Issues

Summary: A new and important wave of research investigates how parasites can change feeding behavior in insects in ways that benefit either the host or the parasite.

Summary: We highlight how lizards can inform, enhance and expand our understanding of the biology of regeneration.

Summary: The fast and slow phases of relaxation from high force isometric contractions can be enhanced following electrically evoked contraction of intact mouse lumbrical muscle at physiological temperatures.

Summary: The individual orientation behaviour of coral-reef fish larvae during the pre-settlement phase is influenced by magnetic-field shifts, which indicates sensitivity to the geomagnetic field and the use of a magnetic compass during dispersal and settlement.

Highlighted Article: An analytical framework relating the behavioural response of whales to received level and proximity of a noise source, with dose–response results of humpback whales to air guns.

Summary: Behavioral assays were used to determine the color-vision capabilities of a rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Malawi and suggest that cichlids possess a trichromatic visual system.

Summary: Laser vibrometry, microcomputed tomography and finite element modelling are used to show that an unusual pronotal inflation covering the wings of a bush-cricket acts as a Helmholtz resonator.

Highlighted Article: Onboard accelerometry reveals that pigeons' flight characteristics undergo gradual changes over the course of learning a route, and thus provide potential biomechanical signatures of birds' landscape familiarity.

Summary: Active ammonia excretion in the gills of the climbing perch, Anabas testudineus, may involve apical Rhag and basolateral Rhcg2 expressed in ammonia-inducible Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase α1c-immunoreactive ionocytes.

Summary: Identification of a novel myo-miR (miR-210) by miRNA microarray, qRT-PCR, and next generation sequencing, recognized in trout as a novel regulator of differentiation through the use of methionine depletion to synchronize cells.

Summary: Control and function of the cardiac system in the eastern pygmy possum during deep torpor is indistinguishable from that of a placental hibernator, and its dynamic heart rate range is one of the greatest measured to date at ∼600 beats min⁻¹.

Highlighted Article: Migrant and resident birds exhibit differences in reproductive development consistent with adaptive specialization in the use of photoperiodic cues, but not social cues, to regulate reproductive development.

Summary: Carotenoids are colorful pigments traded off between display and health. When we induced a strong immune response, zebra finches supplemented with carotenoids were able to buffer the negative effects of sickness.

Summary: The rapid growth experienced by farmed fishes causes an otolith deformation rarely seen in the wild.

Summary: Cardiac anaerobic metabolism is compromised in fish species with low levels of plasma glucose. This in turn may limit hypoxic performance.

Summary: Electro-olfactograms in an African cichlid fish reveal intra-sexual plasticity in olfactory responses of both males and females that is related to reproductive and metabolic state.

Summary: Minimizing mechanical work performed by the legs may drive locomotor adaptation, with wide relevance for the control of legged locomotion and motor learning in novel environments.