Issues

Highlighted Article: D2 dopamine receptors induce partner song preference in monogamous female zebra finches, indicating conserved evolutionary mechanisms underlying pair-bond formation.

Summary: We propose that in invertebrates, juvenile hormone is a molecular mediator of the relationship between oxidative stress status and secondary sexual characteristics.

Summary: Spontaneous alignment with the magnetic field in resting migratory songbirds revealed by computer vision suggests behaviour associated with magnetic field perception and compass calibration.

Summary: The quality of surface electromyography recordings can be automatically classified with an accuracy of 99.55% by a deep neural network (AlexNet).

Summary: Evaluation of how lung function and end-expiratory gas concentration change during recovery following a static breath-hold in dolphins.

Summary: In Boa constrictor, orthostatic tachycardia (of adrenergic/cholinergic origin) prevents excessive arterial pressure reduction at the beginning of body inclinations, and vasomotor adjustments (of adrenergic origin) restore arterial pressure during long-term inclinations.

Summary: Single-cell transcript quantification with cellular spatial resolution reveals the genetic basis of an evolutionarily young transition in pigmentation patterns in crows.

Summary: Prolonged anoxic exposure causes gradual disruption of ATP, ion, water and pH homeostasis, each of which can induce considerable cellular damage in Locusta migratoria.

Summary: Acute temperature stress assays reveal population-level differences in metabolic rate of the temperate coral Astrangia poculata, providing evidence of adaptation to the corals' natal thermal environments.

Summary: In accelerated sprint running over 50 m, work done at every step mainly consists of that during the propulsive phase in the horizontal anterior–posterior direction.

Summary: Qualitative changes in gene expression, such as those mediated by alternative splicing of mRNAs, are involved in phenotypic plasticity in response to prolonged cold acclimation in ectothermic animals.

Summary: A new hemodynamic model may clarify vascular dynamics in the diving bottlenose dolphin and explain the role of the retia mirabilia for the vascular supply to the brain.

Summary: Hawaiian monk seals use biting and suction feeding, and these strategies are behaviorally and kinematically distinct. Prey size and shape affect how frequently each feeding strategy is used.

Summary: The maternal and current social environment have interacting effects on body mass of female Japanese quail, but only the current social environment affects reproductive traits and offspring mass at hatching.

Highlighted Article: Controlled exposure experiments using simulated mid-frequency sonar and pseudo-random noise revealed individual variation in behavioral responses of blue whales. Responses depended on contextual factors, including behavioral state, proximity and prey.

Highlighted Article: Temnothorax rugatulus ants can reunite their colonies after being divided, and only a small minority of worker ants participate in the reunification effort.

Summary: Migration is oxidatively challenging for birds, and in yellow-rumped warblers, the oxidative challenge is strongly related to energy expenditure during flight but not dietary long-chain PUFA.

Summary: Fruit flies raised on food enriched with one of their gut microbes change their preference for these microbes and their developmental rate depending on their specific microbe pre-exposure.

Summary: Electrical excitability of the heart in three Gadiformes species (polar cod, navaga and burbot) is resistant against acute warming, but less so against simultaneous temperature and exercise stress.

Summary: Similarity of effects of parasitic infections on muscle properties in flying insects to that of obesity in vertebrates enhances support for the concept that metabolic disease is not limited to vertebrates, and can be mediated by environmental factors.

Summary: Analyses of limb segment lengths and muscle size and architecture in Anolis lizards provides evidence for different proximate drivers of sprint speed variation in males and females.

Summary: Total energy, amplitude and phase spectra of electrosensory signals are differently encoded by two types of primary afferents, originating a multidimensional manifold for evaluating electric qualia of actively explored objects.

Summary: XROMM reveals the 3D hyoid arch motions responsible for high-performance suction feeding in bamboo sharks.

Summary: Temperature elevation increases the frequency of the heart and pyloric rhythms of the crab Cancer borealis, but the heart rhythm has a higher critical temperature than the pyloric rhythm.