Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: The sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, issues a warning to stay away by displaying its iconic blue tongue. These UV-blue reflective tongues were previously thought to be more conspicuous to predators than other blue-tongued skinks. However, this assumption was based on the visual system of other diurnal lizards. Nagloo et al. (jeb244317) show that multiple components of the visual system of blue-tongued skinks work together to make the eye more blue-sensitive. By further studying the coincidence of blue tongues and enhanced blue sensitivity in this genus, we can gain insight into the co-evolution of species-specific signals and the sensory system that detects them. Photo credit: Kylie Robert.
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INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
COMMENTARY
Understanding how variable thermal environments affect the molecular mechanisms underlying temperature-sensitive phenotypes: lessons from sex determination
Summary: This Commentary examines the numerous processes involved in producing a temperature-dependent phenotype using temperature-dependent sex determination as an example.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
Characterizing the hypoxic performance of a fish using a new metric: PAAS-50
Summary: Curvilinear modelling of the limiting effect of oxygen on peak performance of individual fish offers a robust, standardized methodology.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Enhanced short-wavelength sensitivity in the blue-tongued skink Tiliqua rugosa
Highlighted Article: Multiple facets of the visual system have adapted to provide enhanced sensitivity to short-wavelength light in the blue-tongued skink. This opens the door to studying how the blue tongue and the visual system which perceives it have co-evolved.
Puncture performance tests reveal distinct feeding modes in pinniped teeth
Summary: Distinct cheek-teeth morphologies across seven pinniped genera show significant differences in puncture performance, with corresponding differences in the force and energy required to capture prey.
Characterization, expression and function of the pyrokinins (PKs) in the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii
Summary: Identification and characterization of the MroPK gene in Macrobrachium rosenbergii reveals a change in expression levels during ovarian development, suggesting its involvement in reproductive maturation.
A comparison of thermal sensitivities of wing muscle contractile properties from a temperate and tropical bat species
Summary: The contractile properties of wing muscles in a temperate bat species have evolved a low thermal dependence similar to a tropical bat species, despite differences in each species' range of flight temperatures.
Serotonin mediates stress-like effects on responses to non-nociceptive stimuli in the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana
Summary: The role of serotonin and endocannabinoids in mediating the effects of potentially stress-inducing stimuli on Hirudo verbana’s response to nociceptive and non-nociceptive input.
Transcriptomic and functional genetic evidence for distinct ecophysiological responses across complex life cycle stages
Highlighted Article: RNAseq and gene knockdown via transgenic RNAi lines suggest that physiological responses to low temperatures are largely distinct across life stages of the fly Drosophila melanogaster
Rapid cold hardening increases axonal Na+/K+-ATPase activity and enhances performance of a visual motion detection circuit in Locusta migratoria
Summary: A short-term cold stress improves visual neural performance in locusts by increasing activity of the sodium pump in the CNS.
Royal knifefish generate powerful suction feeding through large neurocranial elevation and high epaxial muscle power
Summary: Royal knifefish rely on their distinct postcranial morphology – with a curved vertebral column and large dorsal body muscles – to produce large neurocranial elevation and powerful suction feeding.
Context-dependent effects on attack and defense behaviors in the praying mantis Tenodera sinensis
Highlighted Article: Praying mantis attack and defense behaviors are dependent on multiple factors including prior aggression, age, sex, and rearing location.
Circulating isotocin, not angiotensin II, is the major dipsogenic hormone in eels
Summary: Identification of the role of the neurohypophysial hormone isotocin in teleosts: peripheral isotocin induces copious drinking more potently and efficaciously than angiotensin II.
Honey bees can store and retrieve independent memory traces after complex experiences that combine appetitive and aversive associations
Summary: Honey bees consolidate independent appetitive and aversive memory traces after differential conditioning and express them specifically when required.
Responses of different Drosophila species to temperature changes
Summary: The ability to move and the temperature preference vary among fly species in thermotactic two-choice assays.
Behavioral and postural analyses establish sleep-like states for mosquitoes that can impact host landing and blood feeding
Highlighted Article: Sleep-like states exist in mosquitoes and may potentially influence vectorial capacity in these disease vectors.
Glucose tolerance predicts survival in old zebra finches
Summary: Glucose tolerance predicts survival probability in old zebra finches, with individuals with higher glucose tolerance showing better survival than individuals with low or intermediate glucose tolerance. In young birds, there is no association between glucose tolerance and survival.
CORRECTION
Correction: Genetic variation in haemoglobin is associated with evolved changes in breathing in high-altitude deer mice
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.
