Issues
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SHORT COMMUNICATION
Directional web strikes are performed by ray spiders in response to airborne prey vibrations
Highlighted Article: Ray spiders use airborne cues for web attacks, unveiling novel insights into the ability of web-building spiders to locate and capture prey.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The avian vocal system: 3D reconstruction reveals upper vocal tract elongation during head motion
Summary: Tracheal elongation in birds was found to vary between species and is not necessarily homogeneous; this significantly influences vocalization, providing new insights into the complexity of avian communication mechanisms.
Swimming kinematics of rainbow trout behind a 3×5 cylinder array: a computationally driven experimental approach to understanding fish locomotion
Summary: The swimming kinematics of rainbow trout are largely preserved across two, 3×5 cylinder array treatments that differ in vortex periodicity and turbulent kinetic energy.
Innovative use of depth data to estimate energy intake and expenditure in Adélie penguins
Summary: Using machine learning, we estimated energy expenditure and feeding activity of free-ranging Adélie penguins from depth data recorded with biologging devices.
Gut microbiota are involved in leptin-induced thermoregulation in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)
Summary: Leptin has a stimulating effect on thermogenesis in Mongolian gerbils and gut mirobiota and TRPV2 may be involved in leptin-induced thermoregulation.
Effects of altered contractile environment on muscle shape change in the human triceps surae
Summary: Altering the mechanical behaviour of surrounding muscles has limited influence on changes in skeletal muscle shape, suggesting a complex relationship between muscle bulging and activation strategies in synergists.
Living in a multi-stressor world: nitrate pollution and thermal stress interact to affect amphibian larvae
Summary: Exposure to nitrate pollution might increase sensitivity to climate change of amphibian larvae by impairing their coping capacity through exhibiting developmental plasticity.
The dual timescales of gait adaptation: initial stability adjustments followed by subsequent energetic cost adjustments
Highlighted Article: The complex dynamics of human gait adaptation highlight rapid stability optimization and gradual adjustments in metabolic rate and step kinetics and kinematics, offering insights into energy-saving mechanisms.
Cuticular hydrocarbons promote desiccation resistance by preventing transpiration in Drosophila melanogaster
Highlighted Article: Cuticular hydrocarbons are demonstrated to be directly responsible for promoting desiccation resistance by reducing the rate of water loss via transpiration in Drosophila melanogaster.
The mayfly Neocloeon triangulifer senses decreasing oxygen availability (PO2) and responds by reducing ion uptake and altering gene expression
Highlighted Article: Responses of a mayfly species to reduced oxygen levels suggest they sense decreased oxygen availability and perhaps conserve energy accordingly, even when the rate of oxygen consumption (ṀO2) is not impacted.
ECR SPOTLIGHTS
CORRECTION
Special Issue – The Integrative Biology of the Heart
Our latest Special Issue – The Integrative Biology of the Heart collates Research Articles, Reviews and Commentaries that consider cardiac biology at all levels of organisation. Guest edited by William Joyce and Holly Shiels, the papers address questions regarding cardiac plasticity, development and evolution in both vertebrates and invertebrates.
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. Submit your abstract by 13 December 2024. Early-bird registration ends on 17 January 2025.
Extraordinary creatures: raptors
In our new Conversation focusing on extraordinary creatures, Simon Potier tells us about raptors, from peregrine falcons and eagles to vultures and owls, discussing their lifestyles, incredible sensory abilities and conservation successes.
Cardiac arrythmias in fish
A regular heartbeat is essential for maintaining homeostasis in fish and other vertebrates, but environmental changes and pollutants can cause cardiac arrythmias. In this Review, Matti Vornanen and colleagues provide an integrative view of the molecular origins of fish cardiac arrhythmias, their functional consequences, and their induction by natural and anthropogenic environmental changes.
Blue and white light pollution is disastrous for Cory's shearwater fledglings
Artificial light at night plays havoc with Cory's shearwater fledglings, many fall from the air in urban areas. Now Elizabeth Atchoi & colleagues from Lithuania, Spain, France & the Azores show that blue wavelengths & white light bewilder the youngsters, leaving them trapped by the light pollution.