The non-synovial temporomandibular jaw joint of rorqual whales is presumed to withstand intense stresses when huge volumes of water are engulfed during lunge feeding. Examination and manipulation of TMJs in fresh carcasses, plus CT scans and field/lab mechanical testing of excised tissue blocks, reveals that the TMJ's fibrocartilage pad fully and quickly rebounds after shrinking up to 68-88% in compression (by axis) and stretching 176-230%. It is more extensible along the mediolateral axis and less extensible dorsoventrally, but mostly isotropic, with collagen and elastin fibers running in all directions. The rorqual TMJ pad compresses as gape increases. Its stiffness is hypothesized to damp acceleration, whereas its elasticity is hypothesized to absorb shock during engulfment; to allow for rotation or other jaw motion during gape opening/closure; and to aid in returning jaws to their closed position during filtration via elastic recoil with conversion of stored potential energy into kinetic energy.
Whale jaw joint is a shock absorber
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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