Article
Ecology
Chris J. Law, Emily A. Blackwell, Abigail A. Curtis, Edwin Dickinson, Adam Hartstone-Rose, Sharlene E. Santana
Summary: The relationship between skull morphology and diet in carnivorous mammals shows decoupled modes of evolution in cranial and mandibular shape, with cranial shape following clade-based evolutionary shifts and mandibular shape evolution linked to broad dietary regimes. This suggests that dietary adaptation alone is not the only factor shaping mammal skull morphological evolution.
Article
Anthropology
Caitlin Man, Emmanuel Gilissen, Margot Michaud
Summary: This study investigated the differences in external and internal cranial structures between male and female eastern lowland gorillas, with a focus on the endocranium. The results showed significant sexual dimorphism in both size and shape of the cranial structures and endocasts. Male gorillas had larger and elongated craniums and endocasts compared to females.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tanya Zorenko, Ugis Kagainis, Fedor Golenishchev, Lubova Barashkova
Summary: We used geometric morphometrics to analyze the cranium dorsal projection and the mandible lateral projection in bone specimens from different forms of Microtus guentheri and Microtus hartingi. Our analysis revealed clear-cut differences in size and shape among the forms, with an eastern cluster corresponding to M. guentheri and a western cluster corresponding to M. hartingi. Differences were also found between subspecies of M. guentheri and between M. h. strandzensis and Rhodopean M. hartingi. Moreover, significant differences in morpho-ecological indices of the lower jaw indicated possible adaptation to specific habitats and dietary habits. These differences in vole groups may be attributed to the emergence of impenetrable barriers in Anatolia.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kory M. Evans, Olivier Larouche, Sara-Jane Watson, Stacy Farina, Maria Laura Habegger, Matt Friedman
Summary: Evolutionary innovations are essential for organisms to adapt to new environments, and the evolution of cranial asymmetry in flatfishes was a rapid process that led to the colonization of novel trait space. Strong integration in skull shape changes played a major role in the evolution of this innovation by synchronizing responses to selective pressures.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Developmental Biology
Nicolas Toussaint, Yushi Redhead, Marta Vidal-Garcia, Lucas Lo Vercio, Wei Liu, Elizabeth M. C. Fisher, Benedikt Hallgrimsson, Victor L. J. Tybulewicz, Julia A. Schnabel, Jeremy B. A. Green
Summary: The study utilized a landmark-free method to characterize the craniofacial skeletal phenotype of two mouse models and found dysmorphologies in one model and variation attributed to size and sexual dimorphism in another. The landmark-free method outperformed the landmark-based method in pinpointing local differences and structural reductions, making it suitable for wider application, especially in developmental mutant phenotype characterization.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Eloy Galvez-Lopez, Brandon Kilbourne, Philip G. Cox
Summary: European and American minks are similar in ecology, behavior, and morphology, but the American mink has shown better adaptation to human-altered environments, leading to outcompeting the European mink in introduced areas. Differences in cranial shape between the two species were found, with the American mink having a more adaptive morphology. Additionally, significant size-related sexual dimorphism exists within both species, with only the American mink showing significant sexual dimorphism in shape.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Carlo Meloro, Davide Tamagnini
Summary: This study used a large sample of extant species and a combined geometric morphometrics and comparative method approach to investigate the impact of ecological factors on carnivore skull morphology. The results showed that skull morphology is associated with diet at the interspecific scale, but the functional distinction between aquatic and terrestrial species is only valid in mandible shape and cranial size. Specialized dietary groups exhibit high levels of morphological disparity and evolutionary rates, with a positive association between rates and skull size disparity. The cranium and mandible show consistent patterns of covariation, reflecting constrained functional processes. Aquatic adaptations allowed carnivorans to invade novel regions of the mandibular morphospace at a faster rate than terrestrial species.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Angela Maria Garcia-Sanchez, Antonio Zurita, Cristina Cutillas
Summary: This article investigates the classification and taxonomic diversity of fleas, specifically the cat flea and dog flea. By conducting a geometric morphometrics analysis, the researchers were able to differentiate between specimens of both species. This study provides useful complementary data for the identification of flea species and has the potential to assist in the identification of historically difficult species.
Article
Biology
Diana Toneva, Silviya Nikolova, Elena Tasheva-Terzieva, Dora Zlatareva, Nikolai Lazarov
Summary: Sex estimation is crucial in identifying unknown bone remains. By using geometric morphometric techniques, this study investigated sexual dimorphism in the size and shape of the facial skeleton. The findings showed that size is a more useful indicator of sex than shape, but the best discrimination is achieved when both size and shape are considered together. This information is valuable for developing effective sex estimation methods.
Article
Biology
Marco Ginzel, Illya Martynov, Rainer Haak, Martin Lacher, Dietrich Kluth
Summary: Using microcomputed tomography, Ginzel, Martynov et al. provide a modernized exploration of the developing midgut in rat embryos, showing detailed processes and mechanisms. The 3D datasets advance the understanding of normal mammalian midgut embryology and offer new possibilities to reveal unknown mechanisms in the pathogenesis of congenital disorders.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Chad M. Eliason, Jenna M. McCullough, Michael J. Andersen, Shannon J. Hackett
Summary: The shape of the brain may influence the evolutionary process of species, and is related to behavioral, ecological, and taxonomic diversity. Research has found that the rate of brain shape evolution is positively correlated with lineage diversification rates, and brain shape changes may also be influenced by body size and ecological behavior.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Vida Jojic, Borislav Cabrilo, Olivera Bjelic-Cabrilo, Vladimir M. Jovanovic, Ivana Budinski, Mladen Vujosevic, Jelena Blagojevic
Summary: The study focused on analyzing the canalization and developmental stability of mandibular and cranial features in adult yellow-necked mice, in relation to age and parasite intensity. While age did not affect the canalization of mandibular and cranial size or the developmental stability of mandibular size, differences were observed in shape variance and fluctuating asymmetry with age. Parasitism levels were found to influence canalization for cranial size and developmental stability for cranial shape, with varying dynamics between non-parasitized and parasitized animals. Ultimately, parasite intensity was linked to ontogenetic changes in canalization and developmental stability levels.
FRONTIERS IN ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Antonietta Del Bove, Lumila Menendez, Giorgio Manzi, Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi, Carlos Lorenzo, Antonio Profico
Summary: The study of sexual dimorphism in human crania has important applications in the fields of human evolution and human osteology. We developed a landmark-based approach to automatically map the sexual dimorphism signal on the human cranium. Our results, which align with standard protocols, show the most sexually dimorphic traits and provide a potential method for mapping other variable signals on skeletal morphology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Masrour Makaremi, Alireza Vafaei Sadr, Benoit Marcy, Ikram Chraibi Kaadoud, Ali Mohammad-Djafari, Salome Sadoun, Francois De Brondeau, Bernard N'kaoua
Summary: This study aims to investigate the impact of mandibular retrognathia on the skull using AI tools and propose automated treatment options. Through the combination of convolutional neural networks and interpretability algorithms, we identified the affected structures by retrognathia and observed their dynamic changes based on its severity, providing insights into the evolution of human anatomy.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Kaitlyn M. Joyce, Carmen P. Wong, Ian A. Scriven, Dawn A. Olson, Daniel R. Doerge, Adam J. Branscum, Lara H. Sattgast, William G. Helferich, Russell T. Turner, Urszula T. Iwaniec
Summary: The study conducted a dose-ranging study using young estrogen-depleted rats to investigate the effects of dietary isoliquiritigenin (ILQ) on bone metabolism. Results showed that ILQ reduced bone resorption in vivo and osteoclast differentiation in vitro, with mechanisms possibly differing from actions of ovarian hormones.
MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kyle E. Jaynes, Edward A. Myers, Vaclav Gvozdik, David C. Blackburn, Daniel M. Portik, Eli Greenbaum, Gregory F. M. Jongsma, Mark-Oliver Rodel, Gabriel Badjedjea, Abraham Bamba-Kaya, Ninda L. Baptista, Jeannot B. Akuboy, Raffael Ernst, Marcel T. Kouete, Chifundera Kusamba, Franck M. Masudi, Patrick J. McLaughlin, Lotanna M. Nneji, Abiodun B. Onadeko, Johannes Penner, Pedro Vaz Pinto, Bryan L. Stuart, Elie Tobi, Ange-Ghislain Zassi-Boulou, Adam D. Leache, Matthew K. Fujita, Rayna C. Bell
Summary: Secondary sympatry amongst sister lineages is closely associated with genetic and ecological divergence, suggesting that closely related species require differences in ecological and/or reproductive isolation traits to coexist in secondary sympatry. In this study, three giant tree frog species showed species-level divergence coinciding with a period of large-scale forest fragmentation during the late Pliocene. Environmental niche models revealed that the three species occupy distinct environmental niches and display modest morphological differentiation, particularly in tympanum diameter and male advertisement call. Additionally, climatic refugia, precipitation gradients, marine incursions, and potentially riverine barriers have generated phylogeographic structure at the intraspecific level throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene.
Article
Biology
Sinlan Poo, Steven M. Whitfield, Alexander Shepack, Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell, Gil Nelson, Jillian Goodwin, Allison Bogisich, Patricia L. R. Brennan, Jennifer D'Agostino, Michelle S. Koo, Joseph R. Mendelson, Rebecca Snyder, Sandra Wilson, Gary P. Aronsen, Andrew C. Bentley, David C. Blackburn, Matthew R. Borths, Mariel L. Campbell, Dalia A. Conde, Joseph A. Cook, Juan D. Daza, Daniel P. Dembiec, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Catherine M. Early, Adam W. Ferguson, Amanda Greene, Robert Guralnick, Courtney Janney, Debbie Johnson, Felicia Knightly, Stephane Poulin, Luiz Rocha, Pamela S. Soltis, Barbara Thiers, Prosanta Chakrabarty
Summary: Zoos and natural history museums are collections-based institutions that play important roles in biodiversity research and education. Despite their overlapping missions, formal partnerships between these institutions are rare. By strengthening the dialogue between zoos and museums, a more comprehensive research dataset could be achieved.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniel M. Portik, Jeffrey W. Streicher, David C. Blackburn, Daniel S. Moen, Carl R. Hutter, John J. Wiens
Summary: The data available for reconstructing molecular phylogenies are highly disparate, with some studies having high genetic marker data for few species, while others have low data availability across many taxa. In this study, the researchers show that it is possible to integrate these two types of data to address relationships among hundreds of species using frog data. By combining phylogenomic and supermatrix datasets, they were able to successfully reconstruct a well-supported tree among families, even with high amounts of missing data.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Frederic Griesbaum, Gregory F. M. Jongsma, Johannes Penner, N'goran Germain Kouame, Joseph Doumbia, Nono L. Gonwouo, Annika Hillers, Julian Glos, David C. Blackburn, Mark-Oliver Roedel
Summary: The distribution of the White-Lipped Frog Amnirana albolabris was found to represent multiple undescribed species. Through a comprehensive taxonomic approach, including molecular, morphological, and acoustic data, a new species was described in the Upper Guinean Forest Zone, while the morphologically similar A. fonensis was redescribed. The two species differ in genetic, morphological, and ecological characteristics, including distribution and habitat preference.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Jaimi A. Gray, Paul M. Gignac, Edward L. Stanley
Summary: Diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography (diceCT) is a widely used technique for imaging metazoan soft anatomy. By combining iodine injection with traditional diceCT preparation, the first full body contrast-enhanced dataset for turtles is successfully obtained. The resulting datasets can be used for teaching and research purposes. The hope is that these methods will contribute to the growing stock of digital anatomy in online repositories, especially for more challenging specimens like turtles.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Anatomy & Morphology
Juan D. Daza, Andrew A. Rock, Edward L. Stanley
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Bonnie K. Kircher, Edward L. Stanley, Richard R. Behringer
Summary: Female reproduction in squamate reptiles is highly diverse, with significant variations in mode of reproduction, clutch size, and reproductive tract morphology. Recently, CRISPR genome editing techniques have been developed in these reptiles, making a comprehensive understanding of female reproductive anatomy crucial. The study describes the reproductive anatomy of the brown anole, showing distinct regions within the female reproductive tract and similarities to mammalian cervix morphology. The research expands our knowledge of reproductive system anatomy in reptiles and vertebrates as a whole.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Andre Rodrigues, Andrew J. Johnson, Ross A. Joseph, You Li, Nemat O. Keyhani, Edward L. Stanley, Benjamin Weiss, Martin Kaltenpoth, Matthew E. Smith, Jiri Hulcr
Summary: Platypodinae ambrosia beetles rely on mutualistic fungi for food and cooperate in colonizing dead trees. The study discovered that Euplatypus parallelus may lack mycangia, unlike other Platypodinae species. However, both Euplatypus species contain yeast related to the fungi.
Article
Zoology
Maria Camila Vallejo-Pareja, Edward L. Stanley, Jonathan Bloch, David C. Blackburn
Summary: The establishment of terrestrial vertebrate faunas in North America was influenced by various factors at different geographic scales. A study of anurans from Florida in the Late Oligocene revealed fossils attributed to Eleutherodactylus, providing evidence of their presence in North America before colonizing Central America. This study demonstrates the dispersal of amphibians from the Caribbean into North America during the Late Oligocene.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Michael F. Bates, Javier Lobon-Rovira, Edward L. Stanley, William R. Branch, Pedro Vaz Pinto
Summary: Cordylus angolensis, collected in the west-central highlands of Angola, has remained taxonomically uncertain due to the loss of its holotype. Recent field work and genetic analysis revealed the existence of two distinct species-level lineages, C. angolensis and C. momboloensis sp. nov.
VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Katherine A. Wolcott, Edward L. Stanley, Osman A. Gutierrez, Stefan Wuchty, Barbara Ann Whitlock
Summary: This study utilizes micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) technology to study the 3D pollination biology of cacao, providing new evidence for predicting unknown pollinators.
APPLICATIONS IN PLANT SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
R. M. Keeffe, R. W. Blob, D. C. Blackburn, C. J. Mayerl
Summary: This study uses XROMM techniques to track the 3D movements of the tongue, hyoid apparatus, pectoral girdle, skull, and jaw during feeding in cane toads. The findings suggest the importance of the hyoid apparatus in prey manipulation and swallowing, and the greater stretching of the tongue during swallowing compared to prey capture.
INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alfred Lemierre, David C. Blackburn
Summary: Neobatrachia, a clade representing the majority of extant anuran diversity, is believed to have emerged and diversified during the Cretaceous period. The early diversification of Neobatrachians mainly happened in southern Gondwana, including present-day South America and Africa. This study reanalyzed anuran specimens from the Kem Kem beds in Africa and identified a new hyperossified taxon with similarities to the extinct Beelzebufo and the extant Ceratophrys. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the inclusion of this new taxon within Neobatrachia, specifically within the Ceratophryidae clade. This discovery suggests that Neobatrachians were already widespread in southern Gondwana during the earliest Late Cretaceous.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Lourdes Y. Echevarria, Daniel J. Paluh, Luis A. Garcia-Ayachi, Pablo J. Venegas, Alessandro Catenazzi, Renzo Pradel, Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher
Summary: We described two new species of Gastrotheca from the northern portion of the central Peruvian Andes. They were classified as part of the Gastrotheca marsupiata species group and closely related to several other species. Each species has distinctive external morphological characteristics.