Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Several groups of nocturnal insects have independently evolved ultrasound hearing so that they can detect echolocation calls of approaching bats and evade capture. Amongst the many neuropteran insects, only certain green lacewings (Chrysopidae) were known to share this ability. Holderied et al. (jeb189308) have investigated several members of the large neuropteran family of antlions (Myrmeleontidae; ~2000 species) and discovered that they all respond to ultrasound with similar evasive flight responses. Antlions, however, lack the ear of green lacewings. Where could the unknown antlion ear be located on this microCT false colour image of an adult antlion (Creoleon irroratus)? Photo credit: Marc Holderied.
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COMMENTARY
Deciphering V̇O2,max: limits of the genetic approach
Summary: V̇O2,max, as a multigenetic phenotype, appears as an emergent property of the underlying transcriptomic networks inaccessible to being deciphered by gene-based approaches alone.
REVIEW
Can variation among hypoxic environments explain why different fish species use different hypoxic survival strategies?
Summary: Aquatic hypoxic environments with similar oxygen and time duration dynamics appear to select for similar total hypoxic responses in distantly related species.
SHORT COMMUNICATION
An exercise-induced improvement in isolated skeletal muscle contractility does not affect the performance-enhancing benefit of 70 µmol l−1 caffeine treatment
Summary: The performance-enhancing effect of caffeine is not improved following exercise training as shown by assessing the effects of 70 µmol l−1 caffeine on muscle isolated from trained and untrained mice.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Neuromechanical coupling within the human triceps surae and its consequence on individual force-sharing strategies
Summary: The greater the force-generating capacity of the medial compared with the lateral gastrocnemius, the stronger the bias of activation to the medial gastrocnemius. This coupling leads to a force imbalance between synergist muscles, the magnitude of which varies greatly between individuals.
Effects of temperature on survival, moulting, and expression of neuropeptide and mTOR signalling genes in juvenile Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister)
Summary: mTOR signalling is a target of moult- and temperature-dependent effects in the eyestalk ganglia and Y-organ of Metacarcinus magister. The heart shows limited warm compensation, which may contribute to mortality at high temperatures.
Effects of both cold and heat stress on the liver of the giant spiny frog (Quasipaa spinosa): stress response and histological changes
Summary: Physiological, biochemical and molecular responses to cold and heat stresses on the liver of the giant spiny frog Quasipaa spinosa.
Taurine activates glycine and GABAA receptor currents in anoxia-tolerant painted turtle pyramidal neurons
Summary: Taurine increases naturally in anoxic painted turtle brain and can activate both GABA and glycine receptors, which probably contributes to the mechanism of anoxia tolerance.
Electrical interactions between photoreceptors in the compound eye of Periplaneta americana
Summary: In the compound eye of the American cockroach, complex electrical interactions take place between green- and UV-sensitive photoreceptors in each ommatidium.
Insect fat body cell morphology and response to cold stress is modulated by acclimation
Highlighted Article: Freezing disrupts fat body cytoskeletal and lipid droplet structure, and acclimation lowers the temperature of this disruption. Survival may relate to cytoskeletal repair but not to lipid droplet morphology.
Limits to sustained energy intake. XXIX. The case of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)
Summary: Raising offspring in golden hamsters comes at the cost of producing large amounts of body heat up to a level constraining energy intake.
Controlled feeding experiments with diets of different abrasiveness reveal slow development of mesowear signal in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus)
Summary: A controlled feeding experiment in goats shows that the mesowear signal represents a stable dietary period longer than 6 months.
Aerobic capacities and swimming performance of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) under ocean acidification and warming conditions
Summary: Polar cod is a key species in the Arctic ecosystem; its swimming capacity decreases under future water conditions, likely reducing its survival.
Optomotor steering and flight control requires a specific sub-section of the compound eye in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta
Summary: The dorso-lateral quadrant of the Manduca sexta eye is required for optomotor responses and the dorsal half of the compound eye is necessary for free-flight behavior.
How temperature influences the viscosity of hornworm hemolymph
Summary: The first quantification of insect hemolymph viscosity indicates that it shows a strong dependence on temperature at low values only (≤15°C).
Aquatic versus terrestrial crab skeletal support: morphology, mechanics, molting and scaling
Summary: Aquatic and terrestrial crabs experience different mechanical challenges that have little impact on their rigid skeleton but significant consequences for their hydrostatic skeleton that may constrain terrestrial crab size.
Physiological responses of ionotropic histamine receptors, PxHCLA and PxHCLB, to neurotransmitter candidates in a butterfly, Papilio xuthus
Summary: Identification and characterization of two histamine-gated chloride channels in the visual system of Papilio; both channels respond to histamine as well as to GABA.
Head width influences flow sensing by the lateral line canal system in fishes
Summary: Fish head width, which varies widely across species, influences how the lateral line canal system can sense both steady and vortical flows.
No short-term physiological costs of offspring care in a cooperatively breeding bird
Summary: Superb starling parental and alloparental care does not result in a short-term physiological cost. Instead, glucocorticoid hormones during incubation shape investment in offspring care behaviours.
Comparing the impacts of macronutrients on life-history traits in larval and adult Drosophila melanogaster: the use of nutritional geometry and chemically defined diets
Summary: Nutritional optima diverge among various life-history traits expressed at larval and adult stages in fruit flies, providing evidence for nutrient-mediated life-history trade-offs.
Ultrasound avoidance by flying antlions (Myrmeleontidae)
Highlighted Article: Characterisation of hitherto unknown phonotactic responses of antlions to pulsed ultrasound, including behavioural threshold curves and a quantitative evaluation of their effectiveness as a defence against echolocating bats.
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.