Article
Ecology
Zachary Emberts, John J. Wiens
Summary: In intraspecific fights among animals, reducing damage plays a crucial role in determining the contest winner. This study found that enhancing an individual's defensive armour increased their likelihood of winning a fight, demonstrating the impact of damage and damage-reducing structures on fighting success. These results support the fundamental assumption in theoretical fighting models that damage is a cost that can influence contest outcomes.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Caio S. Nogueira, Alexandre R. da Silva, Alexandre Palaoro
Summary: Animal weapons are complex systems composed of multiple structures. By comparing the shape and size of fighting and non-fighting claws, it was shown that they differ in certain aspects but exhibit similar levels of integration.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Economics
Lingbo Huang, Zahra Murad
Summary: The study found that contestants exhibit a psychological momentum effect in both individual and team contests, with leaders fighting harder than trailers. However, this effect is significantly larger in individual contests than in team contests, and disappears in team contests with pre-play communication. The findings are better explained by a combination of disappointment aversion and team spirit rather than the standard economic model.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
P. A. Green, Faye J. Thompson, Michael A. Cant
Summary: Conflicts between social groups play a significant role in the evolution of cooperation and social organization in humans and animals. A study on banded mongooses reveals that the number of adult males and the age of the oldest male greatly affect the probability of group victory. Senior males have an advantage due to their fighting experience, but this advantage diminishes with age.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture
Attila Kertesz
Summary: This article proposes an architecture for vaccination information validation and tracking using fog and cloud-based blockchain system. It provides a privacy-aware and scalable approach for interoperable and effective data management. The scalability of the underlying blockchain system is evaluated through simulation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amir Haluts, Sylvia F. Garza Reyes, Dan Gorbonos, Robert Ian Etheredge, Alex Jordan, Nir S. Gov
Summary: Competition among animals for resources is common at all levels of life. It is often resolved through contests, where outcomes depend on decision-making by individuals. By studying simple systems, a theoretical framework can be constructed to understand animal contest behaviors.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
News Item
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Layal Liverpool
Summary: Research on the effects of climate change on health plays a crucial role in high-profile lawsuits heard by Europe's human-rights court.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Zackary A. A. Graham, Megan B. B. Stubbs, Zachary J. J. Loughman
Summary: Animal weapons are morphological traits that improve fighting ability and are associated with competition, usually sexually dimorphic with males possessing weaponry and females lacking weaponry. However, in some cases, both sexes may have enlarged claws that function as weapons, such as in crustaceans.
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Kyriacos Kareklas, Hansjoerg P. Kunc, Gareth Arnott
Summary: The study reveals that animals' strategic decisions are complex and influenced by resource value and competitive ability. Individuals exhibit sequential behavior and adjust their display, attack, and retreat in response to changes in resource and contest conditions. Individual aggressiveness and resource-value factors are consistent with sequential behavior and vary with increasing information on competitive ability collected during the contest.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Amir Haluts, Alex Jordan, Nir S. Gov
Summary: We propose a general theoretical model for the spatio-temporal dynamics of animal contests, inspired by interactions between physical particles. The model uses effective interaction potentials to map contest behavior into empirically verifiable rules of contestant motion, allowing simulation of observable dynamics in various realistic scenarios. Assessment strategies and fighting costs can be described as variations in model parameters, and contest duration trends can be derived and understood within the model. The framework enables exploration of spatio-temporal properties of asymmetric contests, such as the emergence of chase dynamics.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Zackary A. Graham
Summary: Despite the diversity in the size, performance, and function of crustacean claws, our understanding of their functional morphology and evolution remains lacking. This study investigated the unique claw morphology of the New River crayfish and its relationship to claw strength and fighting style. The results suggest that claw length increases with body size, and in crayfish fighting, the importance of claw size and strength for contest success varies.
JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Alexandre Palaoro, Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto
Summary: In species that compete for resources, individuals use specialized structures as weapons to gain a mechanical advantage. This study examines the impact of weapons on contest outcomes and identifies patterns in how animals use their weapons. The results show that the extent to which weapons influence contest success depends on weapon traits and fighting style. The study highlights the need to consider weapon function and a wider diversity of species when studying animal weapons.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eoghan M. Cunningham, Amy Mundye, Louise Kregting, Jaimie T. A. Dick, Andrew Crump, Gillian Riddell, Gareth Arnott
Summary: Microplastics have been shown to impair shell selection and contest behavior in hermit crabs, affecting their survival and adaptability. Exposed defenders required higher raps per bout and longer durations to be evicted in contests when attackers were pre-exposed to different conditions, indicating broader deleterious effects on marine biota.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Pamela J. Reid, Victoria A. Cussen, Kristen A. Collins, Randall Lockwood
Summary: This paper investigates the utility of a life-sized plush model dog as a screening tool for conspecific aggression in fight-bred dogs. The study finds that the model dog can effectively discriminate between dogs with and without conspecific aggression, and predicts consistent aggression towards same-sex stimulus dogs. It recommends using the model dog as a first screening step for fight-bred dogs.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sarah M. Lane, Tomas O. Cornwell, Mark Briffa
Summary: Skill is an important determinant of success and is influenced by motor control and traits. Interference from opponents may affect the translation of potential technique into skill. The study on European hermit crabs shows that technique exhibited during a "training" fight predicts the level of skill displayed in a real contest. Winners adapt their striking targeting progressively when faced with functional opponents.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Aline Candaten, Angelica Gabriela Possenti, Alvaro Augusto Mainardi, Marcelo Carvalho da Rocha, Alexandre Palaoro
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Alexandre Palaoro, Danilo G. Muniz, Sandro Santos
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Artur A. N. Valgas, Natalia M. A. Wingen, Sarah H. D. Santos, Guendalina T. Oliveira, Paula B. Araujo
MARINE AND FRESHWATER BEHAVIOUR AND PHYSIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Bianca Lais Zimmermann, Giovanna M. Cardoso, Didier Bouchon, Pedro H. Pezzi, Alexandre V. Palaoro, Paula B. Araujo
Summary: Our study involved collecting terrestrial isopods and termites in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, sequencing and identifying Wolbachia strains in these groups, and constructing phylogenies that showed significant jumps of Wolbachia between terrestrial isopods and termites despite their phylogenetic distance, suggesting likely horizontal transmission of supergroup F Wolbachia between the two species. Our findings contribute to understanding the success and distribution of this symbiont.
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Harry Boos, Allan Cesar Silva Scalco, Paula Beatriz Araujo
Summary: This study focused on the biological and distributional aspects of deep-sea giant isopods Bathynomus giganteus and Bathynomus miyarei, with depth being the most important environmental variable influencing their distribution. Bathynomus giganteus were found at depths between 600m and 1,000m, while B. miyarei densities were higher at shallower depths of 400m to 600m. The sexual maturity and longevity of both species were also examined, with B. giganteus assessed as Least Concern and B. miyarei categorized as Data Deficient in terms of extinction risk assessment.
AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Zackary A. Graham, Cindy Vargas, Michael J. Angilletta, Alexandre Palaoro
Summary: Crustaceans are well-known for their ability to autotomize and regenerate appendages, particularly their specialized claws. However, regenerated claws tend to be weaker than original claws in terms of pinching strength and muscle mass. This suggests that claw regeneration may be the mechanism behind the production of dishonest claws in crayfish.
JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Alexandre Palaoro, Solimary Garcia-Hernandez, Bruno A. Buzatto, Glauco Machado
Summary: In this study, the authors examined the allometry of contest-related traits in the Amazonian tusked harvestman. They found that the allometry of threat devices and weapons used in contests was consistent with the functional allometry hypothesis. However, they also discovered that function alone could not explain allometric differences in homologous traits between males and females. Additionally, function could not explain differences in allometric slopes between male morphs. The study suggests that further research is needed to understand the factors that affect the allometric slopes of male-dimorphic traits.
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Zackary A. Graham, Nicole Kaiser, Alexandre V. Palaoro
Summary: In many species, males possess specialized weaponry that confers benefits during male-male combat. However, females often only have reduced versions of male weaponry. This study focuses on the size, performance, and biomechanics of hindlegs in Thasus neocalifornicus. The findings suggest that selection on the performance and biomechanics of sexually selected weapons can influence the expression of sexual dimorphism.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Caio S. Nogueira, Alexandre R. da Silva, Alexandre Palaoro
Summary: Animal weapons are complex systems composed of multiple structures. By comparing the shape and size of fighting and non-fighting claws, it was shown that they differ in certain aspects but exhibit similar levels of integration.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Joao C. T. Menezes, Alexandre V. Palaoro
Summary: Birds are a remarkable example of how sexual selection can produce diverse ornaments and behaviors. Unlike other animals, birds have a scarcity of weapons, and this study suggests that the costly mode of locomotion-powered flight in birds may help explain this. The simulation and analysis showed that species with flight-efficient wings tend to have fewer or no bony spurs, and this association likely arises from more frequent evolutionary loss of spurs due to increased flying. This suggests that the absence of weaponry may be another feature of the avian body plan that allows birds to efficiently explore the aerial habitat.
Article
Biology
Alexandre Palaoro, Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto
Summary: In species that compete for resources, individuals use specialized structures as weapons to gain a mechanical advantage. This study examines the impact of weapons on contest outcomes and identifies patterns in how animals use their weapons. The results show that the extent to which weapons influence contest success depends on weapon traits and fighting style. The study highlights the need to consider weapon function and a wider diversity of species when studying animal weapons.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Augusto Frederico Huber, Paula Beatriz Araujo, Felipe Bezerra Ribeiro
Summary: This contribution describes two new species of burrowing crayfish from forestry areas in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using an integrative taxonomy approach with morphology and mitochondrial DNA analysis. The new species show distinct morphological differences from existing species and face threats such as declining habitat quality, leading to a recommendation of Data Deficient status.
Article
Biology
Danilo Giacometti, Alexandre V. Palaoro, Laura C. Leal, Fabio C. de Barros
Summary: This study investigated how environmental temperature seasonality affects the seasonal variation in body temperature and preferred body temperature in lizards. The results showed that body temperature varied more than preferred body temperature across seasons. Body size and thermoregulatory strategy influenced the variation in body temperature. Additionally, an increase in environmental temperature seasonality led to an increase in the seasonal variation of preferred body temperature. The study also found significant differences in body temperature and preferred body temperature among lizard families.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Ivanklin Soares Campos-Filho, Spyros Sfenthourakis, Jessica Scaglione Gallo, Jonas Eduardo Gallao, Dayana Ferreira Torres, Amazonas Chagas-, Lilia Horta, Yesenia Margarita Carpio-Diaz, Carlos Mario Lopez-Orozco, Ricardo Borja-Arrieta, Paula Beatriz Araujo, Stefano Taiti, Maria Elina Bichuette
Summary: This study reports the discovery of 14 new species of terrestrial isopods in Brazilian karstic regions, and expands knowledge on the distribution of some species.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Harry Boos, Gilson Stanski, Paula Beatriz Araujo, Georgina Bond-Buckup
Summary: This study reveals that two sympatric aeglid species, Aegla jarai and Aegla muelleri, coexist in the same habitat in Espingarda Creek, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Their population structure and reproductive periods differ, and their coexistence is attributed to space partitioning.