When to use social information: the advantage of large group size in individual decision making.

abstract：:Although over 50 twin and adoption studies have been performed on the genetic architecture of antisocial behaviour, far fewer studies have investigated prosocial behaviour, and none have done so on a non-western population. The present study examined mothers' ratings of prosocial behaviour in 514 pairs of 2- to 9-year...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hur YM,Rushton JP

更新日期：2007-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Telomeres are regarded as markers of biological or cellular ageing because they shorten with the degree of stress exposure. Accordingly, telomere lengths should show different rates of change when animals are faced with different intensities of environmental challenges. However, a relationship between telomere length ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mizutani Y,Tomita N,Niizuma Y,Yoda K

更新日期：2013-08-14 00:00:00

abstract：:Costs associated with extra-territorial movement are believed to have favoured the evolution of delayed dispersal and sociality across a range of social vertebrates, but remain surprisingly poorly understood. Here we reveal a novel mechanism that may contribute substantially to the costs of extra-territorial movement:...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Young AJ,Monfort SL

更新日期：2009-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The Red Queen hypothesis is based on the assumption that parasites must genetically match their hosts to infect them successfully. If the parasites fail, they are assumed to be killed by the host's immune system. Here, we tested this using sympatric (mostly susceptible) and allopatric (mostly resistant) populations of...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： King KC,Jokela J,Lively CM

更新日期：2011-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Parasites commonly manipulate host behaviour, and among the most dramatic examples are diverse fungi that cause insects to die attached to leaves. This death-grip behaviour functions to place insects in an ideal location for spore dispersal from a dead body following host death. Fossil leaves record many aspects of in...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hughes DP,Wappler T,Labandeira CC

更新日期：2011-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:At the end of May, 17 scientists involved in an EU COST Action on Conservation Physiology of Marine Fishes met in Oristano, Sardinia, to discuss how physiology can be better used in modelling tools to aid in management of marine ecosystems. Current modelling approaches incorporate physiology to different extents, rang...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jørgensen C,Peck MA,Antognarelli F,Azzurro E,Burrows MT,Cheung WW,Cucco A,Holt RE,Huebert KB,Marras S,McKenzie D,Metcalfe J,Perez-Ruzafa A,Sinerchia M,Fleng Steffensen J,Teal LR,Domenici P

更新日期：2012-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) was widespread in Australia during the Late Pleistocene but is now endemic to the island of Tasmania. Low genetic diversity combined with the spread of devil facial tumour disease have raised concerns for the species' long-term survival. Here, we investigate the origin of low...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Brüniche-Olsen A,Jones ME,Austin JJ,Burridge CP,Holland BR

更新日期：2014-11-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Species response to environmental change may vary from adaptation to the new conditions, to dispersal towards territories with better ecological settings (known as habitat tracking), and to extinction. A phylogenetically explicit analysis of habitat tracking in Caenozoic large mammals shows that species moving over lo...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Raia P,Passaro F,Fulgione D,Carotenuto F

更新日期：2012-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Research on reproductive isolation in African cichlid fishes has largely focused on the role of nuptial colours, but other sensory modes may play an important role in mate choice. Here, we compare the relative importance of visual and olfactory cues in mate recognition by females of a Lake Malawi cichlid species. Fema...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Plenderleith M,van Oosterhout C,Robinson RL,Turner GF

更新日期：2005-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Soil oxygen availability may influence blue carbon, which is carbon stored in coastal wetlands, by controlling the decomposition of soil organic matter. We are beginning to quantify soil oxygen availability in wetlands, but we lack a precise understanding of how oxygen controls soil carbon dynamics. In this paper, we ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Chapman SK,Hayes MA,Kelly B,Langley JA

更新日期：2019-01-31 00:00:00

abstract：:Migratory decisions in birds are closely tied to environmental cues and fat stores, but it remains unknown if the same variables trigger bat migration. To learn more about the rare phenomenon of bat migration, we studied departure decisions of female common noctules (Nyctalus noctula) in southern Germany. We did not f...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Dechmann DKN,Wikelski M,Ellis-Soto D,Safi K,O'Mara MT

更新日期：2017-09-01 00:00:00

abstract：:In social insects, group behaviour can increase disease resistance among nest-mates and generate social prophylaxis. Stomodeal trophallaxis, or mutual feeding through regurgitation, may boost colony-level immunocompetence. We provide evidence for increased trophallactic behaviour among immunized workers of the carpent...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hamilton C,Lejeune BT,Rosengaus RB

更新日期：2011-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Two non-coding DNA classes, introns and intergenic regions, of Drosophila melanogaster exhibit contrasting evolutionary patterns. GC content is significantly higher in intergenic regions and affects their degree of nucleotide variability. Divergence is positively correlated with recombination rate in intergenic region...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ometto L,De Lorenzo D,Stephan W

更新日期：2006-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The movement and dietary history of individuals can be studied using stable isotope records in archival keratinous tissues. Here, we present a chronology of temporally fine-scale data on the trophic niche of otariid seals by measuring the isotopic signature of serially sampled whiskers. Whiskers of male Antarctic fur ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Cherel Y,Kernaléguen L,Richard P,Guinet C

更新日期：2009-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Quantifying how key life-history traits respond to climatic change is fundamental in understanding and predicting long-term population prospects. Age at first reproduction (AFR), which affects fitness and population dynamics, may be influenced by environmental stochasticity but has rarely been directly linked to clima...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Fjelldal MA,Layton-Matthews K,Lee AM,Grøtan V,Loonen MJJE,Hansen BB

更新日期：2020-04-01 00:00:00

abstract：:This study tests the hypothesis that vertical habitat preferences of different monkey species inhabiting closed canopy rainforest are reflected in oxygen isotopes. We sampled bone from seven sympatric cercopithecid species in the Taï forest, Côte d'Ivoire, where long-term study has established taxon-specific patterns ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Krigbaum J,Berger MH,Daegling DJ,McGraw WS

更新日期：2013-07-10 00:00:00

abstract：:The dung beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae is a cosmopolitan group of insects that feed primarily on dung. We describe the first case of an obligate predatory dung beetle and contrast its behaviour and morphology with those of its coprophagous sympatric congeners. Deltochilum valgum Burmeister killed and consumed milliped...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Larsen TH,Lopera A,Forsyth A,Génier F

更新日期：2009-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The symposium 'What is Macroecology?' was held in London on 20 June 2012. The event was the inaugural meeting of the Macroecology Special Interest Group of the British Ecological Society and was attended by nearly 100 scientists from 11 countries. The meeting reviewed the recent development of the macroecological agen...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Keith SA,Webb TJ,Böhning-Gaese K,Connolly SR,Dulvy NK,Eigenbrod F,Jones KE,Price T,Redding DW,Owens IP,Isaac NJ

更新日期：2012-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle and wildlife. Direct aerosol contact is thought to be the primary route of infection between conspecifics, whereas indirect transmission via an environmental reservoir of M. bovis is generally perceived not to be a significant source for...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Courtenay O,Reilly LA,Sweeney FP,Hibberd V,Bryan S,Ul-Hassan A,Newman C,Macdonald DW,Delahay RJ,Wilson GJ,Wellington EM

更新日期：2006-09-22 00:00:00

abstract：:While learning to avoid toxic food is common in mammals and occurs in some insects, learning to avoid cues associated with infectious pathogens has received little attention. We demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster show olfactory learning in response to infection with their virulent intestinal pathogen Pseudomonas...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Babin A,Kolly S,Schneider F,Dolivo V,Zini M,Kawecki TJ

更新日期：2014-03-05 00:00:00

abstract：:Malpighian tubules play an essential role in excretion, osmoregulation and immunity of most insects. Exceptionally, aphids lack Malpighian tubules, providing the opportunity to investigate the fate of genes expressed in an organ that has undergone evolutionary reduction and loss. Making use of the sequenced genomes of...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jing X,White TA,Yang X,Douglas AE

更新日期：2015-05-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Research on social behaviour has largely concentrated on birds and mammals in visually active, cooperatively breeding groups (although such systems are relatively rare) and focused much less on species that rarely interact other than for mating and parental care. We used microsatellite markers to characterize relatedn...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Clark RW,Brown WS,Stechert R,Greene HW

更新日期：2012-08-23 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

authors： Anderson AG,Hebets EA

更新日期：2016-02-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The somasteroids are Lower Palaeozoic star-shaped animals widely regarded as ancestors of Asterozoa, the group of echinoderms that includes brittle stars and starfish. However, the origin of asterozoans, the assembly of their distinctive body organization, and their relationships with other Cambrian and Ordovician ech...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hunter AW,Ortega-Hernández J

更新日期：2021-01-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The hormone corticosterone (CORT) is an important component of a bird's response to environmental stress, but it can also have negative effects. Therefore, birds on migration are hypothesized to have repressed stress responses (migration-modulation hypothesis). In contrast to earlier studies on long-distance migrants,...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Nilsson AL,Sandell MI

更新日期：2009-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The rapid decline in Arctic sea ice (ASI) extent, area and volume during recent decades is occurring before we can understand many of the mechanisms through which ASI interacts with biological processes both at sea and on land. As a consequence, our ability to predict and manage the effects of this enormous environmen...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Macias-Fauria M,Post E

更新日期：2018-03-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Parasite-mediated competition can shape community structure and host distribution. If two species compete for resources, parasites may indirectly change the outcome of competition. We tested the role of a trematode parasite in mediating microhabitat use by congeneric isopods Austridotea annectens and Austridotea lacus...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Friesen OC,Poulin R,Lagrue C

更新日期：2018-02-01 00:00:00

abstract：:We modelled the present and future sub-Saharan winter distributions of 64 trans-Saharan migrant passerines to predict the potential impacts of climate change. These predictions used the recent ensemble modelling developments and the latest IPCC climatic simulations to account for possible methodological uncertainties....

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Barbet-Massin M,Walther BA,Thuiller W,Rahbek C,Jiguet F

更新日期：2009-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Tropical forests are experiencing structural changes that may reduce carbon storage potential. The recent increase in liana abundance and biomass is one such potential change. Lianas account for approximately 25 per cent of woody stems and may have a strong impact on tree dynamics because severe liana infestation redu...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Durán SM,Gianoli E

更新日期：2013-06-19 00:00:00

abstract：:During the last half million years, pulses of gigantism in the anagenetic lineage of land snails of the subgenus Poecilozonites on Bermuda were correlated with glacial periods when lower sea level resulted in an island nearly an order of magnitude larger than at present. During those periods, the island was colonized ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Olson SL,Hearty PJ

更新日期：2010-12-23 00:00:00