Morphology of nares associated with stereo-olfaction in baleen whales
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230479. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0479. Epub 2024 Jan 31.ABSTRACTThe sensory mechanisms used by baleen whales (Mysticeti) for locating ephemeral, dense prey patches in vast marine habitats are poorly understood. Baleen whales have a functional olfactory system with paired rather than single blowholes (nares), potentially enabling stereo-olfaction. Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is an odorous gas emitted by phytoplankton in response to grazing by zooplankton. Some seabirds use DMS to locate prey, but this ability has not been demonstrated in whales. For 14 extant species of baleen whale, nares morphometrics...
Source: Biology Letters - January 30, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Conor Ryan Maria C I Martins Kevin Healy Lars Bejder Salvatore Cerchio Fredrik Christiansen John Durban Holly Fearnbach Sarah Fortune Ari Friedlaender William R Koski Carolyn Miller Fabian M Rodr íguez-González Paolo S Segre Jorge Urb án R Fabien Vivie Source Type: research

Oriental pied hornbills ( < em > Anthracoceros albirostris < /em > ) solve invisible displacement tasks in a test of Piagetian object permanence
In this study, six Oriental pied hornbills underwent testing for object permanence, including a series of seven standard Piagetian tasks involving visible and invisible displacements. The subjects consistently demonstrated spontaneous object permanence in all stages leading up to the invisible displacement stage. Half of the subjects achieved full stage 6 double invisible displacement Piagetian object permanence, while the other half reached stage 5 double visible displacement. Breeding behaviour and the duration of developmental stages are proposed as potential factors influencing object permanence ability in this species...
Source: Biology Letters - January 30, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Ruitong Yao Elias Garcia-Pelegrin Source Type: research

Flatworm cocoons in the abyss: same plan under pressure
This study provides the deepest record for free-living flatworms and the first information on their early life stages in the abyssal zone, which were very similar to those in shallow-water forms. This similarity in development between the relatively benign shallow-water and the extreme abyssal environments suggests that triclads adapting to the latter faced primarily physiological and/or ecological adaptive challenges rather than developmental ones.PMID:38263880 | PMC:PMC10806396 | DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0506 (Source: Biology Letters)
Source: Biology Letters - January 24, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Keiichi Kakui Aoi Tsuyuki Source Type: research

Multisensory integration in insect flight control
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230565. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0565. Epub 2024 Jan 24.NO ABSTRACTPMID:38263881 | PMC:PMC10806407 | DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0565 (Source: Biology Letters)
Source: Biology Letters - January 24, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Sanjay P Sane Ric Wehling Tom Daniel Source Type: research

Uncovering the mosaic evolution of the carnivoran skeletal system
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230526. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0526. Epub 2024 Jan 24.ABSTRACTThe diversity of vertebrate skeletons is often attributed to adaptations to distinct ecological factors such as diet, locomotion, and sensory environment. Although the adaptive evolution of skull, appendicular skeleton, and vertebral column is well studied in vertebrates, comprehensive investigations of all skeletal components simultaneously are rarely performed. Consequently, we know little of how modes of evolution differ among skeletal components. Here, we tested if ecological and phylogenetic effects led to distinct modes of evolu...
Source: Biology Letters - January 24, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Chris J Law Leslea J Hlusko Z Jack Tseng Source Type: research

Why do dogs wag their tails?
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230407. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0407. Epub 2024 Jan 17.ABSTRACTTail wagging is a conspicuous behaviour in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Despite how much meaning humans attribute to this display, its quantitative description and evolutionary history are rarely studied. We summarize what is known about the mechanism, ontogeny, function and evolution of this behaviour. We suggest two hypotheses to explain its increased occurrence and frequency in dogs compared to other canids. During the domestication process, enhanced rhythmic tail wagging behaviour could have (i) arisen as a by-product of sele...
Source: Biology Letters - January 17, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Silvia Leonetti Giulia Cimarelli Taylor A Hersh Andrea Ravignani Source Type: research

Phenotypic plasticity of a winter-diapause mechanism copes with the effects of summer global warming in an ectothermic predator
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230481. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0481. Epub 2024 Jan 17.ABSTRACTTo adapt to changes in temperature, animals tend to invest more energy in thermal tolerance to enhance survival, which can have simultaneous costs on plastic traits. Would a decrease in genetic variability, due to global warming, affect the ability of populations with existing metabolic regulatory mechanisms to cope with extreme temperatures? To address this question, we conducted a series of experiments based on the A1B scenario of global warming, assessing within-population genetic variance in (a) morphological traits, (b) metabolic...
Source: Biology Letters - January 17, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hugo Alejandro Álvarez Francisca Ruano Source Type: research

Ecological structure of diversity-dependent diversification in Phanerozoic marine bivalves
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230475. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0475. Epub 2024 Jan 17.ABSTRACTRigorous analysis of diversity-dependence-the hypothesis that the rate of proliferation of new species is inversely related to standing diversity-requires consideration of the ecology of the organisms in question. Differences between infaunal marine bivalves (living entirely within the sediment) and epifaunal forms (living partially or completely above the sediment-water interface) predict that these major ecological groups should have different diversity dynamics: epifaunal species may compete more intensely for space and be more sus...
Source: Biology Letters - January 17, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Michael Foote Stewart M Edie David Jablonski Source Type: research

Catch-up growth and overweight adults in the offspring of young gecko mothers resembling low birth weight infants
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230452. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0452. Epub 2024 Jan 17.ABSTRACTEndothermic and ectothermic amniotes differ in the timing of reproductive onset, with reptiles initiating reproduction before reaching final body size. Long-term consequences of maternal effect for early reptile offspring are poorly explored. We conducted growth experiments to compare the growth of offspring produced by young and older females of gecko Paroedura picta. Young, not fully grown females lay smaller eggs leading to production of smaller offspring. These offspring undergo accelerated growth and ultimately reach a comparable...
Source: Biology Letters - January 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Zuzana Starostov á Veronika P íchová Anna Bauerov á Luk áš Kubička Luk áš Kratochvíl Source Type: research

Noise constrains heterospecific eavesdropping more than conspecific reception of alarm calls
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230410. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0410. Epub 2024 Jan 17.ABSTRACTMany vertebrates eavesdrop on alarm calls of other species, as well as responding to their own species' calls, but eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls might be harder than conspecific reception when environmental conditions make perception or recognition of calls difficult. This could occur because individuals lack hearing specializations for heterospecific calls, have less familiarity with them, or require more details of call structure to identify calls they have learned to recognize. We used a field playback experiment to p...
Source: Biology Letters - January 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: You Zhou Andrew N Radford Robert D Magrath Source Type: research

Females counter-sing, but response to male song differs by sex in Alston's singing mouse
This study further informs the understanding of female vocal behaviour and establishes the singing mouse as a valuable model for investigating female vocal display.PMID:38195056 | PMC:PMC10776218 | DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0484 (Source: Biology Letters)
Source: Biology Letters - January 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Joel A Tripp Steven M Phelps Source Type: research

Group phenotypic composition drives task performances in ants
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230463. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0463. Epub 2024 Jan 10.ABSTRACTDifferences in individual behaviour within a group can give rise to functional dissimilarities between groups, particularly in social animals. However, how individual behavioural phenotypes translate into the group phenotype remains unclear. Here, we investigate whether individual behavioural type affects group performance in a eusocial species, the ant Aphaenogaster senilis. We measured individual behavioural traits and created groups of workers with similar behavioural type, either high-exploratory or low-exploratory workers. We tes...
Source: Biology Letters - January 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Rayanne Martin Chlo é Leroy Istv án Maák Patrizia d'Ettorre Source Type: research

Basicranial evidence suggests picrodontid mammals are not stem primates
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230335. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0335. Epub 2024 Jan 10.ABSTRACTThe Picrodontidae from the middle Palaeocene of North America are enigmatic placental mammals that were allied with various mammalian groups but are generally now considered to have close affinities to paromomyid and palaechthonid plesiadapiforms based on proposed dental synapomorphies. The picrodontid fossil record consists entirely of dental and gnathic remains except for one partial cranium of Zanycteris paleocenus (AMNH 17180). Here, we use µCT technology to unveil previously undocumented morphology in AMNH 17180, describe and co...
Source: Biology Letters - January 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Jordan W Crowell John R Wible Stephen G B Chester Source Type: research

Females counter-sing, but response to male song differs by sex in Alston's singing mouse
This study further informs the understanding of female vocal behaviour and establishes the singing mouse as a valuable model for investigating female vocal display.PMID:38195056 | DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2023.0484 (Source: Biology Letters)
Source: Biology Letters - January 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Joel A Tripp Steven M Phelps Source Type: research

Group phenotypic composition drives task performances in ants
Biol Lett. 2024 Jan;20(1):20230463. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0463. Epub 2024 Jan 10.ABSTRACTDifferences in individual behaviour within a group can give rise to functional dissimilarities between groups, particularly in social animals. However, how individual behavioural phenotypes translate into the group phenotype remains unclear. Here, we investigate whether individual behavioural type affects group performance in a eusocial species, the ant Aphaenogaster senilis. We measured individual behavioural traits and created groups of workers with similar behavioural type, either high-exploratory or low-exploratory workers. We tes...
Source: Biology Letters - January 9, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Rayanne Martin Chlo é Leroy Istv án Maák Patrizia d'Ettorre Source Type: research