Article
Environmental Sciences
Changqun Zhang, Haojie Zhou, Fredrik Christiansen, Yujiang Hao, Kexiong Wang, Zhangbing Kou, Ruipeng Chen, Jie Min, Randall Davis, Ding Wang
Summary: In this study, 3D modeling techniques were used to measure the volume of marine mammals. The most accurate results were obtained using Blender 3D models, with only a 2.5% mean error compared to direct measurements. Elliptical models with 19 height and width measurements also yielded similar accuracy, while truncated models with 3 or 5 girth measurements had lower accuracy. Researchers are recommended to use digital 3D models or elliptical models with 5% increments to accurately estimate the body volumes of free-ranging marine mammals.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Zoology
D. N. Orbach
Summary: The study of female genitalia has received less attention compared to male genitalia, despite calls for change. This review examines research articles published between 2013 and 2021 to determine if gender bias and imbalance have improved. The findings show that female genitalia are still less studied than male genitalia when only one sex is investigated, highlighting continued bias in the field.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Renee C. Firman, Goncalo Igreja Andre, Jessica H. Hadlow, Leigh W. Simmons
Summary: Studies have found that the social environment can influence the adaptive reproductive strategies and traits of males and their offspring. In this study, the offspring of house mice were analyzed to examine the intergenerational effects of variation in the paternal social environment. It was found that fathers exposed to high-male density produced sons with competitive phenotypes, while fathers exposed to high-female density produced sons with traits for increased mating frequency. Additionally, the competitive responses of fathers were inherited by their sons, with the sons reared under competition having higher sperm quality.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Anais Rivas-Torres, Viviana Di Pietro, Adolfo Cordero-Rivera
Summary: In some species, males use weapons to harm females, but females of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum have developed a genital adaptation in the form of a vulvar spine. This spine is not harmful to the male, but rather it stimulates males to increase their investment in copulation. The presence of the spine allows females to control the duration of copulation.
Article
Ecology
Clarissa M. House, Zenobia Lewis, Manmohan D. Sharma, David J. Hodgson, John Hunt, Nina Wedell, David J. Hosken
Summary: Research on Drosophila simulans found that male genitalia are subject to multivariate selection during both noncompetitive mating and sperm competition, with the strongest selection observed during noncompetitive mating and the weakest during sperm offense. However, the direction of selection remains consistent across different scenarios, with no evidence of antagonistic selection. Overall, despite rapid evolution, sexual selection on genital traits in this species is not particularly strong.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Philip S. Hammond, Tessa B. Francis, Dennis Heinemann, Kristy J. Long, Jeffrey E. Moore, Andre E. Punt, Randall R. Reeves, Maritza Sepulveda, Guojon Mar Sigurosson, Margaret C. Siple, Gisli Vikingsson, Paul R. Wade, Rob Williams, Alexandre N. Zerbini
Summary: This paper provides an overview of methods for estimating marine mammal population abundance, focusing on pinnipeds, cetaceans, and sirenians. Common methods include extrapolation for pinnipeds and transect surveys for cetaceans and sirenians. Key considerations include defining the population, selecting appropriate methods, and understanding the resources needed for data collection and analysis.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Goran Arnqvist, Karl Grieshop, Cosima Hotzy, Johanna Ronn, Michal Polak, Locke Rowe
Summary: The study found that male genital spines in seed beetles have a direct negative impact on female fecundity, but females mating with males from long-spine lines produced more offspring, indicating the presence of indirect effects. Females adapt to male spines through evolutionary selection, influenced by multiple simultaneous processes that affect mating and fertilization biases.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jorin Diemer, Jens Hahn, Bjoern Goldenbogen, Karin Mueller, Edda Klipp
Summary: Sperm migration and selection in the female genital tract play a crucial role in successful fertilization, with many underlying mechanisms remaining unknown. A computational model approximating the female reproductive tract shape and integrating interactions between sperm and their environment reveals which interactions could be most beneficial for fertilization. Predictions from the model will enhance assisted reproduction in humans, endangered species, and livestock.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Charmain D. Hamilton, Christian Lydersen, Jon Aars, Mario Acquarone, Todd Atwood, Alastair Baylis, Martin Biuw, Andrei N. Boltunov, Erik W. Born, Peter Boveng, Tanya M. Brown, Michael Cameron, John Citta, Justin Crawford, Rune Dietz, Jim Elias, Steven H. Ferguson, Aaron Fisk, Lars P. Folkow, Kathryn J. Frost, Dmitri M. Glazov, Sandra M. Granquist, Rowenna Gryba, Lois Harwood, Tore Haug, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Nigel E. Hussey, Jimmy Kalinek, Kristin L. Laidre, Dennis I. Litovka, Josh M. London, Lisa L. Loseto, Shannon MacPhee, Marianne Marcoux, Cory J. D. Matthews, Kjell Nilssen, Erling S. Nordoy, Greg O'Corry-Crowe, Nils oien, Morten Tange Olsen, Lori Quakenbush, Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Varvara Semenova, Kim E. W. Shelden, Olga V. Shpak, Garry Stenson, Luke Storrie, Signe Sveegaard, Jonas Teilmann, Fernando Ugarte, Andrew L. Von Duyke, Cortney Watt, Oystein Wiig, Ryan R. Wilson, David J. Yurkowski, Kit M. Kovacs
Summary: This study identified hotspots and areas of high species richness for Arctic marine mammals using biotelemetry data. The results can serve as a benchmark for measuring future distributional shifts and highlight differences in habitat features among species and regions. Gap analysis also revealed species and regions that require further research.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Jordan Hernandez, Amado Villalobos-Leiva, Adriana Bermudez, Daniela Ahumada-Cabarcas, Manuel J. Suazo, Hugo A. Benitez
Summary: C. kraussii is an endemic fish species from Colombia and Venezuela, and it is a valuable food resource for local communities. The management and captive breeding of this species face difficulties due to the anatomical similarities between sexes and the cryptic morphological behavior. A study on individuals from different localities revealed sexual dimorphism within locations, with males exhibiting less morphological variability and females exhibiting greater morphological disparity. This dimorphism may be influenced by environmental variation.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Daniel T. Murphy, Elias Ioup, Md Tamjidul Hoque, Mahdi Abdelguerfi
Summary: Passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals is crucial for tracking population changes in threatened environments. This study presents an automated approach using residual learning networks (ResNets) to classify marine mammal vocalizations. The optimal methods for converting acoustic recordings into spectrograms suitable for neural networks are determined. The performance of different configurations is assessed, and the best-performing configurations are used to train single and multi-channel ResNets. The results show that single-channel spectrograms outperform multi-channel spectrograms in overall classification performance.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Caitlin R. Hawley, Sam K. Patterson, Joan B. Silk
Summary: By studying male olive baboons, it is found that individuals who are more involved in parenting effort invest less in mating effort. These individuals also have lower proximity to their primary associates, indicating temporal constraints. There is also evidence that involvement in parenting effort negatively affects paternity success. In summary, males face tradeoffs between mating effort and parenting effort.
Article
Ecology
Alexandra H. M. Jebb, Daniel T. Blumstein, Pierre Bize, Julien G. A. Martin
Summary: The research found that in yellow-bellied marmots, body mass is under stabilizing viability selection in the early years of life, which transitions to positive directional selection as animals age. There were no significant differences in viability selection on body mass between sexes across age classes. The ability to escape predators varies across age classes.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Michael J. Tetley, Gill T. Braulik, Caterina Lanfredi, Gianna Minton, Simone Panigada, Elena Politi, Margherita Zanardelli, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Erich Hoyt
Summary: The Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) initiative was launched to address the conservation crisis in marine mammal protection and ocean biodiversity. IMMAs identify important habitat for marine mammal species and undergo scientific review before being publicly available. So far, 173 IMMAs have been identified, playing a crucial role in protecting marine mammal species.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Douglas Gillespie, Michael Oswald, Gordon Hastie, Carol Sparling
Summary: This article reports on the design and performance of a seabed mounted sensor platform for monitoring the fine scale movements of cetaceans and pinnipeds around operational tidal turbines. The system uses high-frequency multibeam active sonars for tracking animals in the horizontal plane and offsetting the vertical angle of the sonars to resolve a vertical component. It also utilizes hydrophones for measuring angles to cetacean echolocation clicks. The system proved highly reliable during field tests and will be deployed close to an operational turbine.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
James Gardiner, Abu Zeeshan Bari, Laurence Kenney, Martin Twiste, David Moser, Saeed Zahedi, David Howard
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2017)
Article
Biology
Charlotte A. Brassey, James D. Gardiner, Andrew C. Kitchener
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2018)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
James D. Gardiner, Julia Behnsen, Charlotte A. Brassey
BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Tomasz Cudejko, James Gardiner, Asangaedem Akpan, Kristiaan D'Aout
CLINICAL BIOMECHANICS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicholas D. A. Thomas, James D. Gardiner, Robin H. Crompton, Rebecca Lawson
Article
Neurosciences
Nicholas D. A. Thomas, James D. Gardiner, Robin H. Crompton, Rebecca Lawson
HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Neurosciences
Nicholas D. A. Thomas, James D. Gardiner, Robin H. Crompton, Rebecca Lawson
HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Biology
Charlotte A. Brassey, Julia Behnsen, James D. Gardiner
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tomasz Cudejko, James Gardiner, Asangaedem Akpan, Kristiaan D'Aout
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Biology
Ryan D. Marek, Peter L. Falkingham, Roger B. J. Benson, James D. Gardiner, Thomas W. Maddox, Karl T. Bates
Summary: Bird necks exhibit unparalleled levels of morphological diversity, influenced by ecologically driven osteological variation, while maintaining a highly conserved regional modularity in overall structure. Unlike mammals, neck length in birds scales isometrically with head mass, and neck elongation is achieved predominantly through increasing vertebral lengths rather than counts.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kana Kamimura, Kazuki Nanko, Asako Matsumoto, Saneyoshi Ueno, James Gardiner, Barry Gardiner
Summary: This article discusses the damage caused by tropical cyclones to forests and trees in the future with climate change, and explores the mechanical behavior of trees during tropical cyclones and the impact of inter-tree spacing on damage levels.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Anna Pace, James Gardiner, Laurence Kenney, David Howard
Summary: This research introduces a novel prosthetic ankle based on hydraulics that mimics the energy-recycling behavior of an intact ankle. The simulation results demonstrate that approximately 78% of the energy generated by the ankle is returned over the gait cycle, with 14% being stored for future cycles and 8% being lost. Although further work is needed to create a prototype for testing, this design has the potential to reduce metabolic cost for lower-limb amputees.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL ROBOTICS AND BIONICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Barbara Grant, James Charles, Brendan Geraghty, James Gardiner, Kristiaan D'Aout, Peter L. Falkingham, Karl T. Bates
Summary: This study reveals that the mechanisms contributing to increased energy expenditure on compliant substrates during walking are more complex than previously thought. By analyzing a large dataset and conducting mechanical testing, the researchers propose that increased activity and mechanical work of muscles crossing the hip and knee joints are required to support the changes in joint and spatio-temporal kinematics on compliant substrates.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dominic Coe, Larry Barham, James Gardiner, Robin Crompton
Summary: The transition from hand-held to hafted tool technology brought a significant change in the construction and function of tools. Hafting, which is the use of a handle, is believed to provide users with biomechanical and physiological advantages compared to hand-held tools when performing basic subsistence tasks. This study compares the upper limb movements, muscle activity, and energy expenditure between hafted and hand-held tools during chopping and scraping tasks. The results show that hafted tool use leads to greater ranges of motion, muscle activity, and energy expenditure compared to hand-held tools. However, these strategies result in reduced relative energy expenditure compared to the hand-held condition. The hafted axe specifically prompts the use of biomechanical strategies that generate greater velocities without requiring heavy muscular effort, improving the tool's efficiency and relative energy use.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)