Article
Ecology
Sami O. Lehtinen, Tommi A. Peraelae, Silva K. Uusi-Heikkilae, Anna K. Kuparinen
Summary: Many generalist predators have flexible and rapid behavior to switch between prey species based on changing prey abundances. However, the mechanistic understanding of the relationship between individual behavior and feeding rates is poorly understood. In this study, three mechanistic models were developed to derive the relationship between observed individual behavior and feeding rates, providing novel functional responses for predators with prey switching and exclusive feeding. These functional responses conform to the Holling type III response and can be used to predict predators' diet compositions.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
Rongsheng Cai, Yuhua Cai, Jianhe Shen
Summary: In this article, we investigate the coexistence of a predator and two prey species under the influence of evolution. We propose a three-time-scale model that incorporates rapid adaptive behavior in the predator's feeding choice, slow growth in the prey species, and extremely slow growth in the predator. By utilizing geometric singular perturbation theory and computing the entry-exit function for multidimensional fast-slow systems, we discover that the predator and the two prey species can coexist through relaxation oscillations in their feeding choice strategies, which is attributed to the delayed loss of stability. Additionally, we demonstrate that the predator can coexist with the two prey species through an interior equilibrium state with locally optimal feeding choice.
COMMUNICATIONS IN NONLINEAR SCIENCE AND NUMERICAL SIMULATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ryo Nakano, Akio Ito, Susumu Tokumaru
Summary: A study has found that using ultrasonic pulses that mimic bat echolocation calls can effectively suppress the intrusion of moths into agricultural fields, reducing plant damage and the need for insecticides.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Hu He, Xiaoyu Ning, Kunquan Chen, Qisheng Li, Kuanyi Li, Zhengwen Liu, Erik Jeppesen
Summary: In shallow lakes, intraguild predation can dampen trophic cascades, and antagonistic interactions between two common lake predators may weaken the combined effects of individual predators.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Lei Gu, Luc De Meester, Zhou Yang
Summary: Predators can impact population and community dynamics through direct predation and nonconsumptive effects, such as changes in prey species traits. However, little is known about how kairomones act on prey across diverse aquatic ecosystems. This study explored how predator and prey identity and species composition influenced the expression of inducible defenses in water fleas.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jeremy J. Kiszka, Matthew S. Woodstock, Michael R. Heithaus
Summary: Most research on small cetaceans has focused on their abundance, distribution, and behavior in relation to abiotic factors. However, their ecological impacts on communities and ecosystems remain poorly understood. Their movement patterns, high local abundances, and potential mechanisms suggest that small cetaceans can have significant effects on ecosystem structure, dynamics, and function.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kyle E. Coblentz, Mark Novak, John P. DeLong
Summary: The feeding rates of predators must saturate at high prey densities, but it is unclear how saturated these rates are in natural conditions. This study found that feeding rates may commonly be unsaturated and the degree of saturation varies with predator and prey attributes, habitat, interaction dimension, and temperature.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Kenneth C. Catania
Summary: Electric eels use high-voltage pulses to activate prey motor neuron efferents, causing muscle fatigue and preventing prey from escaping while being swallowed whole, demonstrating an efficient predatory strategy.
Review
Entomology
Angelica Plata-Rueda, Luis Carlos Martinez, Jose Cola Zanuncio, Jose Eduardo Serrao
Summary: This article reviews the use and restrictions of predatory Hemiptera in agroecosystems, with a focus on Asopinae species with zoophytophagous-predatory habits (SZP). It discusses advances in biology, feeding strategies, and biological control using SZPs, as well as four approaches to improve their effectiveness and popularization in crops.
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ross N. N. Cuthbert, Elizabeta Briski
Summary: Environmental gradients may alter the ecological impacts of invasive alien species. In the western Baltic Sea, the functional response of Harris mud crab towards prey was influenced by salinity variation, but there were no significant differences observed across different salinity regimes.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biology
Paul C. Sereno, Nathan Myhrvold, Donald M. Henderson, Frank E. Fish, Daniel Vidal, Stephanie L. Baumgart, Tyler M. Keillor, Kiersten K. Formoso, Lauren L. Conroy
Summary: Recent discoveries of Spinosaurus fossils challenge the previous assumption that this dinosaur predominantly ate fish. The presence of a high-spined tail suggests that Spinosaurus may have been the first fully aquatic dinosaur. Testing with skeletal and flesh models shows that on land, Spinosaurus was a bipedal animal, while in deep water, it was an unstable and slow swimmer, unable to dive due to its buoyancy. These findings provide insights into Spinosaurus' habitat range and ecological adaptations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fernando W. Rossine, Gabriel T. Vercelli, Corina E. Tarnita, Thomas Gregor
Summary: This study reveals the foraging strategy of amoebae, a common protozoan predator in soil, and identifies amoebae mobility as the key determinant of predation efficiency. The findings provide insights into the role of protozoan predators in microbial soil ecosystems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Alberto Bortoni, Sharon M. Swartz, Hamid Vejdani, Aaron J. Corcoran
Summary: A predator's ability to catch prey depends on its navigation skills in response to prey movements. The pursuit behavior of Townsend's big-eared bat varies, as it relies on a slow and agile flight to stealthily approach prey and reacts to prey movements using a combination of pure pursuit and proportional navigation.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Johannes Cairns, Alexandre Jousset, Lutz Becks, Teppo Hiltunen
Summary: Mutation supply can influence evolutionary and ecological dynamics by affecting population size and species interactions, particularly when population size is constrained by external conditions. Controlled experiments show that higher mutation supply enables faster adaptation to low-resource environments and anti-predatory defense mechanisms, leading to increased population size and better access to high-recurrence mutational targets.
Article
Mathematics
Seralan Vinoth, R. Vadivel, Nien-Tsu Hu, Chin-Sheng Chen, Nallappan Gunasekaran
Summary: This study investigates the impact of fear on prey populations and prey refuges in a predator-harvested Leslie-Gower model. The research focuses on analyzing the number and stability properties of all positive equilibria and uses numerical simulation to evaluate the stability. Additionally, sensitivity investigations are performed on model solutions in relation to fear impact, prey refuges, and harvesting.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Gerrit B. Nanninga, Assaf Pertzelan, Moshe Kiflawi, Roi Holzman, Isolde Plakolm, Andrea Manica
Summary: The study found that variation in MP ingestion rates in early life stages of marine fish can affect responses to MP exposure at different treatment levels, indicating individual-level effects. High MP ingestion rates led to inferior escape responses, highlighting the importance of considering individual variation in environmental exposure experiments.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Corrine Avidan, Roi Holzman
Summary: Through flow visualization experiments, it was found that seahorses generate suction flows that are 8 times faster than those of similar-sized fish, and that the temporal patterns of cranial kinematics and suction flows in seahorses differ from the conserved pattern observed across other actinopterygians. However, within seahorses, increases in snout length were associated with slower suction flows and faster head rotation speeds, resulting in a trade-off between pivot feeding and suction feeding.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
James A. Krisher, Richard A. Malinauskas, Steven W. Day
Summary: Blood damage caused by shear-induced hemolysis in rotary blood pumps is not well understood. This study investigates hemolysis in a magnetically levitated axial Couette flow device and finds that the Index of Hemolysis is primarily dependent on shear rate. It is recommended to report findings of shear-induced blood damage with respect to the viscosity-neutral term of shear rate.
Article
Biology
Karin H. Olsson, Roi Gurka, Roi Holzman
Summary: This study investigates suction-feeding in fishes using the concept of dynamic similarity. The research finds that feeding strikes of different fish species have distinct hydrodynamic regimes, and there are unique hydrodynamic adaptive peaks associated with different types of fish. The scaling of dynamic similarity across fish species, body sizes, and feeding guilds suggests that fundamental hydrodynamic principles govern the trophic evolution of suction-feeding in fishes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Thomas Palazzolo, Matthew Hirschhorn, Ellen Garven, Steven Day, Randy M. Stevens, Joseph Rossano, Vakhtang Tchantchaleishvili, Amy L. Throckmorton
Summary: There is a limited selection of mechanical circulatory support devices specifically designed for pediatric patients. Most existing devices are adapted from adult designs, which may lead to complications due to the mismatch between device and patient characteristics. The development of pediatric-specific devices still faces challenges in terms of patient size variability and the heterogeneity of congenital heart diseases.
Article
Biology
Roi Holzman, Tal Keren, Moshe Kiflawi, Christopher H. Martin, Victor China, Ofri Mann, Karin H. Olsson
Summary: Understanding how organismal traits determine performance and fitness is important in evolutionary ecomorphology. This study used a mechanistic model to estimate a theoretical performance landscape for zooplankton prey capture and mapped observations of a natural population onto this landscape. The results showed that the natural population's kinematics closely matched regions of high performance, but not the performance peaks. The observed trait combinations were associated with higher performance than expected by chance, suggesting that they are under natural selection.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Krittika Goyal, David A. Borkholder, Steven W. Day
Summary: This paper presents the development of a new design for biopotential monitoring electrodes, utilizing a phantom that mimics the electrical properties of human skin. The phantom is composed of two layers that simulate different tissue depths and the stratum corneum of the skin. The electrical performance and hydration of the phantom can be controlled by adjusting its porosity. Impedance spectroscopy measurements showed that the phantom's impedance response is comparable to that of human skin. The phantom also successfully replicated the impact of dry and hydrated skin on a simulated ECG signal. The developed skin phantom is affordable, easy to manufacture, stable over time, and can serve as a platform for testing new electrode designs.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A-PHYSICAL
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hava Wandel, Roi Holzman
Summary: This study investigates the selectivity, mechanism, and behavioral basis of feeding behavior in tintinnids. The experiment reveals that the feeding flow speed of tintinnids is modulated by their cilia beat frequency, and selectivity changes throughout the feeding sequence. The findings suggest that modulating cilia kinematics is a critical component of tintinnids' feeding behavior.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Adeel Ahmed, Mehran Mansouri, Indranil M. Joshi, Ann M. Byerley, Steven W. Day, Thomas R. Gaborski, Vinay V. Abhyankar
Summary: In this study, it was found that pure shear flows do not induce fiber alignment in 3D atelo COL1 hydrogels, but the addition of local extensional flow can promote alignment that is maintained across several millimeters. Furthermore, introducing a magnetically coupled modular platform addressed the challenge of accessing 3D hydrogels, allowing for patterning cells and fabricating multi-layered COL1 matrices.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Mehran Mansouri, Adeel Ahmed, S. Danial Ahmad, Molly C. McCloskey, Indranil M. Joshi, Thomas R. Gaborski, Richard E. Waugh, James L. McGrath, Steven W. Day, Vinay V. Abhyankar
Summary: A plug-and-play flow module is developed in this study to introduce microfluidic flow capabilities to an open-well device, combining the advantages of both systems. This reconfigurable design provides a convenient platform for barrier tissue research and expands the applications of microfluidic techniques.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Carson S. Fox, Thomas Palazzolo, Matthew Hirschhorn, Randy M. Stevens, Joseph Rossano, Steven W. Day, Vakhtang Tchantchaleishvili, Amy L. Throckmorton
Summary: Clinically-available blood pumps and total artificial hearts for pediatric patients are not as advanced as those developed for adults. Researchers are working on developing a hybrid, continuous-flow, magnetically levitated, pediatric total artificial heart that integrates both an axial and centrifugal blood pump. The focus of their development is on the centrifugal blood pump, with computational fluid dynamics analysis and in vitro testing of prototypes.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Matthew Hirschhorn, Nicholas Catucci, Steven W. Day, Randy M. Stevens, Vakhtang Tchantchaleishvili, Amy L. Throckmorton
Summary: The research aims to develop a novel pediatric hybrid total artificial heart (TAH) to address device shortfalls for pediatric patients. The valveless magnetically-levitated MCS device combines an axial and centrifugal blood pump into a single device, which occupies a compact footprint. By utilizing computational analysis and prototyping, three channel impellers for the centrifugal blood pump were designed and tested to meet the required pressure and flow rate.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Krittika Goyal, David A. Borkholder, Steven W. Day
Summary: In this study, the performance and signal quality of dry electrodes were investigated in relation to electrode material and skin hydration through simulated experiments and human trials. The results showed that the relative permittivity of the electrode material affects the interface impedance, thus influencing the quality of biopotential signals.
Article
Biology
Corrine Avidan, Steven W. Day, Roi Holzman
Summary: The latch-mediated spring-actuated (LaMSA) mechanism in seahorses is powered by the sternohyoideus and epaxial tendons, enabling the coordinated acceleration of the head and fluid intake. This mechanism provides seahorses with exceptional feeding capabilities compared to other fish species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Information Systems
Krittika Goyal, David A. Borkholder, Steven W. Day
Summary: A novel approach to non-invasive monitoring of pulmonary health by measuring changes in impedance from the back of the thigh is introduced, which could provide valuable insights into diseases such as COVID-19 and heart failure.
2022 IEEE-EMBS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH INFORMATICS (BHI) JOINTLY ORGANISED WITH THE IEEE-EMBS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WEARABLE AND IMPLANTABLE BODY SENSOR NETWORKS (BSN'22)
(2022)