Issues

Summary: Invertebrates are critically important for studying the conserved molecular and neuronal mechanisms of neuroplasticity and for elucidating the effect of stress, drugs and bioactive compounds (e.g. flavonoids) on learning and memory.

Summary: The surface temperature of the highly mechanosensitive nasal rays of the star-nosed mole conform closely with ambient temperature, thereby minimizing heat loss without apparent changes in sensory performance.

Highlighted Article: Diets higher in carbohydrate:protein content increase lipid stores and flight durations in locusts, but flights are terminated before lipid depletion.

Summary: Wasp venom has a direct effect on brain activity and associated changes in descending activity and motor output that are likely to account for the hypokinetic state observed in envenomated cockroaches.

Summary: Trehalose-supplemented Ocymyrmex robustior workers display a higher heat tolerance by decreasing stress-induced protein aggregates. This highlights the importance of metabolites in the heat shock response of thermophilic organisms.

Summary: Effects of muscle stiffness, activation and length perturbations on force support the hypothesis that force under dynamic conditions can be accurately predicted as the response of a history-dependent viscoelastic material to length perturbations.

Summary: High mortality rates of brittle stars during a simulated winter heatwave indicate that increased respiration and arm regeneration rates incur additional costs that may negatively impact survivorship.

Summary: Thermal imaging reveals that two environmental factors – acute stress and diet – influence thermoregulatory performance of a known thermal window, the avian bill.

Summary: Taste specializations in the specialist Drosophila sechellia include a lineage-specific reduced sensitivity to bitter compounds associated with the loss of gustatory receptors, and increased appetite for host fatty acids.

Summary: Stonefly nymphs stressed by higher temperatures and lower oxygen availability often relocate to areas of higher flow. This behavior likely increases the ratio of oxygen supply to demand.

Summary: The specific adhesive microstructures of three phasmid species are capable of water displacement during attachment to different extents; attachment is sufficient on wet substrates but is strongly reduced.

Summary: Cytochrome c1-like is important for Drosophila male fertility, affecting mitochondrial morphology and the process of sperm individualization during spermatid elongation.

Highlighted Article: Evaporative cooling via panting is an important mechanism of thermoregulation for lizards, which varies significantly among species that have different ecologies.