The thermal dependence of locomotor performance and in vitro muscle mechanical properties were studied after acclimation at 10 degrees and 20 degrees C in the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum Hallowell. Performance measurements included burst and endurance capacities on land and in water. No significant differences in locomotor performance or muscle contractile properties were found between acclimation groups. Locomotor performance had only a slight thermal dependence, with Q10 values of 0.99-1.36 for running and swimming burst capacities (i.e. maximum speed and leg/tail cycling frequency). Running and swimming endurance capacities had thermal ratios of 1.58-1.66. Thermal dependence of muscle contractile rates was higher than that of locomotor performance: rates of force development for both isometric twitch and tetanus and maximal shortening velocity had Q10 values of 1.89-2.01. Maximal power output was also thermally dependent (Q10 = 2.33) and occurred at 38% of maximal (tetanic) force output. Force-generating capacities in isometric twitch and tetanus were relatively temperature-independent.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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