Article
Neurosciences
Michael Ambler, Timna Hitrec, Andrew Wilson, Matteo Cerri, Anthony Pickering
Summary: Recent research has discovered that the preoptic area of the hypothalamus and the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) are involved in the regulation of daily torpor in mice. Using activity-dependent genetic techniques, scientists were able to target and manipulate DMH neurons to promote or inhibit torpor. This study further supports the role of these neurons in controlling torpor.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Lara Keicher, J. Ryan Shipley, Ewa Komar, Ireneusz Ruczynski, Paul J. Schaeffer, Dina K. N. Dechmann
Summary: Torpor is an energy-saving strategy characterized by reduced metabolism and heart rate. This study found that European bats can exhibit this form of torpor at high body temperatures, regardless of their reproductive status.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Isabel R. Sullivan, Danielle M. Adams, Lucas J. S. Greville, Paul A. Faure, Gerald S. Wilkinson
Summary: Comparative analyses of bats show that hibernation is associated with increased longevity. This study uses DNA methylation as an epigenetic biomarker of aging to investigate the effect of hibernation on the big brown bat. The results indicate that hibernation influences epigenetic age, and specific genomic sites show changes in DNA methylation during hibernation independent of age. These findings suggest that hibernation may have an impact on the aging and longevity of bats.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amaro Tuninetti, Chen Ming, Kelsey N. Hom, James A. Simmons, Andrea Megela Simmons
Summary: The study found that big brown bats performed excellently in maneuvering through narrow corridors, especially in straight ones. When facing abrupt turns, bats proactively predicted the new flight path by slowing down and shifting the sonar beam aim.
Article
Neurosciences
Sergiy Voytenko, Sharad Shanbhag, Jeffrey Wenstrup, Alexander Galazyuk
Summary: The amygdala, a brain center of emotional expression, integrates multiple acoustic inputs with information from other senses and an animal's internal state to analyze the meaning of vocalizations. This study focused on the integration of vocalization-related inputs to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) from auditory centers. Postsynaptic and spiking responses of BLA neurons were recorded to different vocal sequences, and the results showed that BLA neurons process both positive- and negative-valence vocal stimuli, with spiking responses being more selective than postsynaptic potential responses.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amelie Fontaine, Anouk Simard, Bryan Dubois, Julien Dutel, Kyle H. Elliott
Summary: Artificial structures designed for wildlife conservation, such as bird houses and bat boxes, may not always be efficient due to varying climate and habitat characteristics. By testing different mountings, orientations, and designs, researchers found that bat boxes mounted on buildings with an east orientation had warmer microclimates at night and warmed sooner in the morning, improving the thermal performance for targeted bat species. The use of passive solar architecture in designing wildlife structures can potentially save energy for animals and enhance their overall thermal performance.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Virginie Rolland, Samuel A. Schratz, Daniel R. Istvanko, Sara E. Harrod
Summary: This study reports the first observations of evening bats using bird nest boxes as roosting sites in a location a few kilometers north of Jonesboro, Arkansas, between 2012 and 2019. Most observations occurred in August, towards the end of the nesting season.
AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Amanda S. Cicchino, Alisha A. Shah, Brenna R. Forester, Jason B. Dunham, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
Summary: This study investigates the thermal limits and vulnerability of two cold-water frog species along elevation gradients. The results show that local temperature extremes influence thermal limits, and species in different environments vary in their physiological vulnerability and patterns of tolerance, which can impact their vulnerability to future warming.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sabrina Deeley, W. Mark Ford, Nicholas J. Kalen, Samuel R. Freeze, Michael St Germain, Michael Muthersbaugh, Elaine Barr, Andrew Kniowski, Alexander Silvis, Jesse De la Cruz
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between acoustic data and reproductive timing in big brown bats and eastern red bats. The results showed that the peak of acoustic activity during the maternity season was most associated with the period of highest proportions of lactating bats.
Article
Biology
Matthew J. Noakes, Anna S. Przybylska-Piech, Michal S. Wojciechowski, Malgorzata Jefimow
Summary: This study investigated the effects of water and energy shortages on torpor in Siberian hamsters. The results showed that torpor frequency was lower but bouts were longer and deeper during water deprivation compared to food deprivation or both food and water deprivation. This suggests that water and energy shortages present different physiological challenges, with water deprivation leading to greater energy and water savings. The study also found that the patterns of torpor expression varied among deprivation types. These findings highlight the distinct roles of water and energy conservation in torpor.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Brian A. Upton, Shane P. D'Souza, Richard A. Lang
Summary: The preoptic area of the hypothalamus is a homeostatic control center with heterogeneous neurons that regulate various physiological functions. Recent studies have identified QPLOT neurons as an excitatory preoptic neuronal population that integrate thermal, metabolic, hormonal, and environmental stimuli to regulate metabolism and thermogenesis. These neurons play a significant role in suppressing thermogenesis and are characterized by specific molecular markers.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laura Stidsholt, Stefan Greif, Holger R. Goerlitz, Kristian Beedholm, Jamie Macaulay, Mark Johnson, Peter Teglberg Madsen
Summary: Research shows that wild hunting bats adjust their sensory strategies to different prey and natural environments, allowing them to be more efficient in capturing prey. By reducing sensory volumes, increasing update rate and redundancy of sensory scenes, bats protect weak prey echoes and segregate prey sensory streams from the background, leading to successful hunting in cluttered environments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Luca Peruzza, Carmen Federica Tucci, Riccardo Frizzo, Tobia Riello, Andrea Quagliariello, Maria Elena Martino, Alice Manuzzi, Giulia Dalla Rovere, Federico Bonsembiante, Maria Elena Gelain, Morgan Smits, Oliviero Borgheresi, Francesco Camerani, Mattia Panin, Paola Venier, Stefano Mammi, Chris Hauton, Tomaso Patarnello, Massimo Milan, Luca Bargelloni
Summary: Extreme events like Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) are becoming more intense, severe, and frequent, threatening benthic communities, specifically bivalves. Non-lethal MHWs were found to reduce energy reserves, trigger antioxidant defenses, impair reproduction, induce dysbiosis in microbiota, alter behavior and filtration rate in Manila clams. The negative effects were more pronounced in males than in females, indicating MHWs can affect animal physiology at multiple levels.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Biology
Adam Alexander Harman, Meghan Fuzzen, Lisa Stoa, Douglas Boreham, Richard Manzon, Christopher M. Somers, Joanna Yvonne Wilson
Summary: The study found that the length of acclimation time and trial length did not have a significant effect on the thermal preference of juvenile lake whitefish. Additionally, there were no significant differences in temperature preference between different experimental designs.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Martha M. Munoz, Kenneth J. Feeley, Patrick H. Martin, Vincent R. Farallo
Summary: Research suggests that some lizard species in tropical montane ecosystems may benefit from longer potential activity hours and reduced cold stress under warming, without heightened exposure to heat stress. This mismatch between warm-adapted ecology and cool environments may contribute to these unexpected findings.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Letter
Biology
Fritz Geiser, Craig K. R. Willis, R. Mark Brigham
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Zoology
Dana M. Green, Liam P. McGuire, Mark C. Vanderwel, Craig K. R. Willis, Matthew J. Noakes, Shelby J. Bohn, Eric N. Green, R. Mark Brigham
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Elly C. Knight, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Amy L. Scarpignato, Steven L. Van Wilgenburg, Erin M. Bayne, Janet W. Ng, Emily Angell, R. Bowman, R. Mark Brigham, Bruno Drolet, Wendy E. Easton, Timothy R. Forrester, Jeffrey T. Foster, Samuel Hache, Kevin C. Hannah, Kristina G. Hick, Jacques Ibarzabal, Tara L. Imlay, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Alan Marsh, Liam P. McGuire, Gretchen N. Newberry, David Newstead, Andrea Sidler, Pam H. Sinclair, Jaime L. Stephens, David L. Swanson, Junior A. Tremblay, Peter P. Marra
Summary: Migratory connectivity refers to the degree of linkages between populations in space and time across the annual cycle. High migratory connectivity was observed during migration through North America for common nighthawks, while lower connectivity was found in Central and South America. Simulation estimations demonstrated the reliability of the tracking method even with sparse location data.
Article
Zoology
Matthew J. Noakes, Andrew E. McKechnie, R. Mark Brigham
Summary: The study found that heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity of different bat species are correlated with day-roost microclimates, with hoary bats exhibiting the highest heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Elly C. Knight, Adam C. Smith, R. Mark Brigham, Erin M. Bayne
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of comprehensive and targeted monitoring programs on the population trend and predictive performance of the Common Nighthawk. The results showed that combining both datasets improved the probability of detecting population declines and targeted monitoring data was crucial for evaluating population trends and habitat relationships.
ORNITHOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Scott M. Bergeson, R. Mark Brigham, Joy M. O'Keefe
Summary: The study found that the heterothermy of Indiana bats is influenced by reproductive stage, roost choice, and weather. Pregnant bats showed the least heterothermy, and different reproductive stages of bats varied in their thermoregulatory strategies.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Brandon J. Klug-Baerwald, Cori L. Lausen, Bjoern Wissel, R. Mark Brigham
Summary: The study shows that in a relatively dry climate, hibernating big brown bats exhibit signs of hypertonic dehydration, but they do not supplement water by visiting a heated water tank. It is suggested that they may utilize alternative water sources for hydration.
ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Elly C. Knight, R. Mark Brigham, Erin M. Bayne
Summary: Understanding the functional significance of the Common Nighthawk's wing-boom display provides valuable insight into its territorial behavior and habitat use.
Article
Forestry
Elly C. Knight, R. Mark Brigham, Erin M. Bayne
Summary: This study focused on the habitat use of the Common Nighthawk in post-disturbance habitats, finding that they prefer to nest in open habitats with lower amounts of residual vegetation. The research highlights the importance of understanding the context-dependence of species responses to disturbance for effective forest management.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Zenon J. Czenze, Mark Myers, Darin Collins, R. Mark Brigham
Summary: Free-ranging tawny frogmouths typically exhibit a pattern of maintaining higher body temperature during activity and allowing it to decrease during cold evenings, but this pattern is not observed in captive conditions.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Elly Knight, Peter Solymos, Mark Brigham, Erin Bayne
Summary: The study suggests that the scale at which a species responds most strongly to its environment may not correspond to the scale of effect of individual variables. The researchers used acoustic monitoring and machine learning to model the habitat of common nighthawks and found that the overall scale of effect did not align with the scale of effect for individual predictors. This new perspective highlights the need for further research to understand the relationship between movement and scale of effect.
Biographical-Item
Ornithology
R. Mark Brigham, Peter Locke
Review
Zoology
Andrew E. McKechnie, Marc T. Freeman, R. Mark Brigham
Summary: Many bird species reduce their energy demands during rest by using heterothermy, which involves reversible reduction in metabolism and body temperature. This article reviews the distribution and ecological contexts of avian heterothermy. It has been observed in 140 species from 15 orders and 39 families. Deep heterothermy is more common in ancient taxa, while passerines and recently diverged taxa have shallower heterothermy with minimum body temperature above 20 degrees C. The reasons for the absence of deep heterothermy in passerines are still unclear.
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Liam P. McGuire, Justin G. Boyles, R. Mark Brigham
Summary: The study found that Common Nighthawks did not exhibit a high level of fidelity to foraging sites between years, contrary to their nest site fidelity and general expectations for the Caprimulgidae family.
AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Carolyn A. Gaudet, Eric N. Green, R. Mark Brigham, Stephen K. Davis
WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2020)