The air in the respiratory system of diving birds contains a large proportion of the body oxygen stores, but it must be in the lungs for gas exchange with blood to occur. To test the hypothesis that locomotion induces mixing of air sac air with lung air during dives, we measured differential pressures between the interclavicular and posterior thoracic air sacs in five diving tufted ducks Aythya fuligula. The peak differential pressure between posterior thoracic and interclavicular air sacs, 0.49+/-0.13 kPa (mean +/- s.d.), varied substantially during underwater paddling as indicated by gastrocnemius muscle activity. These data support the hypothesis that locomotion, perhaps through associated abdominal muscle activity, intermittently compresses the posterior air sacs more than the anterior ones. The result is differential pressure fluctuations that might induce the movement of air between air sacs and through the lungs during dives.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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