The annual cycle of a migrating bird involves metabolically distinct stages of substantial fatty acid storage and periods of increased fatty acid mobilization and utilization, and thus requires a great deal of phenotypic flexibility. Specific mechanisms directing stage transitions of lipid metabolism in migrants are largely unknown. This study characterized the role of the nuclear receptors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), in migratory adiposity of the Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). Catbirds increased adipose storage during spring and fall migration and showed increased rates of basal lipolysis during migration and tropical overwintering. Expression of the PPAR target genes involved in fat uptake and storage, FABPpm and PLIN3, increased during pre-migratory fattening. We found significant correlation between PPARγ and target gene expression in adipose but little evidence that PPARα expression levels drive metabolic regulation in liver during the migratory cycle.
Annual life-stage regulation of lipid metabolism and storage and association with PPARs in the migrant species Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
Beluga metabolic measures could help save species
To help save animals from extinction, it’s important to understand what each species needs to survive. This led Jason John et al. to measure the metabolic rates of captive belugas to develop a ‘fish calculator’ showing that the whales need to eat ~23 salmon per day.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.
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