Issues

Summary: We explore how aquatic animals living in highly fluctuating environments such as ponds, estuaries and intertidal zones use strategies, including phenotypic plasticity, to modify their physiology and behaviour, thus maintaining homeostasis in challenging physical conditions.

Summary: Heart rate reduction in loggerhead sea turtles during diving is mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system.

Summary: Evaluation of DeepLabCut, a markerless pose estimation tool, compared with marker-based 3D X-ray radiography (XROMM), by processing marker trajectories using Anipose and characterizing the effect of parameter choices on accuracy.

Summary: Description of a coulometric respirometer constructed from common inexpensive components that is capable of measuring oxygen consumption of small animals such as insects.

Summary: Clingfish and synthetic suction cups adhere better on stiffer substrates than more compliant ones. Stiff cups can adhere to compliant rough surfaces, when they normally fail on hard rough ones.

Summary: Atypically fast beaked whale in a speciose genus of physically similar whales reveals foraging and energetic niche differentiation in the deep sea.

Summary: Rodents produce vocal communication signals by two distinct laryngeal sound production mechanisms; both modes of sound production are more widespread among rodents than previously appreciated.

Summary: Individuals facing stressful situations have been categorized into proactive and reactive copers. In free-living great tits, coping style correlates with gene SERT SNP290 polymorphisms.

Summary: Differing optimal stimulation frequencies are needed to evoke maximal muscular force and power, and to replicate a typical in vivo fatigue response in isolated fast twitch muscle.

Summary: Analysis of backward versus forward locomotion in decerebrated cats reveals differences in functional features of neuronal networks controlling these two locomotor modes.

Summary: Mitochondrial aerobic metabolism is influenced by prenatal glucocorticoid exposure in a wild passerine bird species, with no evident consequences for growth rate or survival.

Summary: Commonly used indices of cardiac thermal performance (critical and flatline temperature) may not accurately estimate acclimation-induced changes in mussel thermal tolerance or reliably predict survival in the field.

Summary: Pacific staghorn sculpin exposed to double stimulation from opposite sides at different time intervals, simulating coordinated predatory attacks, escape from the first stimulus but cannot turn away from the second while the escape response is in progress.

Summary: High-fat diet consumption does not influence regional thermal sensitivity but does elicit temperature-specific effects on skeletal muscle contractile function.

Summary: A reduced diet quality in the zebra finch shortens the sperm midpiece but other sperm traits are unaffected.

Summary: Activity of the catabolic enzymes FAAH and MAGL of the endocannabinoid system are critical for functional sensorimotor development in zebrafish.

Highlighted Article: Ocean acidification does not affect routine and standard metabolic rate or growth of European sea bass, whereas ocean warming increases these traits; the combination of acidification and warming decreases larval size at metamorphosis.