Mid-Cretaceous charred fossil flowers reveal direct observation of arthropod feeding strategies.

abstract：:The brilliant red, orange and yellow colours of parrot feathers are the product of psittacofulvins, which are synthetic pigments known only from parrots. Recent evidence suggests that some pigments in bird feathers function not just as colour generators, but also preserve plumage integrity by increasing the resistance...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Burtt EH Jr,Schroeder MR,Smith LA,Sroka JE,McGraw KJ

更新日期：2011-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Hosts may defend themselves against parasitism through a wide variety of defence mechanisms, but due to finite resources, investment in one defence mechanism may trade-off with investment in another mechanism. We studied resistance strategies against the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina boulardi in two Drosophila species. ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Lefèvre T,de Roode JC,Kacsoh BZ,Schlenke TA

更新日期：2012-04-23 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

authors： Byrnes G,Jayne BC

更新日期：2014-08-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Negative effects of inbreeding are well documented in a wide range of animal taxa. Hatching success and survival of inbred offspring is reduced in many species and inbred progeny are often less attractive to potential mates. Thus, individuals should avoid mating with close kin. However, experimental evidence for inbre...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Frommen JG,Bakker TC

更新日期：2006-06-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The relationship between algae and their zooplanktonic predators typically involves consumption of nutrients by algae, grazing of the algae by zooplankton which in turn enhances predator biomass, controls algal growth and regenerates nutrients. Eutrophication raises nutrient levels, but does not simply increase normal...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mitra A,Flynn KJ

更新日期：2006-06-22 00:00:00

abstract：:The associations between habitat and other factors that lead to the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in diary cattle were examined in an unmatched case-control study. Data from 60 herds with recent history of bTB and 60 controls were analysed using logistic regression. The predictors included farmland habitat, topogr...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mathews F,Lovett L,Rushton S,Macdonald DW

更新日期：2006-06-22 00:00:00

abstract：:A long-standing but controversial hypothesis assumes that carnivorous plants employ aggressive mimicry to increase their prey capture success. A possible mechanism is that pitcher plants use aggressive mimicry to deceive prey about the location of the pitcher's exit. Specifically, species from unrelated families sport...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Schaefer HM,Ruxton GD

更新日期：2014-04-30 00:00:00

abstract：:Bitterness perception in mammals is mostly directed at natural toxins that induce innate avoidance behaviours. Bitter taste is mediated by the G protein-coupled receptor TAS2R, which is located in taste cell membranes. One of the best-studied bitter taste receptors is TAS2R38, which recognizes phenylthiocarbamide (PTC...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Purba LH,Widayati KA,Tsutsui K,Suzuki-Hashido N,Hayakawa T,Nila S,Suryobroto B,Imai H

更新日期：2017-01-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Human-induced environmental change can affect the evolutionary trajectory of populations. In Mexico, indigenous Zoque people annually introduce barbasco, a fish toxicant, into the Cueva del Azufre to harvest fish during a religious ceremony. Here, we investigated tolerance to barbasco in fish from sites exposed and un...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Tobler M,Culumber ZW,Plath M,Winemiller KO,Rosenthal GG

更新日期：2011-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Inclusive fitness theory predicts that organisms will tend to help close kin more than less related individuals. In a variety of birds and mammals, relatives are recognized by comparing their phenotype to an internal representation or template, which might be learned through either repeated exposure to family members ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bressan P,Zucchi G

更新日期：2009-06-23 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：: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：:Anthropogenic impacts are believed to be the primary threats to the eastern Australian population of grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus), which is listed as critically endangered, and the most threatened population globally. Analyses of 235 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) loci and 700 base...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Stow A,Zenger K,Briscoe D,Gillings M,Peddemors V,Otway N,Harcourt R

更新日期：2006-06-22 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：: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：:Group living can provide individuals with several benefits, including cooperative vigilance and lower predation rates. Individuals in larger groups may be less vulnerable to predation due to dilution effects, efficient detection or greater ability to repel predators. Individuals in smaller groups may consequently empl...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Raihani NJ,Ridley AR

更新日期：2007-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Cognitive bias has become a popular way to access non-human animal mood, though inconsistent results have been found. In humans, mood and personality interact to determine cognitive bias, but to date, this has not been investigated in non-human animals. Here, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowl...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Asher L,Friel M,Griffin K,Collins LM

更新日期：2016-11-01 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：: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

authors： Hahn AC,Fisher CI,DeBruine LM,Jones BC

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

authors： Wilder SM,Eubanks MD

更新日期：2010-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The Didelphidae are considered solitary opossums with few social interactions, usually limited to mating-related or mother-pouch young interactions. Anecdotal reports suggest that additional interactions occur, including den sharing by a few individuals, usually siblings. Here, we report novel observations that indica...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Astúa D,Carvalho RA,Maia PF,Magalhães AR,Loretto D

更新日期：2015-06-01 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：: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：: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：:Due to the costs of antipredator behaviour, prey have the ability to finely modulate their response according to the risk they have experienced, and adjust it over different scales of ecological time. Information on which to base their responses can be obtained from direct experience, but also indirectly from nearby c...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Lucon-Xiccato T,Chivers DP,Mitchell MD,Ferrari MC

更新日期：2016-08-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Nectar concentration is assumed to remain constant during transport by honeybees between flowers and hive. We sampled crop contents of nectar foragers on Aloe greatheadii var. davyana, a major winter bee plant in South Africa. The nectar is dilute (approx. 20% w/w), but the crop contents of bees captured on flowers ar...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Nicolson SW,Human H

更新日期：2008-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Male bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Western Australia form two levels of alliances; two to three males cooperate to herd individual females and teams of greater than three males compete with other groups for females. Previous observation suggested two alliance tactics: small four to six member teams of relatives th...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Connor RC,Watson-Capps JJ,Sherwin WB,Krützen M

更新日期：2011-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, has emerged as a model species for invasion biology, reflecting its remarkable capacity to outcompete native ladybird species when introduced into new habitats. This ability may be associated with its prominent resistance to pathogens and intraguild predation. We recently sho...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Schmidtberg H,Röhrich C,Vogel H,Vilcinskas A

更新日期：2013-03-06 00:00:00

abstract：:Collective responses to threats occur throughout the animal kingdom but little is known about the cognitive processes underpinning them. Antipredator mobbing is one such response. Approaching a predator may be highly risky, but the individual risk declines and the likelihood of repelling the predator increases in larg...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Coomes JR,McIvor GE,Thornton A

更新日期：2019-10-31 00:00:00

abstract：:Overlap in the form of sexual signals such as pheromones raises the possibility of reproductive interference by invasive species on similar, yet naive native species. Here, we test the potential for reproductive interference through heterospecific mate attraction and subsequent predation of males by females of a sexua...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Fea MP,Stanley MC,Holwell GI

更新日期：2013-11-27 00:00:00