Article
Biology
Alexander Davis, Matthew N. Zipple, Danae Diaz, Susan Peters, Stephen Nowicki, Sonke Johnsen
Summary: The colour signals of many animals are surrounded by a high-contrast achromatic background, which affects the ability to discriminate between different colour stimuli. Research on zebra finches showed that higher achromatic contrast with the background decreases their ability to differentiate between target and non-target stimuli, especially when the colour distances are small and the Michelson achromatic contrast with the background is high.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lisa P. Barrett, Jessica L. Marsh, Neeltje J. Boogert, Christopher N. Templeton, Sarah Benson-Amram
Summary: Individual differences in behavior and cognitive abilities have been shown to impact fitness. This study examines the connection between personality traits and problem-solving performance in zebra finches. The results indicate that certain personality traits, such as neophobia, dominance, and obstinacy, are related to successful problem-solving. Examining multiple measures over a long period is important to understand the coevolution of personality and innovation in non-model organisms.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen, Thomas J. H. Morgan, Katharina Riebel
Summary: The study found that zebra finches do not simply mimic the majority of individuals in social learning, but are influenced by the foraging activity of the demonstrators in an anti-conformist manner, indicating that they are not conformists but users of public information.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jesse A. Fallon, Christopher Goodchild, Sarah E. DuRant, Thomas Cecere, D. Phillip Sponenberg, William A. Hopkins
Summary: Exposure to crude oil can cause various pathological effects in birds, but not all species develop Heinz bodies or anemia. In a study on zebra finches, high doses of oil led to increased reticulocyte percentage and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, as well as inflammation and lymphocyte proliferation, but no Heinz bodies were found. Further research is needed to understand factors contributing to anemia resulting from oil exposure in birds.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elizabeth L. Sheldon, Riccardo Ton, Winnie Boner, Pat Monaghan, Shirley Raveh, Aaron W. Schrey, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: The study revealed a negative correlation between increases in DNAm levels and telomere length changes during early life, while also confirming the effects of post hatch growth rate and clutch size on telomere length. No effect of ambient temperature on telomere length dynamics was detected. The absolute telomere length of wild zebra finches was found to be similar to that of captive birds, highlighting potential relationships between DNA based biomarkers of ageing and physiological reactions to environmental change.
Article
Biology
Kang Nian Yap, Donald R. Powers, Melissa L. Vermette, Olivia Hsin- Tsai, Tony D. Williams
Summary: Experimental manipulation of foraging effort in captive zebra finches showed that increased workload during reproduction resulted in lower fecundity, but final reproductive output was not significantly different from controls. Offspring of parents subjected to high workload during reproduction also exhibited higher levels of oxidative stress at 90 days of age. Overall, there was an increase in oxidative stress in response to training, which may explain the lower fecundity observed in birds with increased workload during reproduction.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Douglas R. R. Wylie, Andrea H. H. Gaede, Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez, Pei-Hsuan Wu, Madison C. C. Pilon, Sarina Azargoon, Douglas L. L. Altshuler
Summary: This study characterized the organization of optic flow pathways in zebra finches, finding that they show specializations in this aspect which may be reflected in the organization of optic flow pathways to the IO.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Andrea H. Gaede, Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez, Pei-Hsuan Wu, Madison C. Pilon, Douglas L. Altshuler, Douglas R. Wylie
Summary: This study reveals the organization and functional implications of sensory-motor inputs to the pontine nuclei in birds.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Physiology
Praveen Kumar, Ulrike Redel, Tatjana Lang, Sigrun I. Korsching, Maik Behrens
Summary: Despite previous assumptions about the inferior bitter tasting abilities of birds, recent studies have shown that zebra finches exhibit strong bitter tasting capabilities. By investigating a specific bitter taste receptor in zebra finches, researchers have identified several new bitter agonists, suggesting that the bitter recognition profile of zebra finches is more diverse than previously thought. The most potent bitter agonist found in this study is cucurbitacin I, highlighting the ecological importance of this compound for zebra finches.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Kyle Coughlan, Edyta T. Sadowska, Ulf Bauchinger
Summary: This study investigated the changes in hematological variables with age in zebra finches. The researchers found a significant decline in hematocrit due to aging, while hemoglobin concentration, erythrocyte size, and number did not show significant changes. The decline in hematocrit may be related to differences in water homeostasis potential in older birds.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Zhi-Yuan Ning, Henkjan Honing, Carel ten Cate
Summary: Zebra finches rely on syllable phonology rather than sequence when discriminating between songs, but they can also discriminate different syllable sequences. The relationship between learning about phonological characteristics and sequence is not fully understood. This study compares the sensitivity of zebra finches to phonology and sequence depending on the differences between syllable strings.
Article
Physiology
Riccardo Ton, Antoine Stier, Christine E. Cooper, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Exposure to high ambient temperature during early life induces programming effects on cellular-level and thermal physiology in zebra finches, while not significantly impacting whole-animal metabolism.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Austin R. Spence, Hannah LeWinter, Morgan W. Tingley
Summary: Many species have not moved upslope as predicted by climate change, possibly due to challenges beyond temperature. To understand if organisms can continue to move upslope, researchers studied the physiological performance of Anna's hummingbirds in high-elevation conditions. Results showed that lower oxygen availability and low air pressure may hinder their ability to shift upslope, but the hummingbirds exhibited facultative response to thermal conditions. The study suggests the importance of long-term acclimatization in response to climate-induced range shifts.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Madeline P. Choi, Alexander M. Rubin, Haruka Wada
Summary: This study investigates the long-term effects of embryonic incubation temperature on beak color maturation and stress sensitivity in zebra finches. The results reveal that periodic cooling during incubation leads to lower beak color in females, and eggs laid later in a clutch have lower beak color saturation throughout life. Furthermore, handling and restraint stress have different effects on beak color in males and females, with males subjected to low incubation treatment showing higher activity levels during restraint.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Graham Smyth, Vikram B. Baliga, Andrea H. Gaede, Douglas R. Wylie, Douglas L. Altshuler
Summary: All visual animals, including hummingbirds and zebra finches, experience optic flow to control posture and movement. The lentiformis mesencephali (LM) in hummingbirds shows a bias for faster velocities and a preference for large visual features, while the LM in zebra finches specializes in tuning to high temporal frequencies and slower velocity. These findings demonstrate distinct and specialized tuning properties in the LM of these bird species.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Harvey, V. B. Baliga, P. Lavoie, D. L. Altshuler
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2019)
Article
Biology
Jolan S. Theriault, Joseph W. Bahlman, Robert E. Shadwick, Douglas L. Altshuler
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Neurosciences
Andrea H. Gaede, Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez, Melissa S. Armstrong, Douglas L. Altshuler, Douglas R. Wylie
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2019)
Article
Physiology
Benjamin Goller, Tyee K. Fellows, Roslyn Dakin, Luke Tyrrell, Esteban Fernandez-Juricic, Douglas L. Altshuler
PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ZOOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
V. B. Baliga, I. Szabo, D. L. Altshuler
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrew M. Hein, Douglas L. Altshuler, David E. Cade, James C. Liao, Benjamin T. Martin, Graham K. Taylor
Article
Biology
Joseph W. Bahlman, Vikram B. Baliga, Douglas L. Altshuler
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Andrea H. Gaede, Vikram B. Baliga, Graham Smyth, Cristian Gutierrez-lbanez, Douglas L. Altshuler, Douglas R. Wylie
Summary: By studying the visual response properties of hummingbirds, this study found that hummingbird nBOR neurons are more sensitive to stimulus velocity and more precise in the spatiotemporal domain. These results, in combination with specialization in LM, support the hypothesis that hummingbirds have evolved to be optic flow specialists to cope with the optomotor demands of sustained hovering flight.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Graham Smyth, Vikram B. Baliga, Andrea H. Gaede, Douglas R. Wylie, Douglas L. Altshuler
Summary: All visual animals, including hummingbirds and zebra finches, experience optic flow to control posture and movement. The lentiformis mesencephali (LM) in hummingbirds shows a bias for faster velocities and a preference for large visual features, while the LM in zebra finches specializes in tuning to high temporal frequencies and slower velocity. These findings demonstrate distinct and specialized tuning properties in the LM of these bird species.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Harvey, V. B. Baliga, J. C. M. Wong, D. L. Altshuler, D. J. Inman
Summary: This study examines the inertial characteristics of birds through an analytical method and finds that wing morphing significantly affects roll and yaw inertia but has minimal impact on the position of the center of gravity. The study also introduces a new metric of pitch agility and shows that agility and static margin ranges decrease with increasing body mass.
Article
Neurosciences
Douglas R. R. Wylie, Andrea H. H. Gaede, Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez, Pei-Hsuan Wu, Madison C. C. Pilon, Sarina Azargoon, Douglas L. L. Altshuler
Summary: This study characterized the organization of optic flow pathways in zebra finches, finding that they show specializations in this aspect which may be reflected in the organization of optic flow pathways to the IO.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ekaterina Osipova, Rico Barsacchi, Tom Brown, Keren Sadanandan, Andrea H. Gaede, Amanda Monte, Julia Jarrells, Claudia Moebius, Martin Pippel, Douglas L. Altshuler, Sylke Winkler, Marc Bickle, Maude W. Baldwin, Michael Hiller
Summary: Hummingbirds have specific metabolic adaptations for their energy-demanding hovering flight, but the genomic changes responsible for these adaptations are not well understood. In this study, researchers generated a high-quality genome assembly of the long-tailed hermit hummingbird and identified a gene called FBP2 that was inactivated during the evolution of hovering flight. Knocking down FBP2 in avian muscle cells increased glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration, as well as the number of mitochondria. Additionally, genes related to mitochondrial respiration and organization were up-regulated in hummingbird flight muscle. These findings suggest that the loss of FBP2 was a key step in the evolution of the metabolic muscle adaptations necessary for true hovering flight.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Cristian Gutierrez-Ibanez, Douglas R. Wylie, Douglas L. Altshuler
Summary: Avian flight is guided by optic flow which is the movement of images across the retina due to self-motion. The information of optic flow is transmitted to the cerebellum and plays a role in stabilizing eye movements. However, its role in controlling locomotion is not well understood.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pedro B. C. Leal, Marcela Cabral-Seanez, Vikram B. Baliga, Douglas L. Altshuler, Darren J. Hartl
Summary: The study shows that shape memory alloy (SMA) can serve as artificial muscles for performing multiple mechanical tasks. By adjusting the phase offset between mechanical and electrical stimuli, both synthetic and natural muscles can shift between actuation, braking, and spring-like behavior.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2021)
Article
Biology
R. Dakin, P. S. Segre, D. L. Altshuler
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)