Underwater acrobatics by the world's largest predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales.

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：:Animal contests often involve the use of repeated signals, which are assumed to advertise stamina, and hence fighting ability. While an individual may be predicted to give up once it has crossed an energetic threshold, costs inflicted by its opponent may also contribute to the giving-up decision. Therefore, physical s...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mowles SL,Cotton PA,Briffa M

更新日期：2011-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The interaction between neuromuscular systems and body mechanics plays an important role in the production of coordinated movements in animals. Lepidopteran insects move their wings by distortion of the thorax structure via the indirect flight muscles (IFMs), which are activated by neural signals at every stroke. Howe...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ando N,Kanzaki R

更新日期：2016-01-01 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 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：:At species' range edges, individuals often face novel environmental conditions that may limit range expansion until populations adapt. The potential to adapt depends on genetic variation upon which selection can act. However, populations at species' range edges are often genetically depauperate. One mechanism increasi...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Moerman F,Fronhofer EA,Wagner A,Altermatt F

更新日期：2020-06-01 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：:Humans shift their attention to follow another person's gaze direction, a phenomenon called gaze cueing. This study examined whether a particular social factor, intergroup threat, modulates gaze cueing. As expected, stronger responses of a particular in-group to a threatening out-group were observed when the in-group,...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Chen Y,Zhao Y

更新日期：2015-02-01 00:00:00

abstract：:We used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from muscle tissues accrued in the ocean to examine whether marine foraging tactics in anadromous sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) are linked to their ultimate freshwater life history as adults. Adults from large-bodied populations spawning in deep freshwater habitats had...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Johnson SP,Schindler DE

更新日期：2013-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Anti-predator benefits associated with living in groups are multiple and taxonomically widespread. In fish shoals, individuals can exploit the confusion effect, whereby predators struggle to target a single individual among several individuals. Theory predicts that the confusion effect could be aided by homogeneity in...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Cattelan S,Griggio M

更新日期：2018-08-01 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：:Predictions of future species' ranges under climate change are needed for conservation planning, for which species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used. However, global climate model-based (GCM) output grids can bias the area identified as suitable when these are used as SDM predictor variables, because GCM outp...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Seo C,Thorne JH,Hannah L,Thuiller W

更新日期：2009-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The past population dynamics of four domestic and one wild species of bovine were estimated using Bayesian skyline plots, a coalescent Markov chain Monte Carlo method that does not require an assumed parametric model of demographic history. Four domestic species share a recent rapid population expansion not visible in...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Finlay EK,Gaillard C,Vahidi SM,Mirhoseini SZ,Jianlin H,Qi XB,El-Barody MA,Baird JF,Healy BC,Bradley DG

更新日期：2007-08-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Parental effects have been shown to buffer the negative effects of within-generation exposure to ocean acidification (OA) conditions on the offspring of shallow water marine organisms. However, it remains unknown if parental effects will be impacted by the presence of diel CO2 cycles that are prevalent in many shallow...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jarrold MD,Munday PL

更新日期：2019-02-28 00:00:00

abstract：:Primate groups vary considerably in size across species. Nonetheless, the distribution of mean species group size has a regular scaling pattern with preferred sizes approximating 2.5, 5, 15, 30 and 50 individuals (although strepsirrhines lack the latter two), with a scaling ratio of approximately 2.5 similar to that o...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Dunbar RIM,Mac Carron P,Shultz S

更新日期：2018-01-01 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：: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：:In cooperative animal societies, dominant females typically show higher breeding success than subordinates, and are commonly believed to control the extent of reproductive sharing. However, studies of social insect societies reveal that subordinates too can interfere with the breeding attempts of others, with importan...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Young AJ,Clutton-Brock T

更新日期：2006-09-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Seamounts may influence the distribution of marine mammals through a combination of increased ocean mixing, enhanced local productivity and greater prey availability. To study the effects of seamounts on the presence and acoustic behaviour of cetaceans, we deployed a high-frequency acoustic recording package on the su...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Johnston DW,McDonald M,Polovina J,Domokos R,Wiggins S,Hildebrand J

更新日期：2008-04-23 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：:Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly called drones, are being increasingly used in ecological research, in particular to approach sensitive wildlife in inaccessible areas. Impact studies leading to recommendations for best practices are urgently needed. We tested the impact of drone colour, speed and flight angle on the...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Vas E,Lescroël A,Duriez O,Boguszewski G,Grémillet D

更新日期：2015-02-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Many studies have focused on the effects of anthropogenic noise on animal communication, but only a few have looked at its effect on other behavioural systems. We designed a playback experiment to test the effect of noise on predation risk assessment. We found that in response to boat motor playback, Caribbean hermit ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Chan AA,Giraldo-Perez P,Smith S,Blumstein DT

更新日期：2010-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Plants have evolved numerous herbivore defences that are resistance- or tolerance-based. Resistance involves physical and chemical traits that deter and/or harm herbivores whereas tolerance minimizes fitness costs of herbivory, often via compensatory growth. The Poaceae frequently accumulate large amounts of silicon (...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Johnson SN,Reynolds OL,Gurr GM,Esveld JL,Moore BD,Tory GJ,Gherlenda AN

更新日期：2019-07-26 00:00:00

abstract：:Worldwide, many plant species are experiencing an earlier onset of spring phenophases due to climate warming. Rapid recent temperature increases on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have triggered changes in the spring phenology of the local vegetation. However, remote sensing studies of the land surface phenology have reached...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Zhou HK,Yao BQ,Xu WX,Ye X,Fu JJ,Jin YX,Zhao XQ

更新日期：2014-08-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Ecological niche theory asserts that invading species become established only if introduced propagules survive stochastic mortality and can exploit resources unconsumed by resident species. Because their transportation is not controlled by plant health or biosecurity regulations, soil macrofauna decomposers, including...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Melody C,Schmidt O

更新日期：2012-12-23 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：:Males of a variety of taxa occasionally steal food secured by their mates. In some spiders and insects, males rely entirely on this form of intraspecific kleptoparasitism for their subsistence. However, this male strategy may be costly for females and a variety of different female counteradaptations have been proposed...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Arnqvist G,Jones TM,Elgar MA

更新日期：2006-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Muscles are commonly assumed to have uniform activations across their bellies. Yet animal studies have shown that different regions across a muscle can vary in their architecture, fibre type, levels of activation and the transfer of forces to the bones and tendons. The purpose of this study was to test whether regiona...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Wakeling JM

更新日期：2009-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Long-term memory can be critically important for animals in a variety of contexts, and yet the extreme reduction in body temperature in hibernating animals alters neurochemistry and may therefore impair brain function. Behavioural studies on memory impairment associated with hibernation have been almost exclusively co...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ruczynski I,Siemers BM

更新日期：2011-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Captive breeding is a high profile management tool used for conserving threatened species. However, the inevitable consequence of generations in captivity is broad scale and often-rapid phenotypic divergence between captive and wild individuals, through environmental differences and genetic processes. Although poorly ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Slade B,Parrott ML,Paproth A,Magrath MJ,Gillespie GR,Jessop TS

更新日期：2014-11-01 00:00:00