Issues
-
Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Hammerhead sharks, with their strange-looking heads, have long fascinated humans. The scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini; pictured) and the bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo) have similar whole-body velocities, and they vary amplitude and frequency along the length of their bodies. Hoffmann et al. (pp. 3336-3343) show that both species also exhibit a double oscillating system, such that the frequency of head yaw is greater than that of the rest of the body. This unique system may allow them to increase the frequency of sensory inputs without increasing overall undulatory frequency (and the associated energetic costs). Photo credit: Phillip Colla.
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of contents
- PDF Icon PDF LinkIssue info
INSIDE JEB
CONVERSATION
CLASSICS
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Field swimming behavior in largemouth bass deviates from predictions based on economy and propulsive efficiency
Highlighted Article: Video analysis of largemouth bass swimming behavior in the field suggests that they do not use swimming speeds or propulsive movements that maximize economy and efficiency.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Biomineralization-related specialization of hemocytes and mantle tissues of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas
Summary: Different subpopulations of oyster hemocytes are specialized for biomineralization or immune functions as revealed by functional differences and gene expression profiles.
Circularly polarized light detection in stomatopod crustaceans: a comparison of photoreceptors and possible function in six species
Summary: Based on the modelled birefringent properties of a photoreceptor cell (R8), many species of stomatopod achieve the optical function of quarter-wave retardance, allowing them to discriminate circularly polarized light.
Pharyngeal stimulation with sugar triggers local searching behavior in Drosophila
Summary: After drinking a small droplet of sugar solution, hungry Drosophila melanogaster initiate local searching behavior. This behavior is triggered by pharyngeal sugar-responsive receptor neurons.
A species-specific nematocide that results in terminal embryogenesis
Summary: Insect-associated nematodes coordinate their development using host cues to ‘walk the line’ between mutualism and pathogenesis. A host pheromone causes terminal embryogenesis by permeabilizing the nematode eggshell.
Mechanical properties of sediment determine burrowing success and influence distribution of two lugworm species
Summary: Field-based measurements link distribution of two ecosystem engineer lugworm species with the mechanical properties of the sediment, their differential burrowing success and morphological features.
Solar-powered ventilation of African termite mounds
Highlighted Article: Termite mounds harness oscillatory solar heating to drive internal ventilation of metabolic gases, functioning as an external lung for the colony. This passive mechanism has clear implications for human engineering.
Ammonia-independent sodium uptake mediated by Na+ channels and NHEs in the freshwater ribbon leech Nephelopsis obscura
Summary: Novel mechanisms for Na+ uptake in the skin of the freshwater leech Nephelopsis obscura were identified to employ both Na+/H+ exchangers and Na+ channels, while also being independent of ammonia transport.
Individual variation in metabolic reaction norms over ambient temperature causes low correlation between basal and standard metabolic rate
Summary: Individual differences in cold response mean that minimal energy expenditure can be better quantified at ecologically relevant ambient temperatures.
Avian thermoregulation in the heat: resting metabolism, evaporative cooling and heat tolerance in Sonoran Desert songbirds
Summary: Thermoregulatory performance measurements in seven Sonoran Desert passerine bird species show that heat tolerance limits did not scale with body mass among species, but were ∼50°C for all species.
Expression and light-dependent translocation of β-arrestin in the visual system of the terrestrial slug Limax valentianus
Summary: Immunostaining of β-arrestin reveals its light-dependent translocation in the photoreceptors of a terrestrial slug, and also shows the utility of β-arrestin as a molecular marker of optic nerves.
Innate colour preference, individual learning and memory retention in the ant Camponotus blandus
Highlighted Article: Camponotus blandus foragers can learn, discriminate and memorize chromatic information for several days, suggesting that colour cues might constitute an important sensory modality during foraging and orientation.
Molecular and ultrastructural studies of a fibrillar collagen from octocoral (Cnidaria)
Summary: Structural and biochemical features of a previously unknown fibrillar collagen from an octocoral indicate its similarities to mammalian type I and II collagens.
Regional variation in undulatory kinematics of two hammerhead species: the bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) and the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)
Summary: During swimming, the scalloped hammerhead and bonnethead shark have similar kinematic outputs but different undulatory patterns. Flexion frequency and amplitude vary along the length of the body, whereas only amplitude varies between species.
CRISPR-induced null alleles show that Frost protects Drosophila melanogaster reproduction after cold exposure
Summary: The Drosophila gene Frost is expressed in response to cold exposure. Genome editing shows that its function is to protect post-cold reproduction rather than to improve tolerance during cold exposure.
pH control in the midgut of Aedes aegypti under different nutritional conditions
Summary: pH in Aedes midgut is finely controlled according to the nutritional condition of the insect. Hormone release and perception of proteins inside the lumen are involved in the process.
Mass scaling of metabolic rates in carabid beetles (Carabidae) – the importance of phylogeny, regression models and gas exchange patterns
Summary: The relationship between metabolic rate and body mass in insects can depend heavily on the model-fitting method, the structure of phylogeny and ecological factors.
Physiological responses to fluctuating temperatures are characterized by distinct transcriptional profiles in a solitary bee
Summary: Transcriptional responses to fluctuating thermal regimes differ between life stages in the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata.
Neuropeptidergic integration of behavior in Trichoplax adhaerens, an animal without synapses
Highlighted Article: Trichoplax, a primitive marine animal that lacks neurons and synapses, has neurosecretory cells that secrete a peptide into the ambient seawater to arrest ciliary beating during feeding.
Exogenous stress hormones alter energetic and nutrient costs of development and metamorphosis
Summary: The energetic and nutrient costs of glucocorticoid-accelerated development alter fitness trade-offs across life stages.
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.