Stable isotope canopy effects for sympatric monkeys at Tai Forest, Cote d'Ivoire.

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：:Many studies during the past 50 years have found an association between father absence and earlier menarche. In connection with these findings, several evolutionary theories assume that father absence is a causal factor accelerating reproductive development. However, a recent study analysing data from the Avon Longitu...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Lenárt P,Zlámal F,Kukla L,Jarkovský J,Bienertová-Vašků J

更新日期：2019-06-28 00:00:00

abstract：:Mosquitoes, which evade contact with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual sprays, by feeding outdoors or upon animals, are primary malaria vectors in many tropical countries. They can also dominate residual transmission where high coverage of these front-line vector control measures is achieved. Compleme...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Kiware SS,Chitnis N,Devine GJ,Moore SJ,Majambere S,Killeen GF

更新日期：2012-10-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Migratory animals present a unique challenge for predicting population size because they are influenced by events in multiple stages of the annual cycle that are separated by large geographic distances. Here, we develop a model that incorporates non-fatal carry-over effects to predict changes in population size and sh...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Norris DR,Taylor CM

更新日期：2006-03-22 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：:Inbreeding causes increases in homozygosity and is commonly associated with reductions in fertility and embryogenesis. Although the mechanisms underlying such effects are unknown, recent work has suggested that inbred males may suffer impaired ejaculate quality, thus providing a functional explanation for reductions i...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Fitzpatrick JL,Evans JP

更新日期：2009-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The evolutionary stability of honest signalling by offspring is thought to require that begging displays be costly, so the costs and benefits of begging--and whether they are experienced individually or by the whole brood--are crucial to understanding the evolution of begging behaviour. Begging is known to have immedi...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Lessells CK,Riebel K,Draganoiu TI

更新日期：2011-06-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Coral reefs are one of the most diverse systems on the planet; yet, only a small fraction of coral reef species have attracted scientific study. Here, we document strong deleterious effects of an often overlooked species-the vermetid gastropod, Dendropoma maximum-on growth and survival of reef-building corals. Our sur...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Shima JS,Osenberg CW,Stier AC

更新日期：2010-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:White-nose syndrome is devastating North American bat populations but we lack basic information on disease mechanisms. Altered blood physiology owing to epidermal invasion by the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans (Gd) has been hypothesized as a cause of disrupted torpor patterns of affected hibernating bats, leadin...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Warnecke L,Turner JM,Bollinger TK,Misra V,Cryan PM,Blehert DS,Wibbelt G,Willis CK

更新日期：2013-05-29 00:00:00

abstract：:Ejaculate attributes are important factors driving the probability of fertilizing eggs. When females mate with several males, competition between sperm to fertilize eggs should accentuate selection on ejaculate attributes. We tested this hypothesis in the North African houbara bustard ( Chlamydotis undulata undulata) ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Vuarin P,Hingrat Y,Lesobre L,Jalme MS,Lacroix F,Sorci G

更新日期：2019-03-29 00:00:00

abstract：:G. L. Stebbins' most effective pollinator principle states that when pollinators are not limiting, plants are expected to specialize and adapt to the most abundant and effective pollinator species available. In this study, we quantify the effectiveness of bees, hummingbirds and hawkmoths in a Chilean population of Ery...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Medel R,González-Browne C,Salazar D,Ferrer P,Ehrenfeld M

更新日期：2018-06-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Inbreeding may lead to morphological malformations in a wide variety of taxa. We used genetic markers to evaluate whether malformed urodeles were more inbred and/or had less genetic diversity than normal salamanders. We captured 687 adult and 1,259 larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum), assessed each ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Williams RN,Bos DH,Gopurenko D,Dewoody JA

更新日期：2008-10-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Prior to the 1920s, the northeast Arctic (NA) cod were caught at spawning grounds ranging from the southernmost to the northernmost parts of the Norwegian coast, but have for the last 50 yr mainly been caught around the Lofoten archipelago and northwards. The NA cod have their feeding and nursery grounds in the Barent...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Opdal AF

更新日期：2010-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Strong social bonds can make an important contribution to individual fitness, but we still have only a limited understanding of the temporal period relevant to the adjustment of social relationships. While there is growing recognition of the importance of strong bonds that persist for years, social relationships can a...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Sick C,Carter AJ,Marshall HH,Knapp LA,Dabelsteen T,Cowlishaw G

更新日期：2014-07-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Twenty years ago, the field of ancient DNA was launched with the publication of two short mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences from a single quagga (Equus quagga) museum skin, an extinct South African equid (Higuchi et al. 1984 Nature312, 282-284). This was the first extinct species from which genetic information was retr...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Leonard JA,Rohland N,Glaberman S,Fleischer RC,Caccone A,Hofreiter M

更新日期：2005-09-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Cooperative alliances among kin may not only lead to indirect fitness benefits for group-living species, but can also provide direct benefits through access to mates or higher social rank. However, the immigrant sex in most species loses any potential benefits of living with kin unless immigrants disperse together or ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Pollack L,Rubenstein DR

更新日期：2015-07-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Populations facing novel environments are expected to evolve through the accumulation of adaptive substitutions. The dynamics of adaptation depend on the fitness landscape and possibly on the genetic background on which new mutations arise. Here, we model the dynamics of adaptive evolution at the phenotypic and genoty...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Gordo I,Campos PR

更新日期：2013-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:In otherwise mutualistic relationships between aphids and ants, attendance by ants often has negative impacts on aphids. For example, in a previous study using traps in the field, the aphid Tuberculatus quercicola, which exhibits mutualistic interactions with ants, showed extremely low dispersal rates, despite having ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Yao I

更新日期：2012-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The songs of oscine passerine birds vary on many spatial scales, reflecting the actions of diverse evolutionary pressures. Here we examine the songs of Cisticola erythrops, which effectively signal species identity across a geographical area spanning 6500 km in sub-Saharan Africa. Selection for species identification ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Benedict L,Bowie RC

更新日期：2009-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Sex ratio evolution relies on genetic variation in either the phenotypic traits that influence sex ratios or sex-determining mechanisms. However, consistent variation among females in offspring sex ratio is rarely investigated. Here, we show that female painted dragons (Ctenophorus pictus) have highly repeatable sex r...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Uller T,Mott B,Odierna G,Olsson M

更新日期：2006-12-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Placoderms are a diverse group of armoured fishes that dominated the aquatic ecosystems of the Devonian Period, 415-360 million years ago. The bladed jaws of predators such as Dunkleosteus suggest that these animals were the first vertebrates to use rapid mouth opening and a powerful bite to capture and fragment evasi...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Anderson PS,Westneat MW

更新日期：2007-02-22 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：:The hormone fluctuations that an animal experiences during ovulation can have lifelong effects on developing offspring. These hormones may act as an adaptive mechanism, allowing offspring to be 'pre-programmed' to survive in an unstable environment. Here, we used a transgenerational approach to examine the effects of ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Khan N,Peters RA,Richardson E,Robert KA

更新日期：2016-11-01 00:00:00

abstract：:In cooperatively breeding species, social conflict is typically assumed to underlie destructive behaviours like infanticide. However, an untested alternative hypothesis in birds is that infanticide in the form of egg tossing may simply be a parental response to partial nest predation representing a life-history trade-...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Cheng YR,Rubenstein DR,Shen SF

更新日期：2019-08-30 00:00:00

abstract：:The extreme body size of blue whales requires a high energy intake and therefore demands efficient foraging strategies. As an obligate lunge feeder on aggregations of small zooplankton, blue whales engulf a large volume of prey-laden water in a single, rapid gulp. The efficiency of this feeding mechanism is strongly d...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Goldbogen JA,Calambokidis J,Friedlaender AS,Francis J,DeRuiter SL,Stimpert AK,Falcone E,Southall BL

更新日期：2013-02-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The evolution of fluorescence is largely unexplored, despite the newfound occurrence of this phenomenon in a variety of organisms. We document that spiders fluoresce under ultraviolet illumination, and find that the expression of this trait varies greatly among taxa in this species-rich group. All spiders we examined ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Andrews K,Reed SM,Masta SE

更新日期：2007-06-22 00:00:00

abstract：:An often underappreciated function of signals is to notify receivers of the presence and position of senders. The colours that ornament the mouthparts of nestling birds, for example, have been hypothesized to evolve via selective pressure generated by parents' inability to efficiently detect and feed nestlings without...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Dugas MB

更新日期：2015-11-01 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 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：: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