Issues

Summary: Insects display an astonishing diversity of respiratory patterns that have so far eluded unifying explanations. Here, we discuss possible reasons thereof and potential paths forward to resolving this.

Summary: Immune investment shapes energy budgeting and survival upon infection in overwintering ectotherms, but can we predict how changing winters will modify immunity and its role in winter survival?

Summary: We review how obesity affects skeletal muscle function, thereby reducing mobility and quality of life and exacerbating the ageing process.

Summary: The paper summarizes our current knowledge on hypoxia inducible transcription factors in fish and discusses the interconnection of the Hif signalling pathway with the circadian clock.

Summary: Hermit crabs prefer shells that are matched to the brightness of their background but make a trade-off between the benefits of camouflaged shells and the danger associated with switching shells.

Highlighted Article: Little auks use suction feeding when catching copepods to meet their high daily energy requirements and this may facilitate a higher resilience to the consequences of arctic climate change.

Summary: Simulated maximized work loops closely predict experimental joint power during maximal voluntary cycling, demonstrating that, like birds and fish, humans are capable of maximizing muscle power.

Summary: Electrical stimulation of the saphenous nerve during locomotion elicits phase-dependent stumbling corrective reaction (SCR) by activating distal flexor muscles similar to mechanically induced SCR.

Summary: Carrying amounts of exogenous pheromone can induce pheromone production in the carrier, resulting in the production of false queens within experimental groups.

Summary: The effect of wing plasticity to developmental temperature on flight was studied in Drosophila suzukii. Results indicate that cold-reared flies are capable of faster flight. The role of wing shape and size is discussed, along with the adaptive role of phenotypic plasticity.

Summary: A pair of large Mauthner cells with striking morphological similarity to those of goldfish is present in the fast-start system of archerfish, a fish capable of precisely tuned high-performance C-starts.

Summary: The archerfish Mauthner neuron does not differ from that of goldfish in any hallmark physiological properties, a finding that questions current views on the role of these giant reticulospinal cells.

Summary: The voluntary dive response in pinnipeds is driven primarily by apnea and intensified by increased facial immersion and decreased water temperature.

Summary: Active dives of juvenile loggerhead turtles in the western North Pacific during the winter period are driven by a high resting metabolic rate.

Highlighted Article: Anti-inflammatory properties in the serum of seals could protect these deep divers from negative downstream effects of lung collapse and bubble formation.

Summary: A complementary mechanism of relative foot positioning and mediolateral foot roll-off adapts to continuously imposed gait asymmetry to maintain dynamic balance in human bipedal gait.

Summary: Gene expression during diapause development in Megachile rotundata is impacted by environmental history and is highly variable between individual overwintering prepupae.

Summary: Growth hormone transgenesis in coho salmon alters the immune response of skeletal muscle, leading to a disruption in normal cross-talk between the growth and immune systems.

Summary: Impacts of ocean acidification on eggs and sperm of two sea urchin congeners differ, pointing to the advantage conveyed by evolution of large eggs.

Summary: The avian yolk bears the burden of an elevated oxidative challenge, without the embryo having to compromise its endogenous antioxidant supply or suffer oxidative damage itself.

Summary: Changes in neural activity controlling proleg retraction do not explain the robustness of grip release under different loads. Instead, release is also mechanically coupled to body movements.

Summary: Individual scouts of a termite-hunting ant species are capable of walking the fastest path to a food source rather than the shortest.

Highlighted Article: The avian ectoparasitic fly Crataerina pallida (Diptera, Hippoboscidae) can stay attached to its flying host, the common swift, by using a strongly modified tarsal attachment system, which provides exceptionally high attachment forces on various surfaces.