The oldest ionoscopiform from China sheds new light on the early evolution of halecomorph fishes.

abstract：:Soil oxygen availability may influence blue carbon, which is carbon stored in coastal wetlands, by controlling the decomposition of soil organic matter. We are beginning to quantify soil oxygen availability in wetlands, but we lack a precise understanding of how oxygen controls soil carbon dynamics. In this paper, we ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Chapman SK,Hayes MA,Kelly B,Langley JA

更新日期：2019-01-31 00:00:00

abstract：:Unrelated same-sex individuals pairing together and cooperating to raise offspring over many years is a rare occurrence in the animal kingdom. Cooperative breeding, in which animals help raise offspring that are not their own, is often attributed to kin selection when individuals are related, or altruism when individu...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Young LC,Zaun BJ,Vanderwerf EA

更新日期：2008-08-23 00:00:00

abstract：:The birth sex ratio of vertebrates with chromosomal sex determination has been shown to respond to environmental variability, such as temperature. However, in humans the few previous studies on environmental temperature and birth sex ratios have produced mixed results. We examined whether reconstructed annual mean tem...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Helle S,Helama S,Jokela J

更新日期：2008-02-23 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：:Dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs possess a strongly recurved, hypertrophied and hyperextensible ungual claw on pedal digit II. This feature is usually suggested to have functioned as a device for disembowelling herbivorous dinosaurs during predation. However, modelling of dromaeosaurid hindlimb function using a roboti...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Manning PL,Payne D,Pennicott J,Barrett PM,Ennos RA

更新日期：2006-03-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Research on social behaviour has largely concentrated on birds and mammals in visually active, cooperatively breeding groups (although such systems are relatively rare) and focused much less on species that rarely interact other than for mating and parental care. We used microsatellite markers to characterize relatedn...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Clark RW,Brown WS,Stechert R,Greene HW

更新日期：2012-08-23 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

abstract：:Of more than 800 species of eels of the order Anguilliformes, only freshwater eels (genus Anguilla with 16 species plus three subspecies) spend most of their lives in freshwater during their catadromous life cycle. Nevertheless, because their spawning areas are located offshore in the open ocean, they migrate back to ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Inoue JG,Miya M,Miller MJ,Sado T,Hanel R,Hatooka K,Aoyama J,Minegishi Y,Nishida M,Tsukamoto K

更新日期：2010-06-23 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：:Group-living animals can develop social bonds. Social bonds can be considered a type of social relationship characterized by frequent and consistent affiliative (non-reproductive) interactions. Social bonds with conspecifics bring many advantages, also in terms of direct fitness. A characteristic of social bonds is th...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Busia L,Griggio M

更新日期：2020-07-01 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：:In Drosophila melanogaster, prolonged exposure to males reduces the longevity and fecundity of females. This harm arises from the effects of male courtship behaviours and the toxic side effects of the accessory gland proteins (Acps) in their seminal fluids. Here, we examine the relationship between male exposure and i...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Filice DC,Long TA

更新日期：2016-04-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The existence of consistent individual differences in behaviour ('animal personality') has been well documented in recent years. However, how such individual variation in behaviour is maintained over evolutionary time is an ongoing conundrum. A well-studied axis of animal personality is individual variation along a bo...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ahlgren J,Chapman BB,Nilsson PA,Brönmark C

更新日期：2015-04-01 00:00:00

abstract：:About 10 per cent of birds' eggs fail to hatch, but the incidence of failure can be much higher in endangered species. Most studies fail to distinguish between infertility (due to a lack of sperm) and embryo mortality as the cause of hatching failure, yet doing so is crucial in order to understand the underlying probl...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Hemmings N,West M,Birkhead TR

更新日期：2012-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Evenness is a key measure of community structure. Here, we examine the relationship between evenness and size-abundance distributions for both individuals and species using data gathered from Amazonian fish assemblages. We show that evenness increases as the fraction of numerically abundant species in larger body-size...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Magurran AE,Queiroz HL,Hercos AP

更新日期：2013-12-11 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：:Association and linkage mapping have become important tools in understanding the genetics of complex traits, including diseases in humans. As the success of association mapping is reduced by small effect sizes and limited power, linkage studies in laboratory-based model systems are still heavily used. But whether the ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Wilfert L,Jiggins FM

更新日期：2010-10-23 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：:Theories of extreme lifespan evolution in vertebrates commonly implicate large size and predator-free environments together with physiological characteristics like low metabolism and high protection against oxidative damages. Here, we show that the 'human fish' (olm, Proteus anguinus), a small cave salamander (weighin...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Voituron Y,de Fraipont M,Issartel J,Guillaume O,Clobert J

更新日期：2011-02-23 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：:Understanding the relationship between disease transmission and host density is essential for predicting disease spread and control. Using long-term data on sarcoptic mange in a red fox Vulpes vulpes population, we tested long-held assumptions of density- and frequency-dependent direct disease transmission. We also as...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Devenish-Nelson ES,Richards SA,Harris S,Soulsbury C,Stephens PA

更新日期：2014-10-01 00:00:00

abstract：:In many host populations, one of the most striking differences among hosts is their age. While parasite prevalence differences in relation to host age are well known, little is known on how host age impacts ecological and evolutionary dynamics of diseases. Using two clones of the water flea Daphnia magna and two clone...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Izhar R,Routtu J,Ben-Ami F

更新日期：2015-05-01 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：:This study tests the hypothesis that vertical habitat preferences of different monkey species inhabiting closed canopy rainforest are reflected in oxygen isotopes. We sampled bone from seven sympatric cercopithecid species in the Taï forest, Côte d'Ivoire, where long-term study has established taxon-specific patterns ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Krigbaum J,Berger MH,Daegling DJ,McGraw WS

更新日期：2013-07-10 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：: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：:Effective communication requires animal signals to be readily detected by receivers in the environments in which they are typically given. Certain light conditions enhance the visibility of colour signals and these conditions can vary depending on the orientation of the sun and the position of the signaller. We tested...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Klomp DA,Stuart-Fox D,Das I,Ord TJ

更新日期：2017-02-01 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：:A challenge in animal ecology is to link animal movement to demography. In general, reproducing and non-reproducing animals may show different movement patterns. Dramatic changes in reproductive status, such as the loss of an offspring during the course of migration, might also affect movement. Studies linking movemen...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Singh NJ,Ericsson G

更新日期：2014-06-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Darwin devoted much of his working life to the study of plant reproductive systems. He recognized that many of the intricacies of floral morphology had been shaped by natural selection in favour of outcrossing, and he clearly established the deleterious effects of self-fertilization on progeny. Although Darwin hypothe...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Pannell JR

更新日期：2009-06-23 00:00:00