Avian evolution: from Darwin's finches to a new way of thinking about avian forebrain organization and behavioural capabilities.

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

authors： Dzubakova K,Peter H,Bertuzzo E,Juez C,Franca MJ,Rinaldo A,Battin TJ

更新日期：2018-10-10 00:00:00

abstract：:Correct decision making is crucial for animals to maximize foraging success and minimize predation risk. Group-living animals can make such decisions by using their own personal information or by pooling information with other group members (i.e. social information). Here, we investigate how individuals might best bal...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： King AJ,Cowlishaw G

更新日期：2007-04-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Although the adaptive value of flight may seem obvious, it is the most difficult behaviour of birds to monitor. Here, we describe a technique to quantify the frequency and the duration of flights over several months by implanting a data logger that records heart rate (fH), hydrostatic pressure (diving depth) and the b...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Pelletier D,Guillemette M,Grandbois JM,Butler PJ

更新日期：2007-08-22 00:00:00

abstract：:A number of widely grown varieties of Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa, the grape used for wine production, are known to have resulted from crosses between Pinot noir and Gouais blanc, although it is not known which was the maternal parent in these crosses. We have analysed microsatellites and a single nucleotide polymorphi...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hunt HV,Lawes MC,Bower MA,Haeger JW,Howe CJ

更新日期：2010-06-23 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：:Odours that accumulate from roosting can attract predators and increase predation risk. Consequently, selection should favour strategies that allow prey to evade detection by predators, including changing roosts. Insectivorous bats that roost in tree hollows regularly switch roosts and roost in different sized groups,...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Threlfall C,Law B,Banks PB

更新日期：2013-05-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The Lake Victoria 'species flock' of cichlids is puzzling because reproductive isolation often occurs in the absence of substantial ecological differences among species. Theory predicts that this cannot evolve with most genetic mechanisms for mate choice. We provide the first evidence that learning, in the form of sex...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Verzijden MN,ten Cate C

更新日期：2007-04-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The aerodynamic force on flying insects results from the vortical flow structures that vary both spatially and temporally throughout flight. Due to these complexities and the inherent difficulties in studying flying insects in a natural setting, a complete picture of the vortical flow has been difficult to obtain expe...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Liu Y,Roll J,Van Kooten S,Deng X

更新日期：2018-05-01 00:00:00

abstract：:In a warming climate, higher temperatures are likely to modulate positively or negatively the effect of other environmental factors on biota, although such interactions are poorly documented. Here, we explore under controlled conditions the combined effects of two common stressors in freshwater ecosystems, higher temp...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mari L,Garaud L,Evanno G,Lasne E

更新日期：2016-12-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Most large raptors on migration avoid crossing the sea because of the lack of atmospheric convection over temperate seas. The osprey Pandion haliaetus is an exception among raptors, since it can fly over several hundred kilometres of open water. We equipped five juvenile ospreys with GPS-Accelerometer-Magnetometer log...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Duriez O,Peron G,Gremillet D,Sforzi A,Monti F

更新日期：2018-12-21 00:00:00

abstract：:Infection density is among the most important factors for understanding the biological effects of Wolbachia and other endosymbionts on their hosts. To gain insight into the mechanisms of infection density regulation, we investigated the adzuki bean beetles Callosobruchus chinensis and their Wolbachia endosymbionts. Do...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Kondo N,Shimada M,Fukatsu T

更新日期：2005-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:In this study of body temperatures (T(b)) in free ranging dromedary camels, we found that bulls in rut start the days cooler. Daily minima during rut averaged 0.6 degrees C lower than at other times (95% CI 0.27-0.94 degrees C) and daily maxima averaged 0.45 degrees C higher (95% CI -0.01 to -0.91 degrees C), increasi...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Grigg G,Beard L,Dörges B,Heucke J,Coventry J,Coppock A,Blomberg S

更新日期：2009-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Evidence of altered primary sex ratios in birds shows that mothers can manipulate the sex of their offspring before oviposition. In birds, females are the heterogametic sex (ZW) and males are homogametic (ZZ). Sex is determined in the first meiotic division, when one sex chromosome is retained in the oocyte and the ot...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Correa SM,Adkins-Regan E,Johnson PA

更新日期：2005-06-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Does a dysfunction in the mirror neuron system (MNS) underlie the social symptoms defining autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Research suggests that the MNS matches observed actions to motor plans for similar actions, and that these motor plans include directions for predictive eye movements when observing goal-directed ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Falck-Ytter T

更新日期：2010-06-23 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

authors： Mi Z,Huang Y,Gan H,Zhou W,Flynn DF,He JS

更新日期：2015-01-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The tannuolinid Micrina belongs to the tommotiids-a common and widely distributed, but poorly understood, group of Early Cambrian fossil metazoans with multiple external organophosphatic sclerites. Recent findings of sessile articulated tommotiid scleritomes indicate that previous reconstructions of tommotiids as slug...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Holmer LE,Skovsted CB,Brock GA,Valentine JL,Paterson JR

更新日期：2008-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Male signals that provide information to females about mating benefits are often of low reliability. It is thus not clear why females often express strong signal preferences. We tested the hypothesis that females can distinguish between males with preferred signals that provide lower and higher quality direct benefits...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Wegehaupt AK,Wagner WE Jr

更新日期：2017-09-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The fastest land animals are of intermediate size. Cheetah, antelope, greyhounds and racehorses have been measured running much faster than reported for elephants or elephant shrews. Can this be attributed to scaling of physical demands and explicit physiological constraints to supply? Here, we describe the scaling of...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Usherwood JR,Gladman NW

更新日期：2020-10-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The fluid-containing traps of Nepenthes carnivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthaceae) are often inhabited by organisms known as inquilines. Dipteran larvae are key components of such communities and are thought to facilitate pitcher nitrogen sequestration by converting prey protein into inorganic nitrogen, although this h...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Lam WN,Chong KY,Anand GS,Tan HT

更新日期：2017-03-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Long-term studies have revealed population declines in fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In birds, and particularly amphibians, these declines are a global phenomenon whose causes are often unclear. Among reptiles, snakes are top predators and therefore a decline in their numbers may have serious conseq...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Reading CJ,Luiselli LM,Akani GC,Bonnet X,Amori G,Ballouard JM,Filippi E,Naulleau G,Pearson D,Rugiero L

更新日期：2010-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The perception of emotional expressions allows animals to evaluate the social intentions and motivations of each other. This usually takes place within species; however, in the case of domestic dogs, it might be advantageous to recognize the emotions of humans as well as other dogs. In this sense, the combination of v...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Albuquerque N,Guo K,Wilkinson A,Savalli C,Otta E,Mills D

更新日期：2016-01-01 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：: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

authors： Geml J,Semenova TA,Morgado LN,Welker JM

更新日期：2016-11-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Sexual conflict occurs when selection to maximize fitness in one sex does so at the expense of the other sex. In the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, repeated mating provides assurance of paternity at a direct cost to female reproductive productivity. To reduce this cost, females could choose males with low re...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hopwood PE,Mazué GP,Carter MJ,Head ML,Moore AJ,Royle NJ

更新日期：2016-03-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Male-biased susceptibility to parasites is common in dioecious plants. However, why males have higher parasite loads than females is unclear. Unlike males, females must subsidize post-fertilization costs of reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit development). As a result, females may have smaller pools of resources potenti...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Yule KJ,Burns KC

更新日期：2019-03-29 00:00:00

abstract：:Given the high costs of avian obligate brood parasitism, host individuals are selected to reject parasitic eggs they recognize as foreign. We show that rejection may not necessarily follow egg discrimination when selective removal of the parasitic egg is difficult. We studied egg rejection behaviour in a small host of...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Antonov A,Stokke BG,Moksnes A,Røskaft E

更新日期：2009-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The present erratum is in regards to our article entitled ‘Ancient DNA and the tropics: a rodent's tale’. We were made aware of problems with some of the ancient sequences submitted to GenBank and conducted a systematic review of all the files used in our study. We discovered that, unfortunately, an incorrect file was...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Gutiérrez-García TA,Vázquez-Domínguez E,Arroyo-Cabrales J,Kuch M,Enk J,King C,Poinar HN

更新日期：2015-03-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Vision of the body, even when non-informative about stimulation, affects somatosensory processing. We investigated whether seeing the body also modulates autonomic control in the periphery by measuring skin temperature while manipulating vision. Using a mirror box, the skin temperature was measured from left hand dors...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Sadibolova R,Longo MR

更新日期：2014-04-23 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

authors： Chesman BS,Langston WJ

更新日期：2006-09-22 00:00:00

abstract：:While we can usually understand the impacts of invasive species on recipient communities, invasion biology lacks methodologies that are potentially more predictive. Such tools should ideally be straightforward and widely applicable. Here, we explore an approach that compares the functional responses (FRs) of invader a...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bollache L,Dick JT,Farnsworth KD,Montgomery WI

更新日期：2008-04-23 00:00:00