Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christina Riehl, Zachariah Fox Smart
Summary: The study reveals that climate variation may influence selection on breeding group size, with the strength and direction of selection on group size changing across different years.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manuel Roeleke, Ulrike E. Schlaegel, Cara Gallagher, Jan Pufelski, Torsten Blohm, Ran Nathan, Sivan Toledo, Florian Jeltsch, Christian C. Voigt
Summary: Animals that depend on ephemeral, patchily distributed prey use public information to locate resource patches and form temporary mobile sensory networks. This study focused on radio-tracked aerial-hawking bats and found that they adjust their movements to neighboring conspecifics while probing the airspace for prey, leading to improved efficiency in locating food.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mingming Liu, Mingli Lin, David Lusseau, Songhai Li
Summary: Research in the eastern waters of Zhanjiang, China, shows that group size of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins varies with different seasons and years, but not with tidal phases. The presence of mother-calf pairs significantly increases group size, providing more protection, food, and resources for the dolphins.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Michael Mikat, Jitka Waldhauserova, Tereza Frankova, Katerina Cermakova, Vojtech Broz, Simon Zeman, Marcela Dokulilova, Jakub Straka
Summary: The study shows that the European carpenter bees Ceratina (Ceratina) cucurbitina, C. (Euceratina) chalybea, and C. (E.) nigrolabiata do not exhibit sibling feeding behavior as observed in the American species C. calcarata. Female-biased sex ratios and smaller female offspring in the first brood cell do not provide sufficient evidence for demonstrating the existence of altruistic daughters, indicating that maternal investment patterns are not solely influenced by social interactions.
Article
Ecology
Chris Duncan, Marta B. Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock
Summary: Variation in group persistence has significant impacts on individual fitness and population demographics in social vertebrates. Factors such as group size and disease transmission play crucial roles in determining the success or failure of cooperatively breeding groups.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Allison R. Lau, Brianna R. Pinto, Lynea R. Witczak, Karen L. Bales
Summary: Research has found that primates, including coppery titi monkeys, vary their species-typical behaviors depending on social conditions. An experiment investigating the behavior differences of titi monkeys in small and large rooms revealed that monkeys in small rooms demonstrated higher rates of affiliation. This suggests that environmental factors have an impact on the social behavior of titi monkeys.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Hanja B. Brandl, Simon C. Griffith, Damien R. Farine, Wiebke Schuett
Summary: This study found that individuals with synchronized breeding have stronger social ties, which are maintained beyond the breeding period. The strong social connections between synchronized breeders are carried over across years, highlighting the extensive consequences of social structure on individuals' overall life history.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Younes Valadbeigi, Jean-Francois Gal
Summary: New organometallic superacids of sulfonic acid derivatives were designed based on enhancing acidity through internal bonding with an electron-pair acceptor group BX2 (X = H, F, Cl, Br). Two classes of superacids were devised, resulting in obtaining an organometallic hyperacid with relatively small size.
CHEMICAL PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Yi-Ming Wu, P. A. Nosov, Aavishkar A. Patel, S. Raghu
Summary: We describe and solve models with robust PDW phases, finding that the requirements for long-range PDW order are nonmonotonic repulsive BCS couplings in space and their strength exceeding a threshold value.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lars J. C. van der Zee, Sanjukta Pahar, Emma Richards, Rebecca L. Melen, J. Chris Slootweg
Summary: Recently, it has been discovered that the activation and utilization of substrates mediated by Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) can occur not only through a two-electron cooperative mechanism, but also through a one-electron transfer process. This leads to the formation of radical ion pairs, which have been observed more frequently. This review aims to discuss the recent insights into the one-electron transfer processes in FLP chemistry, highlight examples of radical formation, and review the applications of reported main group radicals in the understanding of SET processes in FLP systems.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Baoling Niu, Zhiming Wang, Jianwei Wu, Junzhuo Cai, Ziwen An, Jie Sun, Yanbo Li, Shuyu Huang, Ning Lu, Qihao Xie, Guohua Zhao
Summary: A novel photoanode (Au/MIL100(Fe)/TiO2) with dual recognition functions was designed for selective group-targeting photoelectrocatalytic removal of thiol-containing heterocyclic pollutants from various aquatic systems. The specific recognition mechanism was mainly attributable to both the size screening of MIL100(Fe) toward targets and Au-S bond formed between-SH group of targets and Au of Au/MIL100(Fe)/TiO2. The study provides new guidelines for the selective group-targeting removal of toxic pollutants with characteristic functional groups from complex water matrices.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Costanza Geppert, Andree Cappellari, Daria Corcos, Valerio Caruso, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Maurizio Mei, Lorenzo Marini
Summary: More than half of the world's population lives in urban areas, which is expected to increase. Recent research highlighted the potential ecological importance of cities for pollinators, with green areas, connectivity, and temperature being key factors affecting pollinator communities.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2023)
Article
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism
Xiaobo Su, Heqing Zhang
Summary: This article introduces the concept of "tastescape" to demonstrate the impact of tea drinking in tourist settings on promoting wellbeing. Using the case study of Lijiang Old Town, the article explores why and how guesthouse owners organize tea activities to interact with tourists, and why some tourists choose tea drinking for relaxation and comfort. The article emphasizes the importance of tastescapes of wellbeing in spatial, temporal, and social relationships, highlighting that wellbeing is a result of interactions between humans and their surroundings in tourism.
TOURISM GEOGRAPHIES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Chia-Ning Yu, Chi-Yun Kuo, Hsing-Chieh Lin, Yong-Chao Su
Summary: Evolutionary transitions from solitary to group-living are common in animal systems. In this study, kleptoparasitic spiders were used to assess the impact of group size on the foraging payoffs of kin and non-kin groups. The results showed that the spiders enjoyed the highest foraging payoffs when being solitary or in small groups.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Hongtao Zhao
Summary: Kinetic modeling provides insights into the relationship between substrate-Pgp interactions and efflux. Matched molecular pair analysis supports guidelines for efflux control, but rule-based approaches may be insufficient. PROTACs show a preference for physicochemical properties opposite to rule-of-five compliant compounds. Passive permeability plays a critical role in efflux ratio and its mitigation often involves increasing passive permeability.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Hugo Loning, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib
Summary: Zebra finches in their natural habitat produce soft songs with limited transmission range, which challenges the conventional understanding of birdsong as long-range communication. These findings, combined with data on hearing physiology, offer a new ecological perspective on the function of zebra finch song. The study highlights the contrast between zebra finches' short-range vocal communication in the wild and the use of song as a long-range advertisement signal by other songbirds.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elizabeth L. Sheldon, Riccardo Ton, Winnie Boner, Pat Monaghan, Shirley Raveh, Aaron W. Schrey, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: The study revealed a negative correlation between increases in DNAm levels and telomere length changes during early life, while also confirming the effects of post hatch growth rate and clutch size on telomere length. No effect of ambient temperature on telomere length dynamics was detected. The absolute telomere length of wild zebra finches was found to be similar to that of captive birds, highlighting potential relationships between DNA based biomarkers of ageing and physiological reactions to environmental change.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marie E. Herberstein, Donald James McLean, Elizabeth Lowe, Jonas O. Wolff, Md Kawsar Khan, Kaitlyn Smith, Andrew P. Allen, Matthew Bulbert, Bruno A. Buzatto, Mark D. B. Eldridge, Daniel Falster, Laura Fernandez Winzer, Simon C. Griffith, Joshua S. Madin, Ajay Narendra, Mark Westoby, Martin J. Whiting, Ian J. Wright, Alexandra J. R. Carthey
Summary: Trait databases are important resources for comparative studies in ecology and evolution. AnimalTraits database is introduced here, which includes body mass, metabolic rate, and brain size data of terrestrial animals. The database covers a wide range of taxonomic groups and species, sourced from original empirical publications with accompanying metrics and measurements. Additional R scripts are provided to assist researchers in aggregating standardized observations.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hugo Loning, Laura Verkade, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib
Summary: Male songbirds sing to establish territories and attract mates, but recent research has shown that singing also serves other functions, such as social cohesion and breeding synchronization. The study of zebra finches found that despite not having territories, males still sing and form long-term monogamous bonds with females. The study also revealed that singing plays an important role in social aggregations by attracting conspecifics. These findings demonstrate that birdsong has important functions beyond territoriality and mate choice.
Article
Biology
Lorenzo Galletta, Meagan J. Craven, Alizee Meillere, Tamsyn M. Crowley, Katherine L. Buchanan, Mylene M. Mariette
Summary: As the world warms, understanding the mechanisms organisms use to protect themselves from thermal stress becomes increasingly important. This study found that zebra finch embryos can upregulate heat shock proteins in response to acute thermal stress, suggesting that these proteins may play a vital role in early developmental protection under climate change.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ornithology
Haruka Wada, Leslie Dees, Laura L. Hurley, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Avian females can modify their nest-site selection and breeding behavior in response to changes in ambient temperature. However, their response to high ambient temperature in terms of eggshell characteristics has not been extensively studied. To address this, wild-derived and domesticated Zebra Finches were bred under temperatures of 18 degrees C, 30 degrees C, or 35 degrees C. The study found that eggs from finches bred at 18 degrees C and 30 degrees C had similar characteristics, but females exposed to 35 degrees C laid significantly thinner eggs compared to the 18 degrees C group. These findings suggest that ecologically relevant temperatures in arid regions of Australia can affect eggshell thickness, an important factor for bird hatchability.
Article
Ecology
Hector Pacheco-Fuentes, Riccardo Ton, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Understanding the consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial function is vital for the understanding of metabolic processes and population dynamics. Experiments with zebra finches showed that heat treatments during early development led to decreased mitochondrial metabolism in adults. The intensity, pattern, and duration of temperature conditions at early-life stages affected the reaction of adult birds to heat. Our study provides insights into the complexity of mitochondrial metabolism variation and raises questions about the adaptive value of long-lasting physiological adjustments triggered by the early-life thermal environment.
Article
Ecology
Callum S. McDiarmid, Fiona Finch, Marianne Peso, Erica van Rooij, Daniel M. Hooper, Melissah Rowe, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Mating behavior plays a crucial role in speciation by influencing gene flow between closely related species. The long-tailed finch provides an opportunity to study mating behavior and species barriers through the examination of hybrid zones. Behavioral assays revealed an assortative mating preference for males of the same subspecies, but this preference was not observed when bill color was manipulated. This suggests that mate preference may be based on other traits or a combination of traits, or the bill manipulations were not convincing to the female choosers.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Laura L. Hurley, Riccardo Ton, Melissah Rowe, Katherine L. Buchanan, Simon C. Griffith, Ondi L. Crino
Summary: Birds that breed opportunistically maintain partial activation of reproductive systems to rapidly exploit environmental conditions when they become suitable for breeding. Males of seasonally breeding birds downregulate testosterone production outside of a breeding context to minimize costs.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Madeleine Wheeler, Riccardo Ton, Hanja B. Brandl, Wiebke Schuett, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Due to global warming, understanding how organisms adapt their behavior to environmental temperature conditions has become an increasingly important question in animal biology. Temperature-driven adjustments in parental care are important as they affect offspring size and survival. A study on zebra finches found that with every 1°C increase in daytime temperature, there was a 0.91% reduction in the frequency of parental visits to the nest, indicating the potential impact on food availability for nestlings.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Hugo Loning, Rita Fragueira, Marc Naguib, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study identified semi-permanent gathering locations, or "social hotspots," in free-living populations of zebra finches and found that these hotspots are continuously visited by the birds for social interactions and information exchange. These findings reveal the social organization of zebra finches in the wild and contribute to our understanding of their natural social life.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Kumkum Dubey, Callum S. Mcdiarmid, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study assessed the impact of experimentally manipulated diet on the sperm traits of long-tailed finches. The results showed that diet had no significant impact on sperm length, in contrast to a study on zebra finches. However, there was a slight increase in head, flagellum, and total sperm length during the treatment period. The dietary manipulation also affected bill color saturation and body mass in the long-tailed finches.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Riccardo Ton, Winnie Boner, Shirley Raveh, Pat Monaghan, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study investigates the effects of heat waves on telomere dynamics and parental brooding behavior in zebra finch nestlings. The results suggest that the impact of heat waves on telomere dynamics varies depending on the age and thermoregulatory stage of the offspring, as well as parental brooding behavior.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katja Della Libera, Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, Simon C. Griffith, Stephan T. Leu
Summary: Fission-fusion events are a mechanism for animals to adjust the social environment in response to short-term changes in the cost-benefit ratio of group living. This study identified fission-fusion events in free-ranging sheep based on high-resolution GPS data and found that group size was highest during resting times, while fission and fusion frequencies were highest during periods of high activity. However, fission and fusion events were not more frequent near food patches and water resources, suggesting limited role of resource competition.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katja Della Libera, Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, Simon C. Griffith, Stephan T. Leu
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)