Issues

Summary: In light of progressive impacts of climate warming on ecosystems, a physiological understanding of organismal thermal ranges, responses and tolerances is critical. The concept of oxygen- and capacity-limited thermal tolerance develops such an understanding by integrating findings from whole-animal to molecular levels.

Summary: Normal modes of honeybee wings do not match the wingbeat frequency or harmonics, suggesting that the wings act as stiff elements when flapped.

Summary: K⁺ is the major charge carrier in the vertebrate inner ear, yet marked differences exist between birds and mammals in gene expression associated with K⁺ clearance.

Highlighted Article: Coordinated movement patterns in piglets are not entirely innate; instead, rapid neuromotor maturation also takes place in these precocial animals.

Summary: The anchovy Engraulis mordax shows substantial modifications to swimming kinematics from routine behavior when ram filter feeding.

Editors' Choice: Some insects have an increased heat tolerance in winter compared with summer, which is an undocumented and paradoxical phenomenon in insects.

Summary: House sparrows quickly adjust to new diets with differing protein and carbohydrate content when they are less than a week old.

Summary: Young adult male moths oxidize greater amounts of larva-derived amino acids than females, and more nectar-derived amino acids after feeding. Under starvation conditions, adult females exhibit the opposite pattern.

Summary: Although many mechanisms can slow skeletal muscle atrophy in hibernating vertebrates, a lowered metabolic rate is sufficient to mitigate muscle atrophy in fence lizards.

Summary: A thorough assessment of metabolic rates and swimming capacity at five different acclimation temperatures, and the ecological relevance of aerobic scope models in Atlantic salmon.

Highlighted Article: In 2009, most juvenile eagles translocated from Latvia to Germany departed earlier than native juveniles and adults, and consequently failed to learn the species' traditional eastern detour around the Mediterranean.

Summary: Insulin-like growth factor signaling plays a critical role in regulating entrance into embryonic diapause and may determine many of the complex life history characteristics unique to annual killifishes.

Summary: In wrasses, jaw movements during biting are influenced by a feature on the premaxilla; labrichthyines show biting patterns distinct from those of other wrasses.

Summary: A previously unknown form of slow light adaptation, developing over time scales of weeks to months, is identified that significantly improves tolerance to bright-light exposures in the eyes of mysid crustaceans.

Summary: The locomotion performance of water striders is reduced with increasing water surface roughness, particularly for younger age classes.

Highlighted Article: Echolocating bats move their noseleaf (for sound emission) and their ears for fast and directed echo-acoustic exploration of their surroundings.

Summary: A physiological mechanism decreasing the sensitivity to dietary cysteine is intrinsic to low-quality male house sparrows and prevents them from developing large bibs indicative of high quality.

Summary: Shrews fuel their metabolism rapidly from ingested food and have such a high body fat turnover that they would starve within 4.2 h in winter without food.