Article
Biology
Cedric P. van den Berg, John A. Endler, Karen L. Cheney
Summary: Aposematic signals in many species visually advertise anti-predatory defences, and they should be detectable and bold to enhance predator recognition and learning. However, the signalling function may be distance-dependent, with signals being undetectable from a distance but bold up close. In this study, we quantified the detectability and boldness of colour patterns in 13 nudibranch species and found that well-defended species were more detectable and bolder at closer distances. The results highlight the importance of distinguishing signal detectability from boldness in studies of aposematism.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
O. Penacchio, C. G. Halpin, I. C. Cuthill, P. G. Lovell, M. Wheelwright, J. Skelhorn, C. Rowe, J. M. Harris
Summary: Animal warning signals show remarkable diversity in visual features, and a novel computational modelling approach has been developed to quantify and analyze these features. The study reveals that warning signals generate significantly stronger neural activity in the visual system of predators compared to non-defended patterns.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Biology
Pedro Andrade, Miguel Carneiro
Summary: Pterins, as a major source of animal coloration, have been less studied compared to other pigment classes, despite their ubiquity in nature. With intermediate characteristics between melanins and carotenoids, they present unique opportunities for addressing general questions about the biology of coloration.
Article
Optics
Nicholas Bender, Henry Haig, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Frank W. Wise
Summary: Speckle patterns are widely used in various applications, and this study presents an experimental technique for tailoring the statistical characteristics of speckled optical pulses by controlling the spatial profile of the input light.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Theodosia Woo, Xitong Liang, Dominic A. Evans, Olivier Fernandez, Friedrich Kretschmer, Sam Reiter, Gilles Laurent
Summary: Cephalopods, such as cuttlefish, are able to escape detection through camouflage. This behavior relies on visual assessment, interpretation of visual-texture statistics, and matching these statistics using skin chromatophores controlled by motoneurons in the brain. The study reveals that cuttlefish camouflage patterns are not stereotyped, but vary and meander through a high-dimensional skin-pattern space.
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Kosuke Okada, Isamu Motoyoshi
Summary: This model proposes that visual texture perception is determined by 1st-order and 2nd-order spectra, and demonstrates that preserving two spectra and randomizing phases of a natural texture image leads to perceptually similar results. It provides a simpler framework to describe and predict texture representations in the primate visual system. The idea of multi-order spectral analysis aligns with the hierarchical processing principle of the visual cortex.
FRONTIERS IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Jingqi Song, Yuanjie Zheng, Chenxi Xu, Zhenxing Zou, Guocheng Ding, Wenhui Huang
Summary: This study proposed a hybrid approach combining fusion and classification models to aid physicians in making accurate diagnoses by utilizing multiple features of CESM. Experimental results showed that the proposed method achieved accurate classification results in the model.
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Arndt Lukas Bodenberger, Philip Konietzke, Oliver Weinheimer, Willi Linus Wagner, Wolfram Stiller, Tim Frederik Weber, Claus Peter Heussel, Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, Mark Oliver Wielpuetz
Summary: This study aimed to quantify lung parenchyma and airway wall enhancement using a single contrast-enhanced spectral detector CT. The results showed that lung density was higher at 40 keV compared to 100 keV, and wall thickness and enhancement were higher at 40 keV for arterial phases. Spectral CT can quantify lung parenchyma and airway wall enhancement, and further studies are needed to analyze inflammatory airway diseases.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
D. Burtan, K. Joyce, J. F. Burn, T. C. Handy, S. Ho, U. Leonards
Summary: Studies show that exposure to urban environments has a higher impact on cognitive processing load, resulting in changes in gait kinematics and reaction times. Urban scenes are more challenging to disengage attention from, while nature scenes are relatively easier.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ophthalmology
Hiroki Nohira, Takehiro Nagai
Summary: This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the exclusion of specular highlights in the perception of lightness for glossy three-dimensional objects. The results revealed that the lowest-order image features in the Portilla-Simoncelli texture statistics (PS statistics) are crucial for highlight exclusion, while higher-order features are not.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Grzegorz Labuz, Weijia Yan, Isabella D. Baur, Ramin Khoramnia, Gerd U. Auffarth
Summary: This study compared the optical quality and chromatic performance of different refractive-diffractive intraocular lenses. It found that chromatic aberration correcting lenses had the lowest far-focus dispersion, with one lens being able to reduce eye's chromatic aberration. Another lens increased far-point chromatism, but was comparable to the performance of two other lenses. All the models displayed varying optical quality in response to light color.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Luca Nicosia, Anna Carla Bozzini, Simone Palma, Marta Montesano, Filippo Pesapane, Federica Ferrari, Valeria Dominelli, Anna Rotili, Lorenza Meneghetti, Samuele Frassoni, Vincenzo Bagnardi, Claudia Sangalli, Enrico Cassano
Summary: Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) is a novel and reliable imaging technique for the early detection and management of breast lesions. This study aims to create a score based on CESM enhancement descriptors to predict the malignancy of a breast lesion.
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Shangwei Guo, Wenhao Li, Zhengchao Lai, Xiantong Meng, Shaokun Han, Yu Zhai
Summary: A new Multi-Spectral Polarimetry Streak Tube Imaging LiDAR system is proposed, capable of multi-spectral polarimetry imaging and three-dimensional imaging with higher depth resolution and larger depth of field. By fusing the spectral information, polarization information, and three-dimensional information obtained by the system, the image contrast of the target area can be improved.
INFRARED PHYSICS & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Daniel Herrera-Esposito, Leonel Gomez-Sena, Ruben Coen-Cagli
Summary: The study reveals that both spectral statistics and higher-order statistics (HOS) can be used for texture segmentation tasks in natural images, but combining them does not significantly improve segmentation performance. Different subsets of HOS may have varying effects on segmentation results, although the improvement from HOS in some images is difficult to identify.
Article
Ophthalmology
Justin D. Lieber, Gerick M. Lee, Najib J. Majaj, J. Anthony Movshon
Summary: Natural images contain information at multiple spatial scales, and the perceptual sensitivity to naturalistic structure strongly depends on features at high object spatial frequencies. The sensitivity is determined by a texture acuity limit, which sets the highest retinal spatial frequency at which observers can detect naturalistic features. High object spatial frequencies carry more task-relevant information than low object spatial frequencies in naturalistic image features. The mid-level mechanisms effectively extract information from all image features below the texture acuity limit, regardless of their retinal and object spatial frequency.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Laurie J. Mitchell, Fabio Cortesi, N. Justin Marshall, Karen L. Cheney
Summary: Researchers have found that Barrier Reef anemonefish use ultraviolet color patterns to signal submissiveness. Fish with lower ultraviolet skin reflectance are more likely to win in dominance contests, while those with higher reflectance are more likely to lose. Juvenile subordinates benefit by signaling their submissiveness with a naturally higher ultraviolet skin reflectance, which reduces aggression from larger, more-dominant fish and aids with social group integration.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lily G. Fogg, Fabio Cortesi, Camille Gache, David Lecchini, N. Justin Marshall, Fanny de Busserolles
Summary: This study investigated the effects of short-term exposure to unnatural light conditions on the retina of juvenile and adult convict surgeonfish. The results showed phenotypic plasticity in the retina, with the most significant changes observed under constant dim light.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sara. M. M. Stieb, Fabio Cortesi, Luiz Jardim de Queiroz, Karen. L. L. Carleton, Ole Seehausen, N. Justin Marshall
Summary: This study investigates the expression of visual pigment gene (opsin) in coral reef fishes and finds that algivorous species with orange/red colors exhibit high expression of long-wavelength-sensitive (lws) opsin. This enhances their ability to detect algae and orange/red-colored conspecifics, possibly enabling social signalling.
Article
Fisheries
Michael Snow, Seema Fotedar, Nerida G. Wilson, Lisa A. Kirkendale
Summary: This study investigated the distribution of rock oysters in Western Australia and identified five genetic lineages, including two previously unrecorded lineages. These findings are crucial for the development of a sound policy framework and a sustainable aquaculture industry.
Article
Biology
Josefin Stiller, Nerida G. G. Wilson, Greg W. W. Rouse
Summary: The common seadragon is a single species with strong geographic structure and genetic diversity. The eastern and western populations of seadragons have low genetic diversity, which is concerning given the fast climate change in these areas. These findings provide important insights into the historical determinants of species diversity in the Great Southern Reef.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sally C. Y. Lau, Jan M. Strugnell, Chester J. Sands, Catarina N. S. Silva, Nerida G. Wilson
Summary: Understanding the drivers of evolutionary innovation is crucial for understanding how evolutionary processes unfold. This study examined the Southern Ocean brittle stars and found that the species Ophionotus victoriae and O. hexactis are closely related with interspecific gene flow. Different refugia were identified for each species during the late Pleistocene, and gene flow was observed between different oceanic currents and local oceanographic regimes. A strong association was detected between outlier loci and salinity in O. hexactis, suggesting adaptation related to evolutionary innovations. These findings provide valuable insights into the drivers of innovation in the Southern Ocean fauna.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Z. B. Randolph Quek, Sudhanshi S. Jain, Zoe T. Richards, Roberto Arrigoni, Francesca Benzoni, Bert W. Hoeksema, Jose I. Carvajal, Nerida G. Wilson, Andrew H. Baird, Marcelo V. Kitahara, Isabela G. L. Seiblitz, Claudia F. Vaga, Danwei Huang
Summary: The development and application of phylogenomic approaches have brought us closer to a well-supported evolutionary tree of scleractinian corals. Specifically, hybrid-capture techniques have shed light on coral evolution and systematics. By analyzing a large dataset of nuclear loci from 422 coral species, we have reconstructed the largest phylogenomic tree of scleractinians to date and provided promising results for further understanding coral evolution.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Zuzana Musilova, Fabio Cortesi
Summary: Vertebrates have evolved four visual cone opsin classes that allow sensitivity to different wavelengths of light. The RH2 opsin, which is sensitive to green light, has undergone gene duplications, losses, and conversions in the evolution of teleost fishes. By studying the genomes and retinal/eye transcriptomes of 132 teleost species, researchers found a varying number of RH2 gene copies per species and identified conserved gene clusters. The study also revealed a correlation between habitat depth and the presence of certain opsin genes in the visual system of teleost fishes.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Emily L. McLaughlin, Nerida G. Wilson, Greg W. Rouse
Summary: An increasing number of Antarctic invertebrate taxa have been found to belong to hidden or pseudo-hidden species through DNA-based assessments. This study focuses on the comatulid crinoid echinoderms known as Promachocrinus kerguelensis, which were previously regarded as a single species distributed throughout the Antarctic region. By analyzing a larger number of samples and sequencing mitochondrial COI genes, as well as additional genes for selected specimens, this research reveals the existence of multiple species within Promachocrinus. Some of these species can be distinguished based on morphological characteristics, but others require DNA data for reliable identification. The results highlight the importance of extensive sampling to fully understand the biodiversity of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystem.
INVERTEBRATE SYSTEMATICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Cedric P. van den Berg, John A. Endler, Karen L. Cheney
Summary: Aposematic signals in many species visually advertise anti-predatory defences, and they should be detectable and bold to enhance predator recognition and learning. However, the signalling function may be distance-dependent, with signals being undetectable from a distance but bold up close. In this study, we quantified the detectability and boldness of colour patterns in 13 nudibranch species and found that well-defended species were more detectable and bolder at closer distances. The results highlight the importance of distinguishing signal detectability from boldness in studies of aposematism.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Laurence J. Clarke, Justine D. Shaw, Leonie Suter, Javier Atalah, Dana M. Bergstrom, Elisabeth Biersma, Peter Convey, Michelle Greve, Oakes Holland, Melissa J. Houghton, Kevin A. Hughes, Emma L. Johnston, Catherine K. King, Arlie H. McCarthy, Angela McGaughran, Luis R. Pertierra, Sharon A. Robinson, Craig D. H. Sherman, Jonathan S. Stark, Mark I. Stevens, Jan M. Strugnell, Ulla von Ammon, Nerida G. Wilson, Anastasija Zaiko, Anna J. MacDonald
Summary: Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty System's Environmental Protocol are committed to preventing non-native species incursions in Antarctica. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) methods can enhance the detection and monitoring of non-native species for biosecurity purposes. This study identified priority biosecurity risks for the Australian Antarctic Program in East Antarctica and determined that the most appropriate eDNA methods should be capable of detecting high-risk taxonomic groups such as mussels, tunicates, springtails, and grasses. The most beneficial applications of eDNA biosecurity in Antarctica include surveillance of marine species, terrestrial invertebrates, and biofouling organisms on visiting vessels.
MANAGEMENT OF BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)