Abstract:
:Flight feather moult in small passerines is realized in several ways. Some species moult once after breeding or once on their wintering grounds; others even moult twice. The adaptive significance of this diversity is still largely unknown. We compared the resistance to mechanical fatigue of flight feathers from the chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita, a migratory species moulting once on its breeding grounds, with feathers from the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, a migratory species moulting in both its breeding and wintering grounds. We found that flight feathers of willow warblers, which have a shaft with a comparatively large diameter, become fatigued much faster than feathers of chiffchaffs under an artificial cyclic bending regime. We propose that willow warblers may strengthen their flight feathers by increasing the diameter of the shaft, which may lead to a more rapid accumulation of damage in willow warblers than in chiffchaffs.
journal_name
Biol Lettjournal_title
Biology lettersauthors
Weber TP,Borgudd J,Hedenström A,Persson K,Sandberg Gdoi
10.1098/rsbl.2004.0244subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2005-03-22 00:00:00pages
27-30issue
1eissn
1744-9561issn
1744-957Xpii
K442333301WK6412journal_volume
1pub_type
杂志文章相关文献
Biology Letters文献大全abstract::The evolution of visual warning signals is well known in animals but has received scant attention in plants. The coevolutionary hypothesis is the most influential hypothesis on warning signals in plants proposing that red and yellow leaf colours in autumn signal defensive strength to herbivores. So far, evidence in su...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0548
更新日期:2007-02-22 00:00:00
abstract::Partial migration occurs in many taxa and ecosystems and may confer survival benefits. Here, we use otolith chemistry data to determine whether fish from a large estuarine system were resident or migratory, and then examine whether contingents display differences in modelled growth based on changes in width of otolith...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0850
更新日期:2015-03-01 00:00:00
abstract::Inbreeding causes increases in homozygosity and is commonly associated with reductions in fertility and embryogenesis. Although the mechanisms underlying such effects are unknown, recent work has suggested that inbred males may suffer impaired ejaculate quality, thus providing a functional explanation for reductions i...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0734
更新日期:2009-06-23 00:00:00
abstract::Domestic dogs have been recognized for their social sensitivity and aptitude in human-guided tasks. For example, prior studies have demonstrated that dogs look to humans when confronted with an unsolvable task; an action often interpreted as soliciting necessary help. Conversely, wolves persist on such tasks. While do...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0489
更新日期:2015-09-01 00:00:00
abstract::Understanding the pressures of fisheries on the ecosystem is crucial for effective management. Fishery removals, or catch, are composed of both landings and discards. However, the use of discards data in studies investigating the effect of the fishing pressures is sparse. Here, we explore the individual contribution o...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0812
更新日期:2013-12-04 00:00:00
abstract::We characterized fungal communities in dry and moist tundra and investigated the effect of long-term experimental summer warming on three aspects of functional groups of arctic fungi: richness, community composition and species abundance. Warming had profound effects on community composition, abundance, and, to a less...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0503
更新日期:2016-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::The study of social behaviour within groups has relied on fixed definitions of an 'interaction'. Criteria used in these definitions often involve a subjectively defined cut-off value for proximity, orientation and time (e.g. courtship, aggression and social interaction networks) and the same numerical values for these...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0749
更新日期:2014-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::The phenomenon of endocrine disruption is currently a source of growing concern. Feminization of male fish in UK rivers has been shown to occur extensively and has been linked with exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds present in the environment. Much less is known of the extent and scale of endocrine disruption ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0482
更新日期:2006-09-22 00:00:00
abstract::Computer reconstructions of Archimylacris eggintoni, a Carboniferous stem-group dictyopteran ('roachoid'), are presented. A siderite-hosted specimen was scanned using high-resolution X-ray microtomography (µCT), and a 'virtual fossil' was created with a resolution of 17.7 µm. This has revealed the morphology in great ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0199
更新日期:2010-10-23 00:00:00
abstract::The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in vertebrate immunity, and pathogen-mediated selection often favours certain allelic combinations. Assessing potential mates' MHC profiles may provide receivers with genetic benefits (identifying MHC-compatible mates and producing optimally diverse offspring...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0430
更新日期:2017-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Populations facing novel environments are expected to evolve through the accumulation of adaptive substitutions. The dynamics of adaptation depend on the fitness landscape and possibly on the genetic background on which new mutations arise. Here, we model the dynamics of adaptive evolution at the phenotypic and genoty...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0239
更新日期:2013-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::Numerous species undergo impressive movements, but due to massive changes in land use, long distance migration in terrestrial vertebrates has become a highly fragile ecological phenomenon. Uncertainty about the locations of past migrations and the importance of current corridors hampers conservation planning. Using ar...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0508
更新日期:2006-12-22 00:00:00
abstract::In contrast to daily rhythms that are common in the presence of the geophysical light-dark cycle, organisms at polar latitudes exhibit many diel activity patterns during natural periods of continuous solar light or darkness (polar day and night, respectively), from 24 h rhythms to arrhythmicity. In Arctic Greenland (7...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0289
更新日期:2016-09-01 00:00:00
abstract::On the steep surfaces that are common in arboreal environments, many types of animals without claws or adhesive structures must use muscular force to generate sufficient normal force to prevent slipping and climb successfully. Unlike many limbed arboreal animals that have discrete gripping regions on the feet, the elo...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0434
更新日期:2014-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::The loss of environmental heterogeneity threatens biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between environmental heterogeneity and spatial resilience as the capacity of ecological communities embedded in a landscape matrix to reorganize following disturbance. We ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0432
更新日期:2018-10-10 00:00:00
abstract::The sex ratio of the local population influences mating-related behaviours in many species. Recent experiments show that male-biased sex ratios increase the amount of financial resources men will invest in potential mates, suggesting that sex ratios influence allocation of mating effort in humans. To investigate this ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0148
更新日期:2014-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::We tested whether the carbohydrate and amino acid content of extrafloral nectar affected prey choice by a predatory ant. Fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, were provided with artificial nectar that varied in the presence of carbohydrates and amino acids and were then provided with two prey items that differed in nutrition...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0736
更新日期:2010-04-23 00:00:00
abstract::The genetic status of wolves in the western Great Lakes region has received increased attention following the decision to remove them from protection under the US Endangered Species Act. A recent study of mitochondrial DNA has suggested that the recovered wolf population is not genetically representative of the histor...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0516
更新日期:2009-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::In sexually cannibalistic animals, male fitness is influenced not only by successful mate acquisition and egg fertilization, but also by avoiding being eaten. In the cannibalistic nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, the legs of mature males are longer in relation to their body size than those of females, and males use...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0957
更新日期:2016-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Sex ratio evolution relies on genetic variation in either the phenotypic traits that influence sex ratios or sex-determining mechanisms. However, consistent variation among females in offspring sex ratio is rarely investigated. Here, we show that female painted dragons (Ctenophorus pictus) have highly repeatable sex r...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0526
更新日期:2006-12-22 00:00:00
abstract::Placoderms are a diverse group of armoured fishes that dominated the aquatic ecosystems of the Devonian Period, 415-360 million years ago. The bladed jaws of predators such as Dunkleosteus suggest that these animals were the first vertebrates to use rapid mouth opening and a powerful bite to capture and fragment evasi...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2006.0569
更新日期:2007-02-22 00:00:00
abstract::While it is widely acknowledged that forest biodiversity contributes to climate change mitigation through improved carbon sequestration, conversely how climate affects tree species diversity-forest productivity relationships is still poorly understood. We combined the results of long-term experiments where forest mixt...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章,meta分析
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0747
更新日期:2018-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Most mammals and approximately 20% of squamates (lizards and snakes) are viviparous, whereas all crocodilians, birds and turtles are oviparous. Viviparity evolved greater than 100 times in squamates, including multiple times in Mabuyinae (Reptilia: Scincidae), making this group ideal for studying the evolution of nutr...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2016.0430
更新日期:2016-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::The dynamics of leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have been intensively explored in short-term experiments, but rarely at longer timescales. Here, we investigated leaf N : P stoichiometry over a 27-year interval in an Inner Mongolia grassland by comparing leaf N : P concentration of 2006 with that of 1979. Across 8...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0981
更新日期:2015-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is associated with social dominance in human and non-human primates, which may reflect the effects of testosterone on facial morphology and behaviour. Given that testosterone facilitates status-seeking motivation, the association between fWHR and behaviour should be contingent on th...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2019.0232
更新日期:2019-08-30 00:00:00
abstract::White-nose syndrome is devastating North American bat populations but we lack basic information on disease mechanisms. Altered blood physiology owing to epidermal invasion by the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans (Gd) has been hypothesized as a cause of disrupted torpor patterns of affected hibernating bats, leadin...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0177
更新日期:2013-05-29 00:00:00
abstract::The birth sex ratio of vertebrates with chromosomal sex determination has been shown to respond to environmental variability, such as temperature. However, in humans the few previous studies on environmental temperature and birth sex ratios have produced mixed results. We examined whether reconstructed annual mean tem...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 历史文章,杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0482
更新日期:2008-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::Somatic deterioration in ageing animals may arise from allocation of resources to reproduction at the expense of repair and maintenance. Thus, accumulated reproductive effort is likely to progressively limit the expression of sexual ornaments at older ages. We analysed the effect of age and reproductive effort on the ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0759
更新日期:2010-04-23 00:00:00
abstract::Adult hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are typically described as open-coast, coral reef and hard substrate dwellers. Here, we report new satellite tracking data on female hawksbills from several countries in the eastern Pacific that revealed previously undocumented behaviour for adults of the species. In co...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0603
更新日期:2012-02-23 00:00:00
abstract::While there is increasing interest in non-consumptive effects of predators on prey, physiological effects are understudied. While physiological stress responses play a crucial role in preparing escape responses, the increased metabolic rates and shunting of energy away from other body functions, including antioxidant ...
journal_title:Biology letters
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0350
更新日期:2013-06-12 00:00:00