Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: A juvenile king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) at its first departure to sea. After achieving their first waterproof plumage, when ~1 year old, these birds disperse at sea for an extended period (1–3 years) before returning to the colony to breed. Enstipp et al. (pp. 2666–2678) used subcutaneously implanted biologgers to record pressure and peripheral temperature in juvenile king penguins during this dispersal phase. They found important changes in the development of peripheral temperature patterns during foraging throughout the penguins' first year at sea, most likely reflecting changes in body insulation that suggest a strong energetic challenge during their early oceanic existence. Photo credit: Florian Orgeret.
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INSIDE JEB
CONVERSATION
CLASSICS
COMMENTARY
Integrative physiology of transcellular and paracellular intestinal absorption
Summary: Discussion of advances, controversies and research ideas regarding transcellular versus paracellular intestinal absorption of sugar and amino acids and the integration of discrete molecular players and processes in relation to metabolic demands.
REVIEW
Stereopsis in animals: evolution, function and mechanisms
Summary: Stereopsis has evolved independently in different animals. We review the various functions it serves and the variety of mechanisms that could underlie stereopsis in different species.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Sperm in hot water: direct and indirect thermal challenges interact to impact on brown trout sperm quality
Summary: Cold-acclimated brown trout males have higher sperm quality than warm-acclimated ones, but this quality is compromised when sperm are released into warm water.
A disparity between locomotor economy and territory-holding ability in male house mice
Summary: Male house mice that control exclusive polygynous territories are less economical runners compared with non-territory-holding males.
Hormonal responsiveness to stress is negatively associated with vulnerability to angling capture in fish
Highlighted Article: Fish showing lower hormonal stress responsiveness are more likely to be captured, indicating that stress physiology may be a trait under selection as a result of selective capture.
Rates of hypoxia induction alter mechanisms of O2 uptake and the critical O2 tension of goldfish
Summary: Compared with typical rates of hypoxia induction used in closed-respirometry Pcrit experiments, gradual rates significantly lower the Pcrit of goldfish by increasing gill surface area and Hb–O2 binding affinity.
Bigger is not better: cortisol-induced cardiac growth and dysfunction in salmonids
Summary: Demonstration of corticosteroid-induced heart disease in fish, showing that the molecular basis of heart disease is conserved from fish to mammals.
Hindlimb muscle function in turtles: is novel skeletal design correlated with novel muscle function?
Summary: Novel muscle arrangements and leverage patterns associated with derived fusion of the pelvis to the shell in pleurodire turtles are associated with several novel muscle activity patterns in this lineage.
Ceramide counteracts the effects of ghrelin on the metabolic control of food intake in rainbow trout
Summary: The effects of ghrelin on metabolic control of food intake in rainbow trout are counteracted by ceramide.
Oxidative stress affects sperm performance and ejaculate redox status in subordinate house sparrows
Summary: Oxidative stress affects sperm velocity of low-ranked house sparrows.
Embryonic hypoxia programmes postprandial cardiovascular function in adult common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina)
Summary: During embryonic development in underground nests, reptiles routinely experience hypoxia, which programmes cardiovascular physiology into adulthood, dictating convective transport during periods of elevated oxygen demand.
Physiological responses to short-term thermal stress in mayfly (Neocloeon triangulifer) larvae in relation to upper thermal limits
Highlighted Article: Respirometry and gene expression experiments suggest that oxygen limitation may not dictate the chronic upper thermal limits of the mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer.
Sources of variance in immunological traits: evidence of congruent latitudinal trends across species
Summary: Geographic variability of immune responses in moths is species specific and suggests trade-offs with life-history traits.
The planarian TRPA1 homolog mediates extraocular behavioral responses to near-ultraviolet light
Summary: Planarians use a non-traditional TRPA1-mediated mechanism for extraocular photoresponses to near-UV light, a response previously identified only in Drosophila.
Early life experience drives short-term acclimation of metabolic and osmoregulatory traits in the leaf-eared mouse
Summary: Early life experience drives the magnitude and direction of physiological acclimation. In the leaf-eared mouse, short-term acclimation of metabolic and osmoregulatory traits is dependent on ontogeny.
Cranking up the heat: relationships between energetically costly song features and the increase in thorax temperature in male crickets and katydids
Summary: A comparative analysis assessing the physiological costs insects incur by singing as an aspect of a trade-off that influences an individual's fitness and life history.
Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) stimulates collagen synthesis in cultured rainbow trout cardiac fibroblasts
Summary: TGF-β1 causes cultured trout cardiac fibroblasts to increase collagen synthesis, suggesting that this cytokine may play a role in regulating the collagen content of the trout heart during thermal acclimation.
Amazon river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) modify biosonar output level and directivity during prey interception in the wild
Summary: Wild Amazon river dolphins increase biosonar beamwidth and decrease source level during prey approach while click rates transition into a buzz phase at the time of prey capture.
Apparent changes in body insulation of juvenile king penguins suggest an energetic challenge during their early life at sea
Summary: Important changes in peripheral temperature patterns during foraging occur in juvenile king penguins throughout their first year at sea, probably reflecting changes in body insulation that suggest an energetic challenge.
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 of vertebrate locomotion

Auke J. Ijspeert and Monica A. Daley provide an overview of key knowledge on feedback and feedforward control gained from comparative vertebrate experiments 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.