locomotor performance
- Fluctuating environments during early development can limit adult phenotypic flexibility: insights from an amphibious fish
Summary: Exposure to water–air fluctuating environments during early fish development alters constitutive adult phenotypes and diminishes the scope for reversible acclimation.
- Rapid adaptive response to a Mediterranean environment reduces phenotypic mismatch in a recent amphibian invader
Highlighted Article: The integration of field and laboratory experiments shows that a recent amphibian invader reduces phenotypic mismatch with the novel environment through physiological and behavioural responses across an unusually short time scale.
- Speed-dependent modulation of wing muscle recruitment intensity and kinematics in two bat species
Summary: One bat species alters flight muscle recruitment intensity with flight speed whereas another maintains constant muscle recruitment intensity but alters 3D wing kinematics, representing alternative strategies for flight at different speeds.
- 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.
- Hindlimb muscle fibre size and glycogen stores in bank voles with increased aerobic exercise metabolism
Summary: Bank voles selected for high swim-induced aerobic metabolism over 13 generations show increased hindlimb muscle mass, but the muscle fibre characteristics remain unaffected.
- Skeletal muscle contractile function predicts activity and behaviour in zebrafish
Highlighted Article: Muscle contractile properties determine voluntary movement speed and activity of animals, and thereby influence risk-taking behaviour, providing a functional explanation for differences in behavioural phenotypes between individuals.
- Developmental thermal plasticity of prey modifies the impact of predation
Summary: Thermal conditions experienced during early development affect survival from predation and phenotypic characteristics of prey later in life.