Article
Ecology
Jamie E. Becker, Kevin E. McCluney
Summary: Climatic change affects not only the energy balance of animals but also their water balance, with urbanization and climate shifts leading to an increase in lipid consumption relative to protein. Water supplementation can reduce this association, highlighting the importance of water balance in nutritional demand and potential implications for ecosystem services.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rachana Rao, Teresa Alcoverro, Phoolmani Kongari, Saw Yoayela, Rohan Arthur, Elrika D'Souza
Summary: The distribution patterns of seagrass species in the intertidal meadows of the Andaman archipelago are influenced by aerial exposure. Some species are found in submerged or subtidal areas, while others can tolerate partial or complete aerial exposure during low tide. However, even though H. beccarii and H. uninervis have a higher tolerance for aerial exposure, they do not dominate the entire meadow.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jeffrey Levinton, Brooke Arena, Riley Pena, M. Zachary Darnell
Summary: The study aims to compare ecologically relevant measures of performance of a species subjected to climate change across a wide range of latitudes. The fiddler crab Leptuca pugilator, which inhabits coastal areas ranging from Massachusetts to Florida, shows differences in temperature preferences, predator escape rates, and overall condition depending on latitude. Contrary to expectations, the trailing edge population in Florida performs better than higher latitude populations in various performance measures, indicating a potential adaptation to tropical temperatures. This study highlights the importance of considering natural thermal adaptations in marine species with broad latitudinal distributions when studying climate change impacts.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MARINE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Remy Perez, Mohammed Benbachir, Corentin Decroo, Cyril Mascolo, Ruddy Wattiez, Serge Aron
Summary: Some ant species adapt to hot and arid environments by varying worker size and morphology, which enhances resistance to heat stress. Water content, water loss, and protein regulation play a key role in thermal resistance. Large and polymorphic ants are better at tolerating heat stress, while small and monomorphic ants have different adaptive strategies.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Munonyedi Egbo, Gisuk Hwang
Summary: This study focuses on the liquid supply and vapor removal limits in a downward facing orientation for a Bare Surface Evaporator with Phase-Separating Wick (BEPSW). Results show that the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) and Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) increase with decreasing pitch distance of the post wicks, reaching optimal values at 2.5 to 3.5 mm. The study also reveals that the CHF using 550 µm wick exceeds that of 350 µm at a given pitch distance due to higher liquid permeability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jamie E. Becker, Nadejda A. Mirochnitchenko, Haley Ingram, Ashley Everett, Kevin E. McCluney
Summary: This study examined the water demand behavior of terrestrial arthropods and mollusks in mesic Northwest Ohio, finding that these animals were generally observed twice as often at artificial water sources compared to dry areas, with ants being the most responsive in urban areas. Daily fluctuations in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) best predicted variations in water demand behavior, with increased demand at higher VPD levels. Urban areas had higher mean VPD levels, but the effect on water demand behavior was generally lower, potentially due to reductions in overall abundance.
Article
Biology
Yun-wei Dong, Ming-ling Liao, Guo-dong Han, George N. Somero
Summary: Understanding the physiological mechanisms of thermal stress and species differences in adaptation and evolution to this stress is crucial for predicting current and future distribution patterns of species in a warming world. Studies on intertidal molluscs provide mechanistic explanations of thermal effects across different levels of biological organization and highlight the importance of temperature-sensitive traits in governing distribution patterns and coping capacities. Comparisons of congeners from different thermal habitats can effectively identify adaptive variations and illustrate the severity of threats posed by rising temperatures.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Wenbin Fei, Qirui Ma, Kenichi Soga, Guillermo A. Narsilio
Summary: This study analyzes the direction dependence of heat conduction in granular materials, identifies the shortest heat transfer paths, computes the directed network thermal resistance, and finds an inverse relationship between it and the anisotropic thermal conductivity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wenbin Fei, Xianze Cui, Guillermo A. Narsilio
Summary: A novel directed thermal network model was constructed to study the evolution of thermal anisotropy in deformed particle assemblies under different stress paths. The results show that contact attributes, including connectivity, quality, and orientation, not only influence the value but also the evolution of anisotropic effective thermal conductivity. The introduced directed network thermal resistance parameter R can consider the three contact attributes and has a general inverse linear relationship with anisotropic effective thermal conductivity, capturing the evolution of thermal anisotropy.
Article
Political Science
Laura Quaglia, Derek A. Epp, Katherine R. Madel
Summary: This study investigates the motivations behind the introduction of bills requiring new federal spending by members of the US Congress. The findings suggest that partisanship or ideology cannot reliably predict the cost of bills. Both Democrats and Republicans call for similar levels of new spending, even on policy topics where partisan divisions are expected to be pronounced. These results raise the possibility that rank-and-file members may be less motivated by abstract partisan commitments when it comes to spending.
Article
Ecology
Martin B. Nielsen, Trine K. Vogensen, Jakob Thyrring, Jesper G. Sorensen, Mikael K. Sejr
Summary: The study found that in Greenland, high gene expression levels were observed in North Atlantic mussels under conditions of high temperature and low salinity, leading to higher mortality rates.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Urban Studies
You Jin Kwon, Dong Kun Lee, Jun-Hyun Kim, Kyushik Oh
Summary: This study developed a method to improve urban thermal environment by focusing on sensible heat flux and land-use types. The results showed that neighborhood commercial districts had the highest concentration of unfavorable thermal areas, while single-family residential areas had the lowest sensible heat flux levels.
Article
Biology
Nicole E. Moyen, George N. Somero, Mark W. Denny
Summary: Thermal performance curves are commonly used to study the effects of heat acclimation on animals, but may not accurately predict survival in the field. In intertidal mussels, cardiac thermal performance tests show changes in critical temperature and flatline temperature after heat acclimation, but further research is needed to understand their role in thermal acclimation.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tamanna Alam, Wenming Li, Wei Chang, Fanghao Yang, Jamil Khan, Chen Li
Summary: Flow boiling in silicon nanowires (SiNWs) microchannels can effectively regulate two-phase flow regimes by enhancing explosive boiling, minimizing bubble departure diameter, and smoothing flow regime transition. Experimental investigations and high speed visualizations show that SiNWs reduce intermittent flow regimes, improve rewetting, and maintain thin liquid film at the wall, making it promising for thermal management due to high heat transfer rate and low pressure drop.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Bing Yao, Lulu An, Hengheng Zhu, Zequn Wang, Congcong Luo, Yuanyuan Liu, Pengcheng Lin, Ying Chen, Meng An, Weigang Ma, Xing Zhang
Summary: This article presents a novel strategy of bridge-type 1D SiC nanowires/2D graphite flakes thermal conduction networks with liquid-crystalline orientation to develop highly thermoconductive nanocomposites (AGSs), effectively improving the thermal management and waste heat recovery of electronics.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Nicholas C. Wu, Frank Seebacher
Summary: The study found that exposure to BPF and BPS can reduce swimming performance in adult zebrafish, while BPA, BPS, and BPF can all affect the activities of citrate synthase and lactate dehydrogenase. This suggests that bisphenols at ecologically relevant concentrations may disrupt the thermal responses of fish.
CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Frank Seebacher, Ensiyeh Kazerouni-Ghanizadeh
Summary: The health of running freshwater systems relies significantly on flow rates and temperature variations, which can affect the oxidative status, muscle function, and locomotion of aquatic animals. This study demonstrates that fish living in flowing water have greater swimming capacity, especially when acclimated to warm temperatures. Dispersal behavior is influenced by acclimation to flow and temperature, indicating the importance of considering physiological traits in predicting the impact of environmental change on movement.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Craig R. White, Dustin J. Marshall, Steven L. Chown, Susana Clusella-Trullas, Steven J. Portugal, Craig E. Franklin, Frank Seebacher
Summary: Climate change impacts all aspects of biology, causing organisms to adapt or face extinction. However, our ability to predict organismal responses is limited by geographical biases in existing datasets, which do not cover the wide range of climates that terrestrial animals will need to operate in.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Clare Miln, Ashley J. W. Ward, Frank Seebacher
Summary: The study found that in a group of zebrafish, social status was the best predictor of competitive success, followed by realized speed. As social relationships were established, the importance of physiological performance decreased.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Isabella Loughland, Gigi Y. Lau, Jordan Jolly, Frank Seebacher
Summary: The potential negative effects of thermal variation on physiological functions depend on the time scale of phenotypic adjustment and the rate of temperature change. In this study, different rates of temperature increase were tested on zebrafish, and it was found that both fast and slow rates of warming led to increased oxidative stress. However, mitochondrial substrate oxidation rates, leak respiration rates, and coupling did not show significant differences. The increase in ROS production at the slowest rate of warming suggests that seemingly benign environments can still be stressful for organisms.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Nicholas C. Wu, Alexander M. Rubin, Frank Seebacher
Summary: The energetic cost of growth is affected by temperature and environmental endocrine disruption. Plastic pollution and climate warming can impact animal growth efficiency and population dynamics.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Nicholas C. Wu, Frank Seebacher
Summary: Physiological traits influence individual movement and differences in physiological characteristics between range edges and cores may be associated with dispersal success. However, the results may be biased due to undersampling.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Frank Seebacher, Julian Beaman
Summary: Phenotypic plasticity of physiological functions allows organisms to respond quickly to environmental changes and increase their resilience. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) likely had metabolic plasticity that allowed it to adjust energy production to meet demand. Metabolic plasticity originated with the advent of Darwinian evolution and played a crucial role in genetic material replication and cell division. Since LUCA, metabolic networks have become more complex, with complexity being specific to environmental contexts and phylogenetic lineages.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biology
Miki Jahn, Frank Seebacher
Summary: This article explores the costs of movement (COT) in animals and its impact on ecological systems. Environmental conditions, morphology, and underlying physiological mechanisms contribute to differences in COT between individuals and species. Increasing temperatures notably increase COT, while thermal acclimation and exercise have varied effects on COT across taxa. Anthropogenic pollutants can also increase COT. COT can influence energy allocation and individual fitness, ultimately affecting the dynamics of animal communities. Future research should consider multiple stressors on COT, including a broader range of pollutants, and quantifying potential allocation trade-offs induced by COT.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Frank Seebacher
Summary: Human activities have created unique environmental drivers that may have unexpected effects on the endocrine responses of non-human animals, such as impacting reproduction and growth through hormones like gonadotropins and thyroid hormones. Interactions between temperature, light, endocrine disrupting compounds, light-at-night, and noise can lead to different physiological responses across generations of animals.
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jean-Guy J. Godin, Amelie Le Roy, Alicia L. Burns, Frank Seebacher, Ashley J. W. Ward
Summary: Consistent individual differences in behavior exist within populations. In this study, adult male guppies were tested to investigate the correlation between behavioral and metabolic traits. The findings did not support the prediction of the pace-of-life-syndrome (POLS) hypothesis, as there was no significant correlation between metabolic traits and behavioral traits. Male color ornamentation also did not predict behavioral or metabolic phenotypes. Therefore, individual differences in metabolism may not underlie the evolution and maintenance of behavioral variation in this study population.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Tiana Pelaia, Alexander M. Rubin, Frank Seebacher
Summary: Human activity has introduced novel chemicals into aquatic ecosystems, such as BPA which disrupts hormone-mediated processes. BPA is being replaced by BPS, but studies show that BPS can also disrupt hormone signalling, particularly of thyroid hormone. This study found that BPS exposure decreased swimming performance in zebrafish and had ecological consequences, likely mediated by thyroid hormone disruption.
AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Frank Seebacher, Stephanie M. Bamford, Amelie Le Roy
Summary: Each parent can impact offspring phenotype through zygote provisioning or sex-specific DNA methylation. Transgenerational plasticity may depend on the environmental conditions experienced by each parent. In a factorial experiment using guppies, we found that the thermal background of mothers and fathers influenced mass, length, and thermal performance of sons and daughters. Offspring sex played a significant role in most traits. The study showed that parental thermal variation can modify offspring phenotype, highlighting the importance of considering the thermal background of each parent.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Geoffrey P. F. Mazue, Maxim W. D. Adams, Frank Seebacher, Ashley J. W. Ward
Summary: To adjust their foraging strategy, individuals may use a combination of private and social information. The reliability of private information about environmental characteristics, such as prey distribution, can influence individuals' movement patterns. This study investigated how movement characteristics changed as individuals acquired reliable private information about prey distribution during foraging.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Frank Seebacher, Edward Narayan, Jodie L. Rummer, Sean Tomlinson, Steven J. Cooke
Summary: This article emphasizes the important role of physiology in addressing climate warming, including environmental monitoring and measuring individual sensitivities to temperature change. Physiology can be incorporated by institutions and organizations to bring a mechanistic approach to conservation and the management of biological resources.
CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)