Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are among the most common freshwater diving mammals in North America. They have a well-developed diving response that occurs upon either forced or voluntary diving (Jones et al. 1982). This response consists of a decline in heart rate and cardiac output and a redistribution of blood flow primarily to the brain, heart and adrenal gland, with other organs being hypoperfused. Muskrats have large oxygen stores which are in the lower range of those reported for marine mammals (Snyder and Binkley, 1985). In a previous study on the metabolism of isolated muskrat and guinea pig hearts, it was shown that muskrat hearts do not pump as well as guinea pig hearts (McKean et al. 1986). This was indicated by the failure of muskrat hearts to develop a cardiac output in excess of that supplying their own coronary blood flow...
Embracing allyship in experimental biology to help close the gender gap
In their Perspective, Janneke Schwaner and Ksenia Keplinger propose 10 useful strategies for experimental biologists at all career stages to become active allies for gender diversity and inclusion and to help close the gender gap in our field.
The Company of Biologists celebrates its first Global South Workshop
In March 2024, Andrea Fuller and Kênia Bicego organised the first Global South (GS) Workshop hosted by The Company of Biologists - How Global South Research Can Shape the Future of Comparative Physiology - bringing together ECRs from the GS and international experts in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Find out about this extraordinary meeting in our Perspective.
High-resolution WildPose 3D scans revolutionise biomechanics in the wild
Collecting detailed kinematics from animals in the wild is a holy grail of biomechanics, and now Naoya Muramatsu and colleagues reveal the extraordinary observations that they have made with their new WildPose wildlife motion capture system in South Africa.
Interviews with Biologists @ 100 conference speakers
Explore our interviews with keynote speakers from the Biologists @ 100 conference, hosted to celebrate our publisher’s 100th anniversary, where we discuss climate change and biodiversity with Hans-Otto Pörtner and Jane Francis, health and disease with Charles Swanton and Sadaf Farooqi, and emerging technologies with Manu Prakash and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz.
Fast & Fair peer review
Our sister journal Biology Open has recently launched the next phase of their Fast & Fair peer review initiative: offering high-quality peer review within 7 working days. To learn more about BiO’s progress and future plans, read the Editorial by Daniel Gorelick, or visit the Fast & Fair peer review page.
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