Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Bipedal hopping is a specialized mode of locomotion that has arisen independently in at least five groups of mammals. McGowan and Collins (JEB161661) review the evolutionary origins of these groups, examine three of the most prominent hypotheses for why bipedal hopping may have arisen, and discuss how this unique mode of locomotion influences the behavior and ecology of modern species. For example, yellow-footed rock wallabies (Petrogale xanthopus) use bipedal hopping to navigate through steep and complex terrain. Photo credit: Craig McGowan.
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INSIDE JEB
CONVERSATION
REVIEWS
Adaptations to deep and prolonged diving in phocid seals
Summary: Anatomical and physiological responses to diving in seals are described. It is argued that the responses seen in forced dives and those seen during free dives are basically the same.
Why do mammals hop? Understanding the ecology, biomechanics and evolution of bipedal hopping
Summary: This paper presents a review of the ecology, biomechanics and evolution of bipedal hopping in mammals, with a focus on why bipedal hopping has arisen in multiple clades of mammals.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Kleptoplast photoacclimation state modulates the photobehaviour of the solar-powered sea slug Elysia viridis
Summary: Light preference and the position of the lateral folds (parapodia) of the solar-powered sea slug Elysia viridis are modulated by the light history of chloroplasts acquired from macroalgae.
Alteration of size perception: serotonin has opposite effects on the aggressiveness of crayfish confronting either a smaller or a larger rival
Highlighted Article: Serotonin in crayfish is able to alter the perception of a rival, leading to paradoxical consequences for aggressiveness.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The analysis and interpretation of critical temperatures
Summary: A new statistical model quantifies how methodology, heat stress and acclimation influence estimates of critical temperatures.
Selection for relative brain size affects context-dependent male preference for, but not discrimination of, female body size in guppies
Summary: Brain size and cognitive ability play a key role in mating decisions.
Structural and functional characterization of the contractile aorta and associated hemocytes of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae
Summary: Structural mechanics of hemolymph flow through the aorta and conical chamber of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae.
Non-linear amplification of graded voltage signals in the first-order visual interneurons of the butterfly Papilio xuthus
Summary: LMCs in the visual system of Papilio xuthus use two information-coding strategies: a graded coding and a mixed coding involving action-potential like spikes. Use of spikes depends on light level.
Locomotor muscle fibre heterogeneity and metabolism in the fastest large-bodied rorqual: the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Summary: The fin whale locomotor muscle shows an adaptive functional specialization which explains its unique feeding behaviour and swimming performance.
X-ray computed tomography study of the flight-adapted tracheal system in the blowfly Calliphora vicina, analysing the ventilation mechanism and flow-directing valves
Summary: Tracheal ventilation in blowflies is driven by the flight muscles, deforming the mesonotal air sacs, which results in a unidirectional airflow channelled by two antagonistically working passive valves.
Individual differences in torpor expression in adult mice are related to relative birth mass
Summary: Laboratory mice show great variability in the expression of daily torpor, even among littermates; this variation may reflect the long-term influence of growth hysteresis prior to birth.
Japanese macaque phonatory physiology
Summary: In vivo and ex vivo empirical data of Japanese macaque phonation suggest universal physical and physiological principles of voice production in humans and non-human primates.
Avian thermoregulation in the heat: metabolism, evaporative cooling and gular flutter in two small owls
Summary: Small desert owls demonstrate heat tolerance intermediate between that of very heat-tolerant nightjars and less heat-tolerant passerines. The gular flutter mechanism contributes significantly to cooling efficiency.
Energetic costs of locomotion in bears: is plantigrade locomotion energetically economical?
Editor's Choice: Polar bears and grizzly bears exhibit a greater economy while moving at slow speeds as a consequence of their plantigrade posture.
Odour discrimination learning in the Indian greater short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx): differential expression of Egr-1, C-fos and PP-1 in the olfactory bulb, amygdala and hippocampus
Summary: Differential expression of c-Fos in the hippocampus and amygdala through odour-mediated regulation of PP-1 may contribute to olfactory learning and memory in Cynopterus sphinx.
Central nervous system shutdown underlies acute cold tolerance in tropical and temperate Drosophila species
Highlighted Article: Cold exposure causes Drosophila to enter a comatose state as a result of the loss of central nervous system function. This is associated with a spreading depolarization and the ability to prevent this underlies acute cold tolerance.
Paralytic hypo-energetic state facilitates anoxia tolerance despite ionic imbalance in adult Drosophila melanogaster
Summary: Adult Drosophila melanogaster survive anoxic exposure by maintaining ATP at 3% of normal and tolerating a drastic disruption of ion balance.
Digestive and locomotor capacity show opposing responses to changing food availability in an ambush predatory fish
Summary: Southern catfish downregulate digestive function and metabolic rate during food deprivation, but regain digestive capacity during refeeding, potentially at the cost of decreased swimming performance.
CORRESPONDENCE
Meet the JEB Editors @ SEB 2023
Come and meet the JEB team at the Society for Experimental Biology centenary conference from 4-7 July in Edinburgh, UK. Visit exhibition stand 13/15 to pick up JEB centenary goodies, including our new ‘100 years of discovery’ T shirt, and join our Meet the JEB Editors event on Thursday 6 July at 12.30 at Platform 5 to find out more about the journal and chat to Editors including EiC Craig Franklin, Monitoring Editors Sanjay Sane, Trish Schulte and John Terblanche and the in-house News and Reviews team.
New funding schemes for junior faculty staff
In celebration of our 100th anniversary, JEB has launched two new grants to support junior faculty staff working in animal comparative physiology and biomechanics who are within five years of setting up their first lab/research group. Check out our ECR Visiting Fellowships and Research Partnership Kickstart Travel Grants. First deadline for applications is 15 July 2023.
JEB@100: an interview with Monitoring Editor Katie Gilmour
Katie Gilmour tells us how she first encountered the JEB Editorial team as a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, UK, and how she would like to have a Star Trek tricorder to monitor fish non-invasively in the field.
The Forest of Biologists
The Forest of Biologists is a biodiversity initiative created by The Company of Biologists, with support from the Woodland Trust. For every Research and Review article published in Journal of Experimental Biology a native tree is planted in a UK forest. In addition to this we are protecting and restoring ancient woodland and are dedicating these trees to our peer reviewers. Visit our virtual forest to learn more.
Centenary Review - Adaptive echolocation behavior
Cynthia F. Moss and colleagues discuss the behaviours used by echolocating mammals to track and intercept moving prey, interrogate dynamic sonar scenes, and exploit visual and passive acoustic stimuli.
Crucial DNA at crux of insect wing size evolution
Keity Farfán-Pira and colleagues have revealed that a tiny region of regulatory DNA in the vestigial gene governs whether insect wings are large or small and has played a key role in the evolution of insect wing size.
