Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Close-up of Galaxea fascicularis, a reef-building coral. Many corals have formed a mutualistic symbiosis with dinoflagellates known as zooxanthellae, which feed their host through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis in zooxanthellate corals is enhanced by water flow, probably through stimulated gas exchange between coral tissue and the surrounding seawater. A new study by Osinga et al. (pp. 2236–2242) reveals that water flow enhances photosynthesis in G. fascicularis via increased CO2 uptake rather than through an increased efflux of oxygen. They also found that light capture by G. fascicularis is amongst the most efficient ever reported for corals. Photo credit: Tim Wijgerde.
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INSIDE JEB
EDITORIAL
CONVERSATION
REVIEW
Acid–base physiology, neurobiology and behaviour in relation to CO2-induced ocean acidification
Summary: This article reviews basic acid–base regulatory and neurobiology mechanisms relevant for behavioural alteration in fish exposed to CO2-induced seawater acidification, and identifies areas for future research.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Cognitive specialization for learning faces is associated with shifts in the brain transcriptome of a social wasp
Highlighted Article: Comparative brain transcriptomics of Polistes paper wasps identifies molecular mechanisms associated with individual facial recognition, which function in neural signaling and signal transduction.
Visual acuity and signal color pattern in an Anolis lizard
Summary: Anoline lizards communicate with a colorfully patterned throat fan (the dewlap). Limited visual resolution makes fine details of the dewlap pattern visible to conspecifics only from a very short viewing distance.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Hotter nests produce hatchling lizards with lower thermal tolerance
Highlighted Article: Gecko embryos that experience high temperatures during incubation produce hatchlings with lower thermal tolerance, suggesting that lizards may have limited capacity to adapt to higher nest temperatures.
Dehydration enhances multiple physiological defense mechanisms in a desert lizard, Heloderma suspectum
Summary: Dehydration in Gila monsters did not elevate initial corticosterone, but increased innate immunity and stress reactivity, showing that dehydration may not elicit a hormonal stress response, but enhances physiological defense mechanisms.
Sticklebacks adapted to divergent osmotic environments show differences in plasticity for kidney morphology and candidate gene expression
Summary: Both plasticity and genetic variation in kidney morphology and candidate gene expression have likely facilitated adaptation to permanent low-salinity residency in threespine stickleback populations from the Baltic Sea.
Effect of temperature and food restriction on immune function in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis)
Summary: Cold stress and food restriction have different effects on innate, cellular and humoral immunity in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis).
Raccoon dog model shows preservation of bone during prolonged catabolism and reduced physical activity
Summary: The raccoon dog is a promising model of osteoporosis prevention similar to bears; despite profound catabolism and relative immobility, it does not lose bone density or strength.
Wings as impellers: honey bees co-opt flight system to induce nest ventilation and disperse pheromones
Summary: Honey bees employ unique flapping kinematics to use their wings as impellers for ventilatory fanning and dispersing pheromone signals.
Ovarian fluid impacts flagellar beating and biomechanical metrics of sperm between alternative reproductive tactics
Highlighted Article: In Chinook salmon, sperm biomechanics may be driving divergence in competitive reproductive success between alternative reproductive tactics.
Cross-modal influence of mechanosensory input on gaze responses to visual motion in Drosophila
Summary: Halteres, specialized fly mechanosensory organs for detecting body rotations, influence visually guided head movements even when flies are flying straight. Removing halteres decreases head movement responses to fast-moving visual stimuli.
Costs of immunity and their role in the range expansion of the house sparrow in Kenya
Summary: Costs of inflammation, partly mediated by Toll-like receptor expression, are related to range expansion in house sparrows invading Kenya.
Interactive effects of oxygen, carbon dioxide and flow on photosynthesis and respiration in the scleractinian coral Galaxea fascicularis
Summary: A multifactorial experiment reveals no effect of oxygen on coral photosynthesis and an increase in coral photosynthesis under high flow and a doubled concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide.
Nanofibre production in spiders without electric charge
Summary: Although it has been hypothesized that nanofibre production in cribellate spiders involves an electrostatic charging of fibres, we refute this hypothesis, proving that spiders use no charge at all.
Hunting with sticky tape: functional shift in silk glands of araneophagous ground spiders (Gnaphosidae)
Editors’ Choice: Gnaphosid spiders utilize sticky, extensible piriform silk to subdue hazardous prey. This derived use of attachment silk comes with strong modifications of the spinning apparatus and reduces the ability to attach structural silk threads.
Nutrient intake determines post-maturity molting in the golden orb-web spider Nephila pilipes (Araneae: Araneidae)
Summary: Nutrition determines post-maturity molting (PMM) in the orb-web spider Nephila pilipes, suggesting PMM may have evolved as an adaptation to diverse foraging conditions during range expansion.
Functional diversity of the lateral line system among populations of a native Australian freshwater fish
Summary: Animals are uniquely adapted to sense their environment. Populations of western rainbowfish exhibit habitat-specific specializations of the lateral line system that are likely linked with the animals’ behavioural needs.
Sustained energy intake in lactating Swiss mice: a dual modulation process
Summary: Sustained energy intake in lactating Swiss mice is modulated by both litter size and temperature.
When less means more: dehydration improves innate immunity in rattlesnakes
Summary: Results from laboratory and field studies indicate that dehydration enhances aspects of innate immune function in rattlesnakes.
New funding schemes for junior faculty staff
In celebration of our 100th anniversary, JEB has launched two new grants to support junior faculty staff working in animal comparative physiology and biomechanics who are within five years of setting up their first lab/research group. Check out our ECR Visiting Fellowships and Research Partnership Kickstart Travel Grants.
JEB@100: an interview with Monitoring Editor Stuart Egginton
Stuart Egginton reveals how he overcame the challenges of being a comparative physiologist in a medical school and how he would tell his younger self to trust his instincts when pursuing new ideas.
Travelling Fellowships from JEB
Our Travelling Fellowships offer up to £3,000 to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. Next deadline to apply is 27 October 2023
Feedforward and feedback control in the neuromechanics
Auke J. Ijspeert and Monica A. Daley provide an overview of key knowledge gained from comparative vertebrate experiments and insights obtained from neuromechanical simulations and robotic approaches. Read the full Centenary Review Article here.
Light fine-tunes electric fish pulses to keep them in the shade
Weakly electric fish perceive their surroundings through electric chirrups and now Ana Camargo & colleagues have revealed that light fine-tunes the fish's electric pulses to ensure that they remain scheduled beneath the mats of vegetation they use for shelter, avoiding penetrating beams of light that could give them away.
