Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: A spearing mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda: Lysiosquillina maculata) extends its rapidly rotating raptorial appendages to capture evasive prey, such as this yellow-tail damsel. Mantis shrimp use a spectacular diversity of raptorial appendage morphologies and kinematics to capture and crush prey. McHenry et al. (pp. 3399-3411) analyzed the hydrodynamics of raptorial striking across mantis shrimp using both blade element and computational fluid dynamic analyses. Across the clade, the hydrodynamics are minimally affected by shape and instead are strongly impacted by size, kinematics and, to a lesser extent, the orientation of the stabbing dactyl. Photo credit: Roy Caldwell.
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INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Hydrodynamic properties of fin whale flippers predict maximum rolling performance
Summary: A simple hydrodynamic model predicts fin whale rolling performance.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Energetics of communal roosting in chestnut-crowned babblers: implications for group dynamics and breeding phenology
Highlighted Article: Cooperatively breeding chestnut-crowned babblers save considerable energy by group roosting within enclosed nests; this economy helps explain the species' social dynamics and breeding phenology.
Vision on the high seas: spatial resolution and optical sensitivity in two procellariiform seabirds with different foraging strategies
Summary: Procellariiform seabirds with different nesting and foraging strategies have also evolved predictable differences in their ability to see their prey or other foraging seabirds.
Object approach computation by a giant neuron and its relationship with the speed of escape in the crab Neohelice
Summary: Visually guided behaviors operate in closed loop. In crabs, the information of approaching objects is encoded and conveyed by identified giant neurons to continuously regulate the speed of the escape run.
Actions of sex steroids on kisspeptin expression and other reproduction-related genes in the brain of the teleost fish European sea bass
Summary: Kisspeptins are attributed to be key factors in mediating gonadal steroid feedback in mammalian hypothalamus and in the teleost fish sea bass, suggesting that this property is conserved across vertebrates.
Collective strategy for obstacle navigation during cooperative transport by ants
Highlighted Article: Ant groups navigate obstacles with a collective strategy that adapts to obstacle difficulty. Groups begin with simple behaviors; if unsuccessful, they switch to robust behaviors that work for more difficult obstacles.
Oxygen dependence of upper thermal limits in fishes
Summary: A novel metric (PCTmax) is presented for assessing the oxygen sensitivity of upper thermal limits in water-breathing ectotherms based on measurements of critical thermal maxima in marine fishes under hypoxia.
Wing flexibility improves bumblebee flight stability
Summary: Flexibility of the 1m-cu resilin joint in bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) wings improves stability in forward flight.
Annual life-stage regulation of lipid metabolism and storage and association with PPARs in a migrant species: the gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Summary: Changes in energetics related to the migratory cycle span organismal, tissue and molecular endpoints, and these seasonal adjustments involve the PPAR family of nuclear receptors and their target genes.
The comparative hydrodynamics of rapid rotation by predatory appendages
Highlighted Article: Blade-element analysis and computational fluid dynamics are both effective for analyzing mantis shrimp strike hydrodynamics. Mantis shrimp appendage diversification is strongly impacted by the hydrodynamic consequences of size and kinematics.
The opening–closing rhythms of the subelytral cavity associated with gas exchange patterns in diapausing Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Summary: Colorado potato beetles are able to close their subelytral cavity tightly and it then serves as a water-saving device.
Crouching to fit in: the energetic cost of locomotion in tunnels
Summary: The energetic cost of locomotion in a simulated tunnel exceeds that of overground locomotion in two semi-fossorial mammal species (ferrets and degus).
Intracellular regulation of the insect chemoreceptor complex impacts odour localization in flying insects
Summary: The unique signal transduction of the OR complex contributes to insects’ sensitive and efficient olfactory capabilities, supporting the hypothesis that insects evolved a unique chemoreceptor family to accommodate the high-speed demands of flight.
A social mechanism facilitates ant colony emigrations over different distances
Summary: Within social systems, there are often ‘key’ individuals that are disproportionately active in various tasks; however, the contribution of such individuals may be far from decisive.
Coming up for air: thermal dependence of dive behaviours and metabolism in sea snakes
Summary: Interactions between the thermal environment, body activity and bimodal respiration show that with rising water temperatures, sea snakes may become more susceptible to fishing-related mortality through reduced apnoeic capacity.
Nitric oxide inhibition of NaCl secretion in the opercular epithelium of seawater-acclimated killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus
Summary: Nitric oxide contributes to the regulation of ion transport in fish predominantly through the sGC/cGMP pathway and S-nitrosation of transport proteins may be an additional mechanism.
The answer is blowing in the wind: free-flying honeybees can integrate visual and mechano-sensory inputs for making complex foraging decisions
Summary: In complex environments, free-flying honeybees are able to integrate both visual and wind-induced mechano-sensory cues to make decisions in a way that is suggestive of integrative processing by the brain.
Cutaneous water collection by a moisture-harvesting lizard, the thorny devil (Moloch horridus)
Highlighted Article: Desert lizards such as thorny devils harvest moisture from different sources using their skin surface. Moist sand seems to be the most routine water source to meet their water demand.
Assessing hydrodynamic space use of brown trout, Salmo trutta, in a complex flow environment: a return to first principles
Summary: New techniques are used to experimentally demonstrate that energy conservation strategies play a key role in brown trout space use.
Harnessing physiological research for smarter environmental policy

In their Perspective, Alexia Dubuc and colleagues discuss strategies to strengthen collaboration, communication and engagement between physiological researchers and environmental policy makers to ensure that conservation strategies address the threats posed by climate change.
JEB grants to support junior faculty

Learn about the grants that we launched in 2023 to support junior faculty from two of our awardees: Erin Leonard, Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Visiting Fellowship recipient, and Pauline Fleischmann, Research Partnership Kickstart Travel Grant recipient. The next deadline to apply is 28 November 2025.
Early testing could make risky falls a thing of the past for elderly people

Falls cost healthcare systems billions each year, but there may be a solution. Jiaen Wu and colleagues of Stanford University, USA, suggest that measuring the way someone walks before they get old might let doctors know who is at risk for a potentially life-threatening fall in the future.
Meet the JEB team at SEB in Antwerp

JEB is proud to be sponsoring the annual meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology, taking place on 8-11 July in Antwerp, Belgium. Come and introduce yourself at our exhibition stands, at booths 3 and 4 throughout the meeting. Editors Craig Franklin, Katie Gilmour and Sanjay Sane, and Features and Reviews Editor Jarren Kay will be also available for questions at our ‘Meet the Editors’ session from 13:00 – 14:00 in Marble Hall on 8 July, where you can find out about the journal and pick up our exclusive 2025 T-shirt.
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.