Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Octopuses are notorious for their complex cognitive abilities, yet little is known about the breadth of their capacities. Poncet et al. (jeb244234) tested common octopuses in an episodic-like memory task, where they had to remember what prey they ate, where and how long ago. Whereas cuttlefish were previously shown to use episodic-like memory to solve the task, octopuses relied on simpler individual strategies instead. The octopuses' performances suggest they might not need to optimize their foraging as much as cuttlefish do, as they may possess different means to handle their environmental constraints. Photo credit: Lisa Poncet.
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CONVERSATION
REVIEW
Finding the right thermal limit: a framework to reconcile ecological, physiological and methodological aspects of CTmax in ectotherms
Summary: Presentation of a framework to reconcile methodological measurements and mechanisms related to the physiology of heat stress tolerance limits, thermal injury and repair in ectotherms.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Mouthpart adaptations of antlion larvae facilitate prey handling and fluid feeding in sandy habitats
Highlighted Article: Feeding experiments with larvae of the antlion Myrmeleon crudelis combined with studies of mechanical properties and wettability reveal that antlions have mouthparts with a structural organization and wetting dichotomy that simultaneously support fluid-feeding and self-cleaning abilities.
A magnetic pulse does not affect free-flight navigation behaviour of a medium-distance songbird migrant in spring
Summary: Magnetic pulse pre-treatment disturbed geomagnetic navigation in caged birds. However, our free-flying songbirds show no effect, questioning the effect of the pulse on or usage of geomagnetic maps.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
HeartCV: a tool for transferrable, automated measurement of heart rate and heart rate variability in transparent animals
Summary: HeartCV is an open-source Python package that can automatically measure cardiac rhythm traits in a wide range of species, life history stages and experimental designs.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The effects of physical and temporal certainty on human locomotion with discrete underfoot perturbations
Highlighted Article: Temporal certainty of upcoming underfoot perturbations shows little influence on anticipatory or reactive locomotor behavior. Physical certainty allows individuals to respond to perturbations more effectively than when perturbations are uncertain.
Positive feedback promotes terrestrial emergence behaviour in an amphibious fish
Highlighted Article: When an amphibious fish leaves the water, it becomes more difficult for it to return owing to plastic changes in physiology.
Temperature independence of haemoglobin–oxygen affinity in smalleye Pacific opah (Lampris incognitus) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius)
Highlighted Article: Smalleye Pacific opah haemoglobin–O2 affinity is temperature independent, while the temperature dependence of swordfish haemoglobin–O2 affinity is pH dependent and becomes temperature independent at low pH.
Symbiosis induces unique volatile profiles in the model cnidarian Aiptasia
Summary: The volatilome of Aiptasia shows that symbiosis affects the diversity of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) produced in this model system.
Unruly octopuses are the rule: Octopus vulgaris use multiple and individually variable strategies in an episodic-like memory task
Summary: When trained in an episodic-like memory task, common octopuses favour individual foraging strategies rather than keeping track of time to solve the task as cuttlefish do.
Fast-growing growth hormone transgenic coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) show a lower incidence of vaterite deposition and malformations in sagittal otoliths
Summary: Coho salmon transgenic for growth hormone have lower laterite incidence and malformations.
Energetics, but not development, is impacted in coral embryos exposed to ocean acidification
Summary: The developmental time series of rice coral, Montipora capitata, under ocean acidification shows that while embryos are robust to low pH, the energetic cost may have negative carryover effects on swimming larvae.
A desert bee thermoregulates with an abdominal convector during flight
Summary: Evidence that a desert pollinator, Centris caesalpiniae, regulates body temperature with an abdominal convector while flying.
Muscle preactivation and the limits of muscle power output during jumping in the Cuban tree frog Osteopilus septentrionalis
Summary: The duration of muscle activation in Cuban tree frogs reveals the limits of muscle power output during jumping.
The effects of training, acute exercise and dietary fatty acid composition on muscle lipid oxidative capacity in European starlings
Summary: Starlings increase fatty acid transporters in their flight muscles in response to acute exercise but not after long-term training, whereas citrate synthase increased with acute exercise only.
The influence of substrate size upon pulling and gripping forces in parrots (Psittaciformes: Agapornis roseicollis)
Summary: Parrots are capable of powerful grasps across a range of substrate sizes, but their strongest grips occur at diameters that align with free-ranging perch size preferences.
Reflections on a year of supporting and promoting our early-career researchers

In this Editorial, editors Patricia Wright, Michaela Handel and Craig Franklin reflect on what JEB has done over the last year to support and promote the future of comparative physiology and biomechanics – our inspiring early-career researchers – through workshops, grants, special issues and award sponsorship.
Thanking our reviewers in 2024
A big thank you to everyone who reviewed for JEB in 2024.
Ecophysiological responses to heat waves in the marine intertidal zone

Heat waves are intensifying with climate change and intertidal zones are the only ecosystem to experience both atmospheric and marine heat waves. In this Review, Jonathon Stillman and colleagues highlight the physiological impacts of heat waves on intertidal organisms, including effects on mortality, plasticity and adaptation.
Snakes require super-stretchy neck skin to consume massive mouthfuls

Some snakes are capable of gulping down meals that are far larger than their heads in a single mouthful and now Jarrod Petersen, Lucy Campbell and Thomas Roberts show that super-stretchy neck skin is likely one of the key factors that allowed boa constrictors and egg-eating snakes to evolve this extraordinary feat.
Sensory perception in a changing world – join us in Liverpool in March 2025

We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and the SEB satellite meeting. Find out more and register to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK. Register by 28 February 2025.
About us

JEB’s publisher, The Company of Biologists, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Learn more about its history from some of the Company’s Directors, including JEB Editorial Board member Holly Shiels, and read what Sarah Bray, the Chair of the Board, has to say.