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.

More than the sum of the parts: annual partitioning within spatial guilds underpins community regulation
To withstand the pressures of a rapidly changing world, resilient ecosystems should exhibit compensatory dynamics, including uncorrelated temporal shifts in population sizes. The observation that diversity is maintained through time in many systems is evidence that communities are indeed regulated and stabilized, yet empirical observations suggest that positive covariance in species abundances is widespread. This paradox could be resolved if communities are composed of a number of ecologically relevant sub-units in which the members compete for resources, but whose abundances fluctuate independently. Such modular organizat...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 18, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Magurran, A. E., Henderson, P. A. Tags: theoretical biology, ecology, environmental science Source Type: research

Urbanization drives genetic differentiation in physiology and structures the evolution of pace-of-life syndromes in the water flea Daphnia magna
Natural and human-induced stressors elicit changes in energy metabolism and stress physiology in populations of a wide array of species. Cities are stressful environments that may lead to differential selection on stress-coping mechanisms. Given that city ponds are exposed to the urban heat island effect and receive polluted run-off, organisms inhabiting these ecosystems might show genetic differentiation for physiological traits enabling them to better cope with higher overall stress levels. A common garden study with 62 Daphnia magna genotypes from replicated urban and rural populations revealed that urban Daphnia have s...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 18, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Brans, K. I., Stoks, R., De Meester, L. Tags: physiology, ecology, evolution Source Type: research

Evidence for human-mediated range expansion and gene flow in an invasive grass
We examined the effect of landscape features on gene flow in the invasive grass Brachypodium sylvaticum across an urban–rural interface at the edge of its expanding range. We used genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism surveys of individuals from 22 locations. Resistance surfaces were created for each landscape feature, using ResistanceGA to optimize resistance parameters. Our Structure analysis identified three distinct clusters, and diversity analyses support the existence of at least three local introductions. Multiple regression on distance matrices showed no evidence that development, roads, canopy cover or ...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Arredondo, T. M., Marchini, G. L., Cruzan, M. B. Tags: plant science, ecology, evolution Special feature Source Type: research

Cryptic niche switching in a chemosymbiotic gastropod
Life stages of some animals, including amphibians and insects, are so different that they have historically been seen as different species. ‘Metamorphosis’ broadly encompasses major changes in organism bodies and, importantly, concomitant shifts in trophic strategies. Many marine animals have a biphasic lifestyle, with small pelagic larvae undergoing one or more metamorphic transformations before settling into a permanent, adult morphology on the benthos. Post-settlement, the hydrothermal vent gastropod Gigantopelta chessoia experiences a further, cryptic metamorphosis at body sizes around 5–7 mm. The ter...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Chen, C., Linse, K., Uematsu, K., Sigwart, J. D. Tags: taxonomy and systematics, evolution Source Type: research

Natural selection and outbreeding depression suggest adaptive differentiation in the invasive range of a clonal plant
Analyses of phenotypic selection and demography in field populations are powerful ways to establishing the potential role of natural selection in shaping evolution during biological invasions. Here we use experimental F2 crosses between native and introduced populations of Mimulus guttatus to estimate the pattern of natural selection in part of its introduced range, and to seek evidence of outbreeding depression of colonists. The F2s combined the genome of an introduced population with the genome of either native or introduced populations. We found that the introduced x introduced cross had the fastest population growth ra...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Pantoja, P. O., Paine, C. E. T., Vallejo-Marin, M. Tags: plant science, ecology, evolution Source Type: research

Phenotypic plasticity in genitalia: baculum shape responds to sperm competition risk in house mice
Males are known to adjust their expenditure on testes growth and sperm production in response to sperm competition risk. Genital morphology can also contribute to competitive fertilization success but whether male genital morphology can respond plastically to the sperm competition environment has received little attention. Here, we exposed male house mice to two different sperm competition environments during their sexual development and quantified phenotypic plasticity in baculum morphology. The sperm competition environment generated plasticity in body growth. Males maturing under sperm competition risk were larger and h...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Andre, G. I., Firman, R. C., Simmons, L. W. Tags: evolution Source Type: research

Wild acorn woodpeckers recognize associations between individuals in other groups
This study provides the first demonstration that animals can recognize associations between members of other groups under natural circumstances, and highlights the importance of considering how inter-group social selection pressures may influence the evolution of cognition. (Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Pardo, M. A., Sparks, E. A., Kuray, T. S., Hagemeyer, N. D., Walters, E. L., Koenig, W. D. Tags: behaviour, cognition Source Type: research

Forgotten Mediterranean calving grounds of grey and North Atlantic right whales: evidence from Roman archaeological records
Right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) were extirpated from the eastern North Atlantic by commercial whaling. Grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) disappeared from the entire North Atlantic in still-mysterious circumstances. Here, we test the hypotheses that both species previously occurred in the Mediterranean Sea, an area not currently considered part of their historical range. We used ancient DNA barcoding and collagen fingerprinting methods to taxonomically identify a rare set of 10 presumed whale bones from Roman and pre-Roman archaeological sites in the Strait of Gibraltar region, plus an additional bone from the Asturian...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Rodrigues, A. S. L., Charpentier, A., Bernal-Casasola, D., Gardeisen, A., Nores, C., Pis Millan, J. A., McGrath, K., Speller, C. F. Tags: ecology, environmental science Global change and conservation Source Type: research

The lingering impact of stress: brief acute glucocorticoid exposure has sustained, dose-dependent effects on reproduction
Acutely stressful experiences can have profound and persistent effects on phenotype. Across taxa, individuals differ remarkably in their susceptibility to stress. However, the mechanistic causes of enduring stress effects, and of individual differences in stress susceptibility, are poorly understood. Here, we tested whether brief, acute increases in glucocorticoid hormones have persistent effects on phenotype, and whether effects differ according to the magnitude or duration of elevation. We used a novel method to non-invasively manipulate hormone levels on short time scales: the application of corticosterone gel to a mode...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Vitousek, M. N., Taff, C. C., Ardia, D. R., Stedman, J. M., Zimmer, C., Salzman, T. C., Winkler, D. W. Tags: behaviour, physiology Source Type: research

Urban versus forest ecotypes are not explained by divergent reproductive selection
Increasing urbanization offers a unique opportunity to study adaptive responses to rapid environmental change. Numerous studies have demonstrated phenotypic divergence between urban and rural organisms. However, comparing the direction and magnitude of natural selection between these environments has rarely been attempted. Using seven years of monitoring of great tits (Parus major) breeding in nest-boxes across the city of Montpellier and in a nearby oak forest, we find phenotypic divergence in four morphological and two life-history traits between urban and forest birds. We then measure reproductive selection on these tra...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 11, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Caizergues, A. E., Gregoire, A., Charmantier, A. Tags: ecology, evolution Special feature Source Type: research

Extremely fast feeding strikes are powered by elastic recoil in a seahorse relative, the snipefish, Macroramphosus scolopax
We present evidence for elastic recoil-powered feeding in snipefish (Macroramphosus scolopax) from kinematics, dynamics and morphology. High-speed videos of strikes show they achieve extremely fast head and hyoid rotational velocities, resulting in rapid prey capture in as short a duration as 2 ms. The maximum instantaneous muscle-mass-specific power requirement for head rotation in snipefish was above the known vertebrate maximum, which is evidence that strikes are not the result of direct muscle power. Finally, we show that the over-centre conformation of the four-bar linkage mechanism coupling head elevation to hyoid ro...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 4, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Longo, S. J., Goodearly, T., Wainwright, P. C. Tags: biomechanics Morphology and biomechanics Source Type: research

A shady phytoplankton paradox: when phytoplankton increases under low light
Light is a fundamental driver of ecosystem dynamics, affecting the rate of photosynthesis and primary production. In spite of its importance, less is known about its community-scale effects on aquatic ecosystems compared with those of nutrient loading. Understanding light limitation is also important for ecosystem management, as human activities have been rapidly altering light availability to aquatic ecosystems. Here we show that decreasing light can paradoxically increase phytoplankton abundance in shallow lakes. Our results, based on field manipulation experiments, field observations and models, suggest that, under comp...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 4, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Yamamichi, M., Kazama, T., Tokita, K., Katano, I., Doi, H., Yoshida, T., Hairston, N. G., Urabe, J. Tags: theoretical biology, ecology, environmental science Source Type: research

Endogenous oxytocin predicts helping and conversation as a function of group membership
Humans cooperate with unrelated individuals to an extent that far outstrips any other species. We also display extreme variation in decisions about whether to cooperate or not, and the mechanisms driving this variation remain an open question across the behavioural sciences. One candidate mechanism underlying this variation in cooperation is the evolutionary ancient neurohormone oxytocin (OT). As current research focuses on artificial administration of OT in asocial tasks, little is known about how the hormone in its naturally occurring state actually impacts behaviour in social interactions. Using a new optimal foraging p...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 4, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: McClung, J. S., Triki, Z., Clement, F., Bangerter, A., Bshary, R. Tags: behaviour, physiology Source Type: research

Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances
We examined data from the 2012 Olympics to test whether swimmers’ phenotypes differed across event distances. We show that across all swimming event distances, from the 50 m sprint to the 10 000 m marathon, swimmers converge on a single optimal body mass index (BMI) in men's and women's events, in marked contrast with the strong inverse relationship between BMI and event distance found in runners. The absence of a speed–endurance trade-off in the body proportions of swimmers indicates a fundamental difference in design pressures and performance capability in terrestrial versus aquatic environments. (Source: Pro...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 4, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Gagnon, C. M., Steiper, M. E., Pontzer, H. Tags: behaviour, biomechanics, evolution Morphology and biomechanics Source Type: research

Getting ahead of the curve: cities as surrogates for global change
Urbanization represents an unintentional global experiment that can provide insights into how species will respond and interact under future global change scenarios. Cities produce many conditions that are predicted to occur widely in the future, such as warmer temperatures, higher carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and exacerbated droughts. In using cities as surrogates for global change, it is challenging to disentangle climate variables—such as temperature—from co-occurring or confounding urban variables—such as impervious surface—and then to understand the interactive effects of multiple climat...
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences - July 4, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: Lahr, E. C., Dunn, R. R., Frank, S. D. Tags: physiology, ecology Review articles Source Type: research