Relaxed predation risk reduces but does not eliminate sociality in birds.

abstract：:Animals use cues to find their food, in microhabitats within their physiological tolerances. Termites build and modify their microhabitat, to transform hostile environments into benign ones, which raises questions about the relative importance of cues. Termites are desiccation intolerant and foraging termites are attr...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Oberst S,Lenz M,Lai JCS,Evans TA

更新日期：2019-07-26 00:00:00

abstract：:The fitness landscape-the function that relates genotypes to fitness-and its role in directing evolution are a central object of evolutionary biology. However, its huge dimensionality precludes understanding of even the basic aspects of its shape. One way to approach it is to ask a simpler question: what are the prope...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bazykin GA

更新日期：2015-10-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The comb jelly Mertensia ovum, widely distributed in Arctic regions, has recently been discovered in the northern Baltic Sea. We show that M. ovum also exists in the central Baltic but that the population consists solely of small-sized larvae (less than 1.6 mm). Despite the absence of adults, eggs were abundant. Exper...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jaspers C,Haraldsson M,Bolte S,Reusch TB,Thygesen UH,Kiørboe T

更新日期：2012-10-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Patterns of population genetic variation have frequently been understood as consequences of life history covariates such as dispersal ability and breeding systems (e.g. selfing). For example, marine invertebrates show enormous variation in life history traits that are correlated with the extent of gene flow between po...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Addison JA,Hart MW

更新日期：2005-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The response to intradermally injected phytohaemagglutinin (PHA-response) is a commonly used quantification of avian immunocompetence (the ability to resist pathogens). Parasite-mediated sexual selection requires heritable immunocompetence, but evidence for heritability of PHA-response in birds largely stems from full...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Pitala N,Gustafsson L,Sendecka J,Brommer JE

更新日期：2007-08-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The ability to perceive the Earth's magnetic field, or magnetoreception, exists in numerous animals. Although the mechanism underlying magnetoreception has not been clearly established in any species, in salmonid fish, it is hypothesized to occur by means of crystals of magnetite associated with nervous tissue such as...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Fitak RR,Schweikert LE,Wheeler BR,Ernst DA,Lohmann KJ,Johnsen S

更新日期：2018-06-01 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：:Despite major advances in the study of animal tool behaviour, researchers continue to debate how exactly certain behaviours are acquired. While specific mechanisms, such as genetic predispositions or action copying, are sometimes suspected to play a major role in behavioural acquisition, controlled experiments are req...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bandini E,Motes-Rodrigo A,Steele MP,Rutz C,Tennie C

更新日期：2020-06-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Dispersal is an important mechanism used to avoid inbreeding. However, dispersal may only be effective for part of an individual's lifespan since, post-dispersal individuals that breed over multiple reproductive events may risk mating with kin of the philopatric sex as they age. We tested this hypothesis in black grou...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Soulsbury CD,Alatalo RV,Lebigre C,Rokka K,Siitari H

更新日期：2011-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Animal locomotion arises from complex interactions among sensory systems, processing of sensory information into patterns of motor output, the musculo-skeletal dynamics that follow motor stimulation, and the interaction of appendages and body parts with the environment. These processes conspire to produce motions and ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Biewener A,Daniel T

更新日期：2010-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Male sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) with a specific restriction fragment length polymorphism fragment in their major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotype ('O-males') are more resistant to ectoparasites (a tick, Ixodes ricinus) than are males that lack this fragment ('NO-males'). However, emerging evidence suggests...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Olsson M,Wapstra E,Madsen T,Ujvari B,Rugfelt C

更新日期：2005-09-22 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

authors： Gaos AR,Lewison RL,Yañez IL,Wallace BP,Liles MJ,Nichols WJ,Baquero A,Hasbún CR,Vasquez M,Urteaga J,Seminoff JA

更新日期：2012-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Our study examines how the mutualism between Atta colombica leaf-cutting ants and their cultivated fungus is influenced by the presence of diverse foliar endophytic fungi (endophytes) at high densities in tropical leaf tissues. We conducted laboratory choice trials in which ant colonies chose between Cordia alliodora ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bittleston LS,Brockmann F,Wcislo W,Van Bael SA

更新日期：2011-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Lack of information is a constraint but ignorance can sometimes assist the evolution of cooperation by constraining selfishness. We discuss examples involving both ignorance of role or pay-off and ignorance of relatedness. Ignorance can favour cooperative traits like grouping and warning coloration and reduce conflict...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Queller DC,Strassmann JE

更新日期：2013-10-16 00:00:00

abstract：:Mutualisms affect the biodiversity, distribution and abundance of biological communities. However, ecological processes that drive mutualism-related shifts in population structure are often unclear and must be examined to elucidate how complex, multi-species mutualistic networks are formed and structured. In this stud...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Sun D,Cheney KL,Werminghausen J,Meekan MG,McCormick MI,Cribb TH,Grutter AS

更新日期：2015-08-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of global biodiversity loss, especially for threatened and near-threatened species. One widely implemented response is 'wildlife-friendly farming', involving the close integration of conservation and extensive farming practices within agricultural landscapes. However, th...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Pywell RF,Heard MS,Bradbury RB,Hinsley S,Nowakowski M,Walker KJ,Bullock JM

更新日期：2012-10-23 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

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 ch...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Weber TP,Borgudd J,Hedenström A,Persson K,Sandberg G

更新日期：2005-03-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Plain-tailed wrens (Thryothorus euophrys) live in groups that sing synchronized choruses, the contributions of females and males alternating with each other in cycles, within which each sex sings two of the four parts, the whole achieving near perfect synchrony. As each bird has a repertoire of ca 20 phrases of each t...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mann NI,Dingess KA,Slater PJ

更新日期：2006-03-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Lateralization is a well-described phenomenon in humans and other vertebrates and there are interesting parallels across a variety of different vertebrate species. However, there are only a few studies of lateralization in invertebrates. In a recent report, we showed lateralization of olfactory learning in the honeybe...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Letzkus P,Boeddeker N,Wood JT,Zhang SW,Srinivasan MV

更新日期：2008-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:In this study, we focused on the exceptionally large mammals inhabiting the Americas during the Quaternary period and the paramount role of body size in species ecology. We evaluated two main features of Pleistocene food webs: the relationship between body size and (i) trophic position and (ii) vulnerability to predat...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Segura AM,Fariña RA,Arim M

更新日期：2016-05-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Colonial breeding in birds is widely considered to benefit individuals through enhanced protection against predators or transfer of information about foraging sites. This view, however, is largely based on studies of seabirds carried out under favourable conditions. Recent breeding failures at many seabird colonies in...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ashbrook K,Wanless S,Harris MP,Hamer KC

更新日期：2008-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Animals living around humans may habituate to us, but little is known about the consequences of this habituation. Some wildlife managers assume that habituation to humans makes individuals less likely to respond to natural predators, which is something to be avoided in captive breeding programmes where animals are des...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Coleman A,Richardson D,Schechter R,Blumstein DT

更新日期：2008-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Despite having a profound effect on population dynamics, the reasons that animals disperse are poorly understood. Evolutionary explanations have focused on inbreeding and competition, where the potential cost of philopatry is negated through dispersal. Such scenarios lead to the prediction that less successful individ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Shafer AB,Poissant J,Côté SD,Coltman DW

更新日期：2011-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Coevolution with parasites is thought to maintain genetic diversity in host populations. However, while there are sound theoretical reasons to expect heterozygosity and parasite resistance to be related, this pattern has generally been shown only in inbred laboratory and island populations. This leaves doubt as to whe...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： MacDougall-Shackleton EA,Derryberry EP,Foufopoulos J,Dobson AP,Hahn TP

更新日期：2005-03-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The role of niche specialization and narrowing in the evolution and extinction of the ichthyosaurs has been widely discussed in the literature. However, previous studies have concentrated on a qualitative discussion of these variables only. Here, we use the recently developed approach of quantitative ecospace modellin...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Dick DG,Maxwell EE

更新日期：2015-07-01 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：:Avian predators learn to avoid defended insects on the basis of their conspicuous warning coloration. In many aposematic species, the level of chemical defence varies, with some individuals being more defended than others. Sequestration and production of defence chemicals is often costly and therefore less defended in...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Skelhorn J,Rowe C

更新日期：2006-09-22 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：:Ecosystem dynamics are driven by both biotic and abiotic processes, and perturbations can push ecosystems into novel dynamical regimes. Plant-plant, plant-soil and mycorrhizal associations all affect plant ecosystem dynamics; however, the direction and magnitude of these effects vary by context and their contribution ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bonsall MB,Froyd CA,Jeffers ES

更新日期：2020-01-01 00:00:00