A number of anatomical characters of crocodilians appear to be inconsistent with their lifestyle as sit-and-wait predators. To address this paradoxical association of characters further, we measured lung ventilation and respiratory gas exchange during walking in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). During exercise, ventilation consisted of low-frequency, large-volume breaths. The alligators hyperventilated severely during walking with respect to their metabolic demands. Air convection requirements were among the highest and estimates of lung P(CO2) were among the lowest known in air-breathing vertebrates. Air convection requirements dropped immediately with cessation of exercise. These observations indicate that the ventilation of alligators is not limited by their locomotor movements. We suggest that the highly specialized ventilatory system of modern crocodilians represents a legacy from cursorial ancestors rather than an adaptation to a lifestyle as amphibious sit-and-wait predators.
Celebrating 100 years of discovery
We are proud to be celebrating 100 years of discovery in Journal of Experimental Biology. Visit our centenary webpage to find out more about how we are marking this historic milestone.
Craig Franklin launches our centenary celebrations
Editor-in-Chief Craig Franklin reflects on 100 years of JEB and looks forward to our centenary celebrations, including a supplementary special issue, a new early-career researcher interview series and the launch of our latest funding initiatives.
Looking back on the first issue of JEB
Journal of Experimental Biology launched in 1923 as The British Journal of Experimental Biology. As we celebrate our centenary, we look back at that first issue and the zoologists publishing their work in the new journal.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
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Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Biology Communication Workshop: Engaging the world in the excitement of research
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We are delighted to be sponsoring a Biology Communication Workshop for early-career researchers as part of JEB’s centenary celebrations. The workshop focuses on how to effectively communicate your science to other researchers and the public and takes place the day before the CSZ annual meeting, on 14 May 2023. Find out more and apply here.
Mexican fruit flies wave for distraction
Dinesh Rao and colleagues have discovered that Mexican fruit flies vanish in a blur in the eyes of predatory spiders when they wave their wings at the arachnids, buying the flies time to make their escape.
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