In axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanun) the labyrinths and the associated parts of the medulla were doubled artificially. In these so-called tandem-heads the vestibular afferent fibres from both labyrinths on one side united within the medulla to form common bundles. The head-turning reflexes following impulse acceleration and during long-lasting acceleration were measured quantitatively and compared with those for normal animals. The form and the time-course of the reactions were almost identical in both groups. Tandem-heads showed a linear relationship between stimulus intensity and reaction strength, parallel to that in normal animals but with a greater reaction for a given stimulus. Consequent to this shift in the relationship, there was a significant decrease in the reaction threshold. The removal of one horizontal semicircular canal in tandem-heads proved that both pairs of labyrinths were functionally connected with the brain. It was suggested that during ontogenesis there exists a kind of specificity in the connexion of vestibular fibres. From the parallel shift of the intensity functions it was concluded that the input from both pairs of labyrinths in tandem-heads is not simply accumulate but compared with a reference parameter, which is also double in tandem-heads.
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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