Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird, Sula leucogaster.

abstract：:Plants under attack by pathogens and pests can mount a range of inducible defences, encompassing both chemical and structural changes. Although few reports exist, it appears that plants responding to pathogen or herbivore attack, or chemical defence elicitors, may produce progeny that are better able to defend themsel...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Walters DR,Paterson L

更新日期：2012-10-23 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：: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：:Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in relative fitness of competing species is a key factor affecting the structure of communities. However, it is not intuitive why species that are ecologically similar should differ in their response to environmental changes. Here we show that two sympatric flycatchers differ in repr...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Qvarnström A,Svedin N,Wiley C,Veen T,Gustafsson L

更新日期：2005-03-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Various vertebrate species use relative numerosity judgements in comparative assessments of quantities for which they use larger/smaller relationships rather than absolute number. The numerical ability of honeybees shares basic properties with that of vertebrates but their use of absolute or relative numerosity has no...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Bortot M,Agrillo C,Avarguès-Weber A,Bisazza A,Miletto Petrazzini ME,Giurfa M

更新日期：2019-06-28 00:00:00

abstract：:The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) suffered a sharp population decline over much of its European distribution range in the middle of the twentieth century. Still declining in some areas, the species has recently experienced a notable population recovery in certain regions. We examined the genetic diversity variation ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Ortego J,Aparicio JM,Calabuig G,Cordero PJ

更新日期：2007-10-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Strong reciprocity, whereby cooperators punish non-cooperators, may help to explain the evolutionary success of cooperative behaviours. However, theory suggests that selection for strong reciprocity can depend upon tight genetic linkage between cooperation and punishment, to avoid the strategy being outcompeted by non...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Inglis RF,West S,Buckling A

更新日期：2014-02-05 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：: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：: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：:Group choruses of marine animals can produce extraordinarily loud sounds that markedly elevate levels of the ambient soundscape. We investigated sound production in the Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus), a soniferous marine fish with a unique reproductive behaviour threatened by overfishing, to compare with sounds...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Erisman BE,Rowell TJ

更新日期：2017-12-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Numerous species undergo impressive movements, but due to massive changes in land use, long distance migration in terrestrial vertebrates has become a highly fragile ecological phenomenon. Uncertainty about the locations of past migrations and the importance of current corridors hampers conservation planning. Using ar...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Berger J,Cain SL,Berger KM

更新日期：2006-12-22 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：:While it is widely acknowledged that forest biodiversity contributes to climate change mitigation through improved carbon sequestration, conversely how climate affects tree species diversity-forest productivity relationships is still poorly understood. We combined the results of long-term experiments where forest mixt...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jactel H,Gritti ES,Drössler L,Forrester DI,Mason WL,Morin X,Pretzsch H,Castagneyrol B

更新日期：2018-04-01 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：:Telomeres are regarded as markers of biological or cellular ageing because they shorten with the degree of stress exposure. Accordingly, telomere lengths should show different rates of change when animals are faced with different intensities of environmental challenges. However, a relationship between telomere length ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Mizutani Y,Tomita N,Niizuma Y,Yoda K

更新日期：2013-08-14 00:00:00

abstract：:Domesticated animals have been shown to recognize basic phonemic information from human speech sounds and to recognize familiar speakers from their voices. However, whether animals can spontaneously identify words across unfamiliar speakers (speaker normalization) or spontaneously discriminate between unfamiliar speak...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Root-Gutteridge H,Ratcliffe VF,Korzeniowska AT,Reby D

更新日期：2019-12-24 00:00:00

abstract：:The temporal stability of plant reproductive features on islands has rarely been tested. Using flowers, fruits/cones and seeds from a well-dated (23 Ma) Miocene Lagerstätte in New Zealand, we show that across 23 families and 30 genera of forest angiosperms and conifers, reproductive features have remained constant for...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Conran JG,Lee WG,Lee DE,Bannister JM,Kaulfuss U

更新日期：2014-10-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The evolution of visual warning signals is well known in animals but has received scant attention in plants. The coevolutionary hypothesis is the most influential hypothesis on warning signals in plants proposing that red and yellow leaf colours in autumn signal defensive strength to herbivores. So far, evidence in su...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Schaefer HM,Rolshausen G

更新日期：2007-02-22 00:00:00

abstract：:Malpighian tubules play an essential role in excretion, osmoregulation and immunity of most insects. Exceptionally, aphids lack Malpighian tubules, providing the opportunity to investigate the fate of genes expressed in an organ that has undergone evolutionary reduction and loss. Making use of the sequenced genomes of...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Jing X,White TA,Yang X,Douglas AE

更新日期：2015-05-01 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：:The study of social behaviour within groups has relied on fixed definitions of an 'interaction'. Criteria used in these definitions often involve a subjectively defined cut-off value for proximity, orientation and time (e.g. courtship, aggression and social interaction networks) and the same numerical values for these...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Schneider J,Levine JD

更新日期：2014-10-01 00:00:00

abstract：:Males of many vertebrate species aggressively defend their reproductive interests by monopolizing females, and the 'challenge hypothesis' predicts that testosterone levels in reproductive contexts rise to facilitate males' competitive behaviours necessary for meeting social challenges. The hypothesis is successful in ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Klose SM,Welbergen JA,Kalko EK

更新日期：2009-12-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Predicting the spread of wildlife disease is critical for identifying populations at risk, targeting surveillance and designing proactive management programmes. We used a landscape genetics approach to identify landscape features that influenced gene flow and the distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Wiscon...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Blanchong JA,Samuel MD,Scribner KT,Weckworth BV,Langenberg JA,Filcek KB

更新日期：2008-02-23 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：:Somatic deterioration in ageing animals may arise from allocation of resources to reproduction at the expense of repair and maintenance. Thus, accumulated reproductive effort is likely to progressively limit the expression of sexual ornaments at older ages. We analysed the effect of age and reproductive effort on the ...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Velando A,Drummond H,Torres R

更新日期：2010-04-23 00:00:00

abstract：:Coral-associated invertebrates are the most significant contributors to the diversity of reef ecosystems, but no studies have examined how larvae manage to settle and grow in their coral hosts. Video recordings were used to document this process in the coral barnacle Darwiniella angularis associated with the coral Cyp...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Liu JC,Høeg JT,Chan BK

更新日期：2016-06-01 00:00:00

abstract：:The mid-domain effect (MDE), a bias in species richness towards the midpoint of a given geographical dimension, has been used as a null model in macro-ecological studies. Departures from a MDE are often thought of as interesting. The MDE is a product of the interaction between geometric boundaries and range locations,...

journal_title：Biology letters

authors： Davies TJ,Grenyer R,Gittleman JL

更新日期：2005-06-22 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