This study presents the first evidence that, in invertebrates, the anaerobic endproduct lactate has an alarm signal function and induces metabolic and behavioural responses as in the anuran Bufo marinus. In support of this function, behavioural hypothermia was demonstrated in the shore crab Carcinus maenas. The animals moved to a cooler environment when exposed to hypoxic conditions. A decrease in preferred temperature of the same magnitude was also found when normoxic animals were injected with an iso-osmotic lactate solution resulting in a haemolymph concentration of approximately 12 mmol l-1. Under normoxic (PO2=>18 kPa) and moderately hypoxic conditions (PO2=12 kPa), injection of this lactate solution also caused a significant increase in the rate of oxygen consumption (100 and 50 % respectively). The increase in the rate of oxygen consumption was smaller and delayed, but lasted longer, under hypoxic conditions compared with normoxic conditions. Low but significant correlations between levels of lactate and levels of adrenaline, octopamine and tryptophan suggest the involvement of biogenic amines in the mediation of the signal.
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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