsic resilience during unsteady locomotion in humans and animals, analysing the relationship between the structure of movement variability and resilience.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Plasticity in parental effects confers rapid larval thermal tolerance in the estuarine anemone Nematostella vectensis
Summary: Nematostella vectensis quickly responds to changes in temperature to modulate parental effects that influence thermal tolerance of larvae in a reversible (plastic) manner, which could be significant for survival under global climate change.
- Pendulum-based measurements reveal impact dynamics at the scale of a trap-jaw ant
Summary: A stiffer target and shorter contact duration increase energy transfer during trap-jaw ant mandible strikes measured with micro-impact pendulums.
- Comparative cranial biomechanics in two lizard species: impact of variation in cranial design
Summary: In vivo measurements and computer-based simulations of the cranial mechanics of two large lizards indicate that similar mechanical behaviour is shared by lizards with distinct cranial architecture, and show the importance of the postorbital bar in resisting the feeding loads.
- The Murphy number: how pitch moment of inertia dictates quadrupedal walking and running energetics
Summary: Work-based optimization predicts that mammalian gait choice emerges from managing the energetic trade-off of pitching versus translating the body.
- Feel the light: sight-independent negative phototactic response in octopus arms
Highlighted Article: An extraocular photoreception mechanism in the octopus arm displays negative phototactic responses.
- Early developmental stages of native populations of Ciona intestinalis under increased temperature are affected by local habitat history
Summary: Anthropogenic stressors can shape early developmental stages of Ciona intestinalis, increasing their resilience to predicted future heatwave scenarios when compared with control populations from undisturbed locations.
- Masticatory system integration in a commensal canid: interrelationships between bones, muscles and bite force in the red fox
Summary: Strong interrelationships between the components of the masticatory system in red foxes suggest that it is strongly integrated, but not more so than for dogs. Yet, the components of the masticatory system are less variable in foxes than in dogs.
- Testing the influence of crushing surface variation on seed-cracking performance among beak morphs of the African seedcracker Pyrenestes ostrinus
Summary: Experiments using tools that approximate the crushing surfaces of Pyrenestes ostrinus beak morphs show that variation in width and surface morphology has no significant effect on the efficiency of cracking seeds of variable hardness.
- Attack behaviour in naive gyrfalcons is modelled by the same guidance law as in peregrine falcons, but at a lower guidance gain
Editor's choice: Naive gyrfalcons attacking aerial targets are modelled by the same proportional navigation guidance law as peregrine falcons, but with a lower navigation constant that promotes tail-chasing rather than efficient interception.
- Cutaneous tactile sensitivity before and after tail loss and regeneration in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)
Summary: Tactile sensitivity of the feet and tail in a species of lizard changes in response to tail loss and regeneration.
- Maternal provisioning and fluctuating thermal regimes enhance immune response in a reptile with temperature-dependent sex determination
Summary: Fluctuating temperatures increase immune strength of hatchling snapping turtles over constant temperature regimes, as does greater egg mass. However, there is no support for a sex-by-environment interaction on immune strength.
- Intersection of motor volumes predicts the outcome of ambush predation of larval zebrafish
Summary: To survive predation, the volume of space prey can flee must exceed the volume of space predators can reach, providing a generalizable framework to explain predator–prey interactions.
This issue
JUMP TO
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Predicting the Future: Species Survival in a Changing World
Read our new special issue exploring the significant role of experimental biology in assessing and predicting the susceptibility or resilience of species to future, human-induced environmental change.
Big Biology Podcast - Hollie Putnam and coral bleaching
Catch the next JEB-sponsored episode of the Big Biology Podcast where Art and Marty talk to Hollie Putnam about the causes of coral bleaching and the basic biology of corals in the hope of selectively breeding corals that can better tolerate future ocean conditions.
Read Hollie's Review on the subject, which is featured in our current special issue.
Stark trade-offs and elegant solutions in arthropod visual systems
Many elegant eye specializations that evolved in response to visual challenges continue to be discovered. A new Review by Meece et al. summarises exciting solutions evolved by insects and other arthropods in response to specific visual challenges.
Head bobbing gives pigeons a sense of perspective
Pigeons might look goofy with their head-bobbing walk, but it turns out that the ungainly head manoeuvre allows the birds to judge distance.