Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mario Gallego-Abenza, Palmyre H. Boucherie, Thomas Bugnyar
Summary: This study found that family size influences the responsiveness of juvenile ravens to social information, with birds from small families being more attentive compared to those from large families.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Anita van Deventer, Adrian M. Shrader
Summary: The study found that as predator numbers increased, impala edge individuals maintained and ultimately increased their proportional use of antipredator vigilance, while central individuals reduced their use of antipredator vigilance and increased social vigilance. This adjustment might be related to individuals trying to increase foraging efficiency and cohesion benefits.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bernice Sepers, A. Christa Mateman, Fleur Gawehns, Koen J. F. Verhoeven, Kees van Oers
Summary: The early life environment is crucial for many organisms and can have profound effects on morphology, physiology, and fitness. The molecular mechanisms that mediate these effects are largely unknown, but DNA methylation has been suggested as a potential mechanism. This study investigated the association between DNA methylation changes and experimentally induced early developmental effects in great tit nestlings.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Martin Reichard, Stephan Koblmuller, Radim Blazek, Holger Zimmermann, Cyprian Katongo, Anna Bryjova, Josef Bryja
Summary: Host-parasite dynamics involve coevolutionary arms races and may result in host specialization and diversification. Previous understanding of host specialization in brood parasites has been mostly focused on bird and insect lineages. This study examines the relationship between the cuckoo catfish and mouthbrooding cichlids in Lake Tanganyika and finds evidence for the existence of sympatric host-specific lineages in the cuckoo catfish. Genetic analysis shows no host-specific lineages, and parasitism is not associated with any individual characteristics of the host species, but it does come at a cost for the parasitized parents. These findings suggest that the cuckoo catfish is an intermediate generalist in terms of host specialization.
Article
Ecology
Madan K. Oli, George D. Smith, Michael J. Mcgrady, Vratika Chaudhary, Chris J. Rollie, Richard Mearns, Ian Newton, Xavier Lambin
Summary: The populations of fish- and meat-eating birds declined globally due to the introduction of organochlorine pesticides, with reproductive failure and increased mortality being major factors. This study focused on the Peregrine falcon population in southern Scotland and found that the breeding performance greatly improved when the use of organochlorine pesticides was reduced and eventually banned. The improvements were more significant in areas with agricultural land use and closer to the coast.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Aurore Ponchon, Alice Scarpa, Greta Bocedi, Stephen C. F. Palmer, Justin M. J. Travis
Summary: The ability of individuals to make informed decisions about dispersal based on conspecific breeding success is crucial for individual fitness and metapopulation dynamics. Experimental modeling demonstrates that individuals tend to favor informed dispersal strategies based on a limited number of prospected patches, showing the importance of integrating prospecting and public information use in eco-evolutionary models. Additionally, the evolution of a plastic emigration strategy, where successful breeders tend to stay in the same area while unsuccessful breeders are more likely to migrate, highlights the impact of informed dispersal on spatial population dynamics.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Reetta Hamalainen, Mira H. Kajanus, Jukka T. Forsman, Sami M. Kivela, Janne-Tuomas Seppanen, Olli J. Loukola
Summary: Recent work has highlighted the use of social information by animals, both from their own species and from other species, but the ecological and evolutionary implications of this remain poorly understood. Selective use of social information, including the decision to reject observed behaviors, may have far-reaching consequences and lead to diverse ecological and coevolutionary outcomes between species. This study explores the potential for selective interspecific information use to explain co-occurrences of putative competitors and suggests that these consequences may be more widespread than previously recognized.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuanmu Huang, Bin Fu, Ningwei Peng, Yanwen Ba, Xuan Liu, Shigeng Zhang
Summary: This paper introduces a novel user authentication system, RF-Ubia, which utilizes low-cost RFID technology to capture unique biological or behavioral information rooted in the user. By combining user information and biometric characteristics, it provides double assurance for security of identity authentication and achieves excellent authentication performance.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Marie Borkovcova, Jiri Mlcek, Anna Adamkova, Martin Adamek, Martina Bednarova, Zuzana Musilova, Veronika Sevcikova
Summary: The aim of this study was to assess the safety of bee drone brood in terms of contamination risk and sensory acceptability. The analysis found that drone brood has a good mineral content and low microbial levels, making it a potentially safe food source. However, there were differences in taste between the oatmeal ball and drone brood ball.
Article
Pediatrics
Shannon Y. Adams, Richard Tucker, Beatrice E. Lechner
Summary: This study aimed to identify the use of online health communities (OHCs) by NICU families and assess its impact on parent-provider relationships. Results showed that most NICU parents use OHCs to connect with other families and alleviate distress. Despite risks, the study found that OHC use does not have a harmful effect on the relationship between parents and their child's medical team.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ji Kent Kwah, Aimee Jaramillo-Lambert
Summary: The article describes a method to determine embryonic viability and brood size in Caenorhabditis elegans. This technique can be used to assess errors in meiosis, fertilization, and embryogenesis and is easily adoptable for new researchers. It is an excellent model organism for studying these processes.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yaqin Xie, Tianyuan Gu, Di Zheng, Yu Zhang, Hai Huan
Summary: With the advancement of positioning technology, the application and demand for location information have gained attention from various industries. In this paper, a novel 3D low-cost, high-precision target perception algorithm is introduced using an RFID mobile reader and double tags. The algorithm utilizes Received Signal Strength (RSS) and phase information measurements to estimate the target's position along the shelf. Simulations demonstrate the exceptional accuracy of the proposed method, achieving centimeter-level sensing accuracy.
Article
Zoology
Juan Jose Soler, Manuel Martin-Vivaldi, Sona Nuhlickova, Cristina Ruiz-Castellano, Monica Mazorra-Alonso, Ester Martinez-Renau, Manfred Eckenfellner, Jan Svetlik, Herbert Hoi
Summary: Sibling cannibalism is found to be common in the Eurasian hoopoe, with a higher incidence in the Spanish population compared to the Austrian population. The higher occurrence of sibling cannibalism in the southern population may be due to more nestlings condemned to die. Factors such as hatching failure, food scarcity, and hatching asynchrony influence the likelihood and intensity of sibling cannibalism.
ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alex James, Alexander Hann, E. Penelope Holland
Summary: Reproduction in an uncertain world is risky, where investing in too many offspring in a resource poor season can be disastrous, but missing the opportunity of a resource rich year is also detrimental. In this study, a simple population and individual growth model was used, and Lyapunov exponents were applied to determine the optimum brood size under stochastic environmental conditions. The findings suggest that if the environment experiences drastic changes between breeding seasons, choosing a smaller brood size is more likely to be successful, but the best strategy is to synchronize reproduction with food availability. Moreover, it is discovered that living in a highly varying world with a plastic strategy that adapts to the environment can be more advantageous than living in a deterministic world with a constant strategy, especially when the cost of having offspring is high, which has important implications for invasive species and climate change.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Chu Chu, Jianyu Niu, Hui Ma, Jian Su, Rui Xu, Guangjun Wen
Summary: The proposed ACS protocol in this letter suggests sampling only a subset of tags from each category through a sparse vector and arithmetic coding, which proves to be more time-efficient than existing solutions in RFID applications.
IEEE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS LETTERS
(2021)
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)
Review
Psychology, Biological
Anni M. Hamalainen, Anja Guenther, Samantha C. Patrick, Wiebke Schuett
Summary: Studies have found that pace-of-life syndromes are largely influenced by environmental variation, with harsh early-life environments having the most consistent effects on POLS. However, some studies have shown only partial or no effects of environmental variation, possibly due to the high variability in study systems, traits, and environments. Identifying promising directions and addressing knowledge gaps are crucial for further progress in the field.
Article
Biology
Tiia Karkkainen, Pauliina Teerikorpi, Wiebke Schuett, Antoine Stier, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Early-life conditions have significant effects on phenotype and fitness in birds, with last-hatched chicks being more likely to die. Differential allocation in last-laid eggs may help compensate for initial handicaps, but the complex interactions between pre- and post-natal conditions remain largely unknown.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Correction
Ecology
Giulia Masoero, Toni Laaksonen, Chiara Morosinotto, Erkki Korpimaki
Article
Ecology
Elisabeth Yarwood, Claudia Drees, Jeremy E. Niven, Marisa Gawel, Wiebke Schuett
Summary: The study found that individual morphological traits within a species' range change with proximity to the range edge, with male body size increasing near the edge but not for females. Additionally, population density is lowest at the range edge, and body condition decreases with increasing population density in males.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Antti Piironen, Juho Piironen, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Understanding the spatio-temporal distributions of populations is crucial for the conservation and management of migratory animals. In this study, we used Gaussian process (GP) models and birdwatcher observation data to analyze the differences in distribution between two subspecies of bean goose in Finland during migration. The results showed that the taiga bean goose migrates throughout the country, while the tundra bean goose occurs only in a small area in southeastern Finland and migrates later than the taiga bean goose. By targeting the abundant tundra bean goose through hunting restrictions in southeastern Finland and at the end of the migration period, effective conservation and management can be achieved.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tiia Karkkainen, Toni Laaksonen, Malcolm Burgess, Alejandro Cantarero, Jesus Martinez-Padilla, Jaime Potti, Juan Moreno, Robert L. Thomson, Vallo Tilgar, Antoine Stier
Summary: Telomere length and shortening rate are biomarkers increasingly used in ecological and evolutionary studies due to their relationships with survival and fitness. Migration distance and nestling growth can affect telomere dynamics in different populations. Population differences in telomere biology highlight the need for further between-population studies.
Article
Ecology
Bin-Yan Hsu, Veli-Matti Pakanen, Winnie Boner, Blandine Doligez, Tapio Eeva, Ton G. G. Groothuis, Erkki Korpimaki, Toni Laaksonen, Asmoro Lelono, Pat Monaghan, Tom Sarraude, Robert L. Thomson, Jere Tolvanen, Barbara Tschirren, Rodrigo A. Vasquez, Suvi Ruuskanen
Summary: Thyroid hormones play an essential role in vertebrates, particularly in growth, development, metabolism, photoperiodic responses, and migration. This study investigates the relationship between maternally transferred yolk thyroid hormones and differences in migratory status, developmental mode, and pace-of-life traits in birds. The results indicate that migratory species and precocial species have higher concentrations and total amounts of yolk thyroid hormones compared to resident species and altricial species.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Antti Piironen, Anthony D. Fox, Hakon Kampe-Persson, Ulf Skyllberg, Ole Roland Therkildsen, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Migratory connectivity is a metric that measures the co-occurrence of migratory animals from different breeding sites, and it can vary throughout the annual cycle. Tracking taiga bean geese, the study found that connectivity can vary at different times during the nonbreeding period, and total counts might underestimate the population size.
POPULATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Carina Nebel, Camilla Ekblad, Fabio Balotari-Chiebao, Ida Penttinen, Torsten Stjernberg, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Early-life conditions can have long-term fitness consequences, especially for long-lived carnivores. Optimal rearing conditions for these carnivores are still unclear. A diverse diet may optimize nutrient availability and allow young to make experiences with a larger diversity of prey, while a narrow diet breadth might result in overall higher energy net gain. A diet dominated by a specific prey type (i.e. fish) may be beneficial or detrimental, depending on factors like toxicity or contaminant load.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daniele Baroni, Jan Hanzelka, Teresa Raimondi, Marco Gamba, Jon E. Brommer, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Passive acoustic monitoring is an effective method to detect elusive species, especially in forests. The study shows that the Eurasian pygmy owl prefers mature forests, and passive acoustic monitoring can help estimate population numbers.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jan Hanzelka, Daniele Baroni, Petri Martikainen, Tapio Eeva, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: The nests of secondary cavity-nesters in tree cavities provide specific microhabitats for arthropods, but the differences in arthropod communities in different nest types have not been extensively studied. In this research, the diversity and composition of arthropod communities in different cavity types and bird species' nests were investigated in managed boreal forests. The study found that arthropod communities varied between different nest types, emphasizing the importance of the ecological chain tree cavities-bird nests-arthropod communities.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biology
Antti Piironen, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Migratory divides separate populations of migratory animals, leading to intraspecific differences in migration strategies. In this study, we used satellite tracking and neckband resightings to uncover a gradual migratory divide between two populations of greylag geese in Europe. The birds in the Western Flyway exhibited different migration strategies compared to those in the Central Flyway.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Jan Hanzelka, Daniele Baroni, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Nest boxes had a high occupancy rate (81%), while natural cavities excavated in the forest interior, forest edges, and retention trees had lower rates (42-46%). The occupancy rates in nest boxes were influenced by the amount of Norway spruce and deciduous tree foliage biomass, tree height, and the proportion of Scots pine. In forest interior cavities, stand age had a negative effect, while the proportion of spruce had a positive effect. The internal quality of excavated cavities may play a more important role in occupancy rates than forest structure.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2023)