Issues

Summary: This Commentary examines the numerous processes involved in producing a temperature-dependent phenotype using temperature-dependent sex determination as an example.

Summary: Curvilinear modelling of the limiting effect of oxygen on peak performance of individual fish offers a robust, standardized methodology.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Summary: A short-term cold stress improves visual neural performance in locusts by increasing activity of the sodium pump in the CNS.

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.

Highlighted Article: Praying mantis attack and defense behaviors are dependent on multiple factors including prior aggression, age, sex, and rearing location.

Summary: Identification of the role of the neurohypophysial hormone isotocin in teleosts: peripheral isotocin induces copious drinking more potently and efficaciously than angiotensin II.

Summary: Honey bees consolidate independent appetitive and aversive memory traces after differential conditioning and express them specifically when required.

Summary: The ability to move and the temperature preference vary among fly species in thermotactic two-choice assays.

Highlighted Article: Sleep-like states exist in mosquitoes and may potentially influence vectorial capacity in these disease vectors.

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.