Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Molecular palaeontology illuminates the evolution of ecdysozoan vision
Colour vision is known to have arisen only twice—once in Vertebrata and once within the Ecdysozoa, in Arthropoda. However, the evolutionary history of ecdysozoan vision is unclear. At the molecular level, visual pigments, composed of a chromophore and a protein belonging to the opsin family, have different spectral sensitivities and these mediate colour vision. At the morphological level, ecdysozoan vision is conveyed by eyes of variable levels of complexity; from the simple ocelli observed in the velvet worms (phylum Onychophora) to the marvellously complex eyes of insects, spiders, and crustaceans. Here, we explore...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - December 5, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Fleming, J. F., Kristensen, R. M., Sorensen, M. V., Park, T.-Y. S., Arakawa, K., Blaxter, M., Rebecchi, L., Guidetti, R., Williams, T. A., Roberts, N. W., Vinther, J., Pisani, D. Tags: palaeontology, bioinformatics, evolution Palaeobiology Source Type: research

Actuarial senescence in a dimorphic bird: different rates of ageing in morphs with discrete reproductive strategies
It is often hypothesized that intra-sexual competition accelerates actuarial senescence, or the increase in mortality rates with age. However, an alternative hypothesis is that parental investment is more important to determining senescence rates. We used a unique model system, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), to study variation in actuarial senescence. In this species, genetically determined morphs display discrete mating strategies and disassortative pairing, providing an excellent opportunity to test the predictions of the above hypotheses. Compared to tan-striped males, white-striped males are more ...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - December 5, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Grunst, M. L., Grunst, A. S., Formica, V. A., Korody, M. L., Betuel, A. M., Barcelo-Serra, M., Gonser, R. A., Tuttle, E. M. Tags: behaviour, ecology, evolution Source Type: research

Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science
Mining poses serious and highly specific threats to biodiversity. However, mining can also be a means for financing alternative livelihood paths that, over the long-term, may prevent biodiversity loss. Complex and controversial issues associated with mining and biodiversity conservation are often simplified within a narrow frame oriented towards the negative impacts of mining at the site of extraction, rather than posed as a series of challenges for the conservation science community to embrace. Here, we synthesize core issues that, if better understood, may ensure coexistence between mining and conservation agendas. We il...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - December 5, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Sonter, L. J., Ali, S. H., Watson, J. E. M. Tags: environmental science Global change and conservation Source Type: research

Age-related response to an acute innate immune challenge in mice: proteomics reveals a telomere maintenance-related cost
Ageing is characterized by the impairment of the acute innate immune response and the upregulation of low-grade inflammation, i.e. inflammaging. At the cellular level, telomeres are considered as a marker of biological ageing as their length is progressively eroded in the absence of repair mechanisms. However, the link between telomeres and inflammaging remains underexplored. We aimed to identify proteins that are differentially expressed between age classes in response to an acute inflammatory challenge. We challenged young (two months) and old (12 months) C57BL/6 mice using bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and measured...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - December 5, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Criscuolo, F., Sorci, G., Behaim-Delarbre, M., Zahn, S., Faivre, B., Bertile, F. Tags: molecular biology, immunology, evolution Source Type: research

The achaete-scute complex contains a single gene that controls bristle development in the semi-aquatic bugs
The semi-aquatic bugs (Heteroptera, Gerromorpha) conquered water surfaces worldwide and diversified to occupy puddles, ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves and even oceans. Critical to this lifestyle is the evolution of sets of hairs that allow these insects to maintain their body weight on the water surface and protect the animals against wetting and drowning. In addition, the legs of these insects are equipped with various grooming combs that are important for cleaning and tidying the hair layers for optimal functional efficiency. Here we show that the hairs covering the legs of water striders represent innervated bristles. ...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Finet, C., Decaras, A., Armisen, D., Khila, A. Tags: molecular biology, developmental biology, evolution Source Type: research

Partner switching and metabolic flux in a model cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis
Metabolite exchange is fundamental to the viability of the cnidarian–Symbiodiniaceae symbiosis and survival of coral reefs. Coral holobiont tolerance to environmental change might be achieved through changes in Symbiodiniaceae species composition, but differences in the metabolites supplied by different Symbiodiniaceae species could influence holobiont fitness. Using 13C stable-isotope labelling coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we characterized newly fixed carbon fate in the model cnidarian Exaiptasia pallida (Aiptasia) when experimentally colonized with either native Breviolum minutum or non-na...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Matthews, J. L., Oakley, C. A., Lutz, A., Hillyer, K. E., Roessner, U., Grossman, A. R., Weis, V. M., Davy, S. K. Tags: biochemistry, physiology, cellular biology Ecology Source Type: research

The rise and fall of dialects in northern elephant seals
Vocal dialects are fundamental to our understanding of the transmission of social behaviours between individuals and populations, however few accounts trace this phenomenon among mammals over time. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) provide a rare opportunity to examine the trajectory of dialects in a long-lived mammalian species. Dialects were first documented in the temporal patterns of the stereotyped vocal displays produced by breeding males at four sites in the North Pacific in 1968 and 1969, as the population recovered from extreme exploitation. We evaluated the longevity of these geographical differen...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Casey, C., Reichmuth, C., Costa, D. P., Le Boeuf, B. Tags: behaviour, evolution Source Type: research

Social living simultaneously increases infection risk and decreases the cost of infection
In this study, we used an anthelmintic treatment experiment in wild Grant's gazelles (Nanger granti), who are commonly infected with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), to show that social living confers both costs and benefits related to GIN parasitism. We show that although larger group size increases GIN infection risk, a key cost of GIN infection—the suppression of food intake—is simultaneously moderated by living in larger groups. Our findings help illuminate the complex role parasites play in the evolution of host social behaviour. (Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Ezenwa, V. O., Worsley-Tonks, K. E. L. Tags: behaviour, health and disease and epidemiology Source Type: research

Enzymatic antioxidants but not baseline glucocorticoids mediate the reproduction-survival trade-off in a wild bird
The trade-off between reproductive investment and survival is central to life-history theory, but the relative importance and the complex interactions among the physiological mechanisms mediating it are still debated. Here we experimentally tested whether baseline glucocorticoid hormones, the redox system or their interaction mediate reproductive investment–survival trade-offs in wild great tits (Parus major). We increased the workload of parental males by clipping three feathers on each wing, and 5 days later determined effects on baseline corticosterone concentrations (Cort), redox state (reactive oxygen metabolite...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Casagrande, S., Hau, M. Tags: behaviour, physiology, evolution Source Type: research

Ageing via perception costs of reproduction magnifies sexual selection
Understanding what factors modulate sexual selection intensity is crucial to a wide variety of evolutionary processes. Recent studies show that perception of sex pheromones can severely impact male mortality when it is not followed by mating (perception costs of reproduction). Here, we examine the idea that this may magnify sexual selection by further decreasing the fitness of males with inherently low mating success, hence increasing the opportunity for sexual selection. We use mathematical modelling to show that even modest mortality perception costs can significantly increase variability in male reproductive success und...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Garcia-Roa, R., Serra, M., Carazo, P. Tags: behaviour, evolution Source Type: research

Fundamental and realized feeding niche breadths of sexual and asexual stick insects
The factors contributing to the maintenance of sex over asexuality in natural populations remain unclear. Ecological divergences between sexual and asexual lineages could help to maintain reproductive polymorphisms, at least transiently, but the consequences of asexuality for the evolution of ecological niches are unknown. Here, we investigated how niche breadths change in transitions from sexual reproduction to asexuality. We used host plant ranges as a proxy to compare the realized feeding niche breadths of five independently derived asexual Timema stick insect species and their sexual relatives at both the species and p...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Larose, C., Parker, D. J., Schwander, T. Tags: ecology, evolution Source Type: research

A new family of dissimilarity metrics for discrete character matrices that include inapplicable characters and its importance for disparity studies
The use of discrete character data for disparity analyses has become more popular, partially due to the recognition that character data describe variation at large taxonomic scales, as well as the increasing availability of both character matrices co-opted from phylogenetic analysis and software tools. As taxonomic scope increases, the need to describe variation leads to some characters that may describe traits not found across all the taxa. In such situations, it is common practice to treat inapplicable characters as missing data when calculating dissimilarity matrices for disparity studies. For commonly used dissimilarit...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Hopkins, M. J., St John, K. Tags: palaeontology, taxonomy and systematics, evolution Source Type: research

Top carnivore decline has cascading effects on scavengers and carrion persistence
Top carnivores have suffered widespread global declines, with well-documented effects on mesopredators and herbivores. We know less about how carnivores affect ecosystems through scavenging. Tasmania's top carnivore, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), has suffered severe disease-induced population declines, providing a natural experiment on the role of scavenging in structuring communities. Using remote cameras and experimentally placed carcasses, we show that mesopredators consume more carrion in areas where devils have declined. Carcass consumption by the two native mesopredators was best predicted by competitio...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Cunningham, C. X., Johnson, C. N., Barmuta, L. A., Hollings, T., Woehler, E. J., Jones, M. E. Tags: ecology Source Type: research

Interactions between the sexual identity of the nervous system and the social environment mediate lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster
Sex differences in lifespan are ubiquitous, but the underlying causal factors remain poorly understood. Inter- and intrasexual social interactions are well known to influence lifespan in many taxa, but it has proved challenging to separate the role of sex-specific behaviours from wider physiological differences between the sexes. To address this problem, we genetically manipulated the sexual identity of the nervous system—and hence sexual behaviour—in Drosophila melanogaster, and measured lifespan under varying social conditions. Consistent with previous studies, masculinization of the nervous system in females...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 28, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Flintham, E. O., Yoshida, T., Smith, S., Pavlou, H. J., Goodwin, S. F., Carazo, P., Wigby, S. Tags: behaviour, genetics, evolution Source Type: research

Correction to 'Variation in individual temperature preferences, not behavioural fever, affects susceptibility to chytridiomycosis in amphibians
(Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - November 21, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Sauer, E. L., Fuller, R. C., Richards-Zawacki, C. L., Sonn, J., Sperry, J. H., Rohr, J. R. Tags: ecology Corrections Source Type: research