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Article
| Open AccessProsocial and antisocial choices in a monogamous cichlid with biparental care
Cooperative species, like humans, can display spontaneously prosocial behaviour. Experiments on a monogamous fish with biparental care shows that pair bonded males are prosocial to both their long-term mates and to strange females, but make antisocial choices if their mate is watching, or if another male is the potential recipient.
- Shun Satoh
- , Redouan Bshary
- & Masanori Kohda
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessInsects with 100 million-year-old dinosaur feathers are not ectoparasites
- David A. Grimaldi
- & Isabelle M. Vea
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Article
| Open AccessThe evolution of critical thermal limits of life on Earth
Historical climate adaptation can give insight into the potential for adaptation to contemporary changing climates. Here Bennett et al. investigate thermal tolerance evolution across much of the tree of life and find different effects of ancestral climate on the subsequent evolution of ectotherms vs. endotherms.
- Joanne M. Bennett
- , Jennifer Sunday
- & Miguel Ángel Olalla-Tárraga
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Article
| Open AccessSocial networks predict the life and death of honey bees
Honey bee workers take on different tasks for the colony as they age. Here, the authors develop a method to extract a descriptor of the individuals’ social networks and show that interaction patterns predict task allocation and distinguish different developmental trajectories.
- Benjamin Wild
- , David M. Dormagen
- & Tim Landgraf
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Article
| Open AccessMapping ticks and tick-borne pathogens in China
Ticks are an important vector of disease in China, posing threats to humans, livestock and wild animals. Here, Zhao et al. compile a database of the distributions of the 124 tick species known in China and 103 tick-borne pathogens and predict the additional suitable habitats for the predominant vector species.
- Guo-Ping Zhao
- , Yi-Xing Wang
- & Li-Qun Fang
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Article
| Open AccessEfficacy in deceptive vocal exaggeration of human body size
While size exaggeration is common in the animal kingdom, Pisanski & Reby show that human listeners can detect deceptive vocal signals of people trying to sound bigger or smaller, and recalibrate their estimates accordingly, especially men judging the heights of other men, with implications for the evolution of vocal communication.
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- & David Reby
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Article
| Open AccessProduction of germ-free mosquitoes via transient colonisation allows stage-specific investigation of host–microbiota interactions
Germ-free mosquitoes generated with current methods exhibit developmental deficits. Here, the authors use genetically modified bacteria to allow complete decolonisation at any developmental stage of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and show that bacteria support larval development by contributing to folate biosynthesis and enhancing energy storage.
- Ottavia Romoli
- , Johan Claes Schönbeck
- & Mathilde Gendrin
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Article
| Open AccessThe molecular basis of socially mediated phenotypic plasticity in a eusocial paper wasp
Connecting genotypes to complex social behaviour is challenging. Taylor et al. use machine learning to show a strong response of caste-associated gene expression to queen loss, wherein individual wasp’s expression profiles become intermediate between queen and worker states, even in the absence of behavioural changes.
- Benjamin A. Taylor
- , Alessandro Cini
- & Seirian Sumner
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Article
| Open AccessExtreme temperatures compromise male and female fertility in a large desert bird
Climate change may pose a challenge not only for survival of animals but also for their reproduction. Here, Schou et al. analyse how male and female ostrich fertility relates to fluctuating temperature across 20 years, finding reduced fertility away from the thermal optimum, but also individual variation in thermal tolerance.
- Mads F. Schou
- , Maud Bonato
- & Charlie K. Cornwallis
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Article
| Open AccessGroup-level cooperation in chimpanzees is shaped by strong social ties
Strong social bonds are known to affect pairwise cooperation in primates such chimpanzees. Here, Samuni et al. show that strong social bonds also influence participation in group-level cooperation (collective action in intergroup encounters) using a long-term dataset of wild chimpanzees.
- Liran Samuni
- , Catherine Crockford
- & Roman M. Wittig
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Article
| Open AccessLife history, climate and biogeography interactively affect worldwide genetic diversity of plant and animal populations
A global analysis of population-level variation in genetic diversity for 727 plant and animal species finds that biogeography, life history traits and climate are important for predicting the distribution of local genetic diversity, and should be considered together when assessing the local conservation status of species.
- H. De Kort
- , J. G. Prunier
- & S. Blanchet
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Article
| Open AccessTwo novel venom proteins underlie divergent parasitic strategies between a generalist and a specialist parasite
Parasitism is a widespread evolutionary strategy. A study that spans functional and evolutionary genomics identifies the molecular basis and history underlying two genes that have mediated divergent parasitic strategies (specialist vs generalist) between two sister species of parasitoid wasp.
- Jianhua Huang
- , Jiani Chen
- & Shuai Zhan
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Article
| Open AccessRapid parallel adaptation despite gene flow in silent crickets
Gene flow is classically thought to impede local adaptation via parallel evolution. However, a genomic study on Hawaiian crickets from different island populations finds evidence of parallel adaptation to the same lethal parasitoid in spite of strong ongoing gene flow.
- Xiao Zhang
- , Jack G. Rayner
- & Nathan W. Bailey
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Article
| Open AccessBiomineral armor in leaf-cutter ants
Biomineral armour is known in a number of diverse creatures but has not previously been observed in insects. Here, the authors report on the discovery and characterization of high-magnesium calcite armour which overlays the exoskeletons of leaf-cutter ants.
- Hongjie Li
- , Chang-Yu Sun
- & Cameron R. Currie
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Article
| Open AccessShape-preserving erosion controlled by the graded microarchitecture of shark tooth enameloid
Shark teeth have short lifespans yet can be subject to significant mechanical damage. Here, the authors report on a site-specific damage mechanism in shark teeth enameloid, which maintains tooth functional shape, providing experimental evidence that tooth architecture may have influenced the diversification of shark ecologies over evolution.
- Shahrouz Amini
- , Hajar Razi
- & Peter Fratzl
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Article
| Open AccessNeonicotinoid Clothianidin reduces honey bee immune response and contributes to Varroa mite proliferation
Pesticides could increase bees’ susceptibility to parasites, but the nature of this interaction has been unclear. Here the authors show that the pesticide Clothianidin reduces the wound healing immune response in bees, allowing the ectoparasitic Varroa mites to consume more bee hemolymph and amplify reproduction.
- Desiderato Annoscia
- , Gennaro Di Prisco
- & Francesco Pennacchio
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Article
| Open AccessThe genomic timeline of cichlid fish diversification across continents
Cichlids are a model for adaptive radiation, but the timing of their diversification is debated. Here the authors assemble 14 cichlid genomes, introduce a Bayesian approach to account for fossil-assignment uncertainty, and present a dated phylogenomic hypothesis of cichlid and teleost evolution.
- Michael Matschiner
- , Astrid Böhne
- & Walter Salzburger
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Article
| Open AccessVortex phase matching as a strategy for schooling in robots and in fish
Whether and how fish might benefit from swimming in schools is an ongoing intriguing debate. Li et al. conduct experiments with biomimetic robots and also with real fish to reveal a new behavioural strategy by which followers can exploit the vortices shed by a near neighbour.
- Liang Li
- , Máté Nagy
- & Iain D. Couzin
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Article
| Open AccessPresence of low virulence chytrid fungi could protect European amphibians from more deadly strains
The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (BD) associated with widespread amphibian declines is present in Europe but has not consistently caused disease-induced declines in that region. Here, the authors suggest that an endemic strain of BD with low virulence may protect the hosts upon co-infection with more virulent strains.
- Mark S. Greener
- , Elin Verbrugghe
- & An Martel
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Article
| Open AccessSmaller climatic niche shifts in invasive than non-invasive alien ant species
Whether or not species—when introduced to a new location—eventually become invasive has been linked to the specices’ capacity to expand its niche. However, here the authors show that the extent of niche shift is smaller in non-invasive than invasive ant species, questioning this established hypothesis.
- Olivia K. Bates
- , Sébastien Ollier
- & Cleo Bertelsmeier
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Article
| Open AccessReptile-like physiology in Early Jurassic stem-mammals
Modern mammals are endothermic, but it has not been clear when this type of metabolism evolved. Here, Newham et al. analyse tooth and bone structure in Early Jurassic stem-mammal fossils to estimate lifespan and blood flow rates, which inform about basal and maximum metabolic rates, respectively, and show these stem-mammals had metabolic rates closer to modern ectothermic reptiles than to endothermic mammals.
- Elis Newham
- , Pamela G. Gill
- & Ian J. Corfe
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Perspective
| Open AccessInteractions with conspecific outsiders as drivers of cognitive evolution
The social intelligence hypothesis predicts that social organisms tend to be more intelligent because within-group interactions drive cognitive evolution. Here, authors propose that conspecific outsiders can be just as important in selecting for sophisticated cognitive adaptations.
- Benjamin J. Ashton
- , Patrick Kennedy
- & Andrew N. Radford
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Article
| Open AccessPhylogenomic analysis sheds light on the evolutionary pathways towards acoustic communication in Orthoptera
Song et al. inferred that stridulatory wings and tibial ears co-evolved in a sexual context among crickets, katydids, and their allies, while abdominal ears evolved first in a non-sexual context in grasshoppers, and were later co-opted for courtship. They found little evidence that the evolution of these organs increased lineage diversification.
- Hojun Song
- , Olivier Béthoux
- & Sabrina Simon
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Article
| Open AccessEvolution of communication signals and information during species radiation
Animal signals often encode information on the emitter’s species identity. Using woodpecker drumming as a model, here the authors show that limited signal divergence during a clade radiation does not impair species discrimination, as long as the signals are adapted to local ecological requirements.
- Maxime Garcia
- , Frédéric Theunissen
- & Nicolas Mathevon
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Article
| Open AccessThousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade
There are gaps in international efforts to monitor the wildlife trade, with many species potentially being undetected by the established monitoring groups. Here the authors use an automated web search to document the sale of reptiles online, revealing over 36% of all known reptile species are in trade, including many missing from official databases.
- Benjamin M. Marshall
- , Colin Strine
- & Alice C. Hughes
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Article
| Open AccessEnvironmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity
Environmental variability is one potential driver of behavioural and cultural diversity in humans and other animals. Here, the authors show that chimpanzee behavioural diversity is higher in habitats that are more seasonal and historically unstable, and in savannah woodland relative to forested sites.
- Ammie K. Kalan
- , Lars Kulik
- & Hjalmar S. Kühl
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Article
| Open AccessCircadian clock mechanism driving mammalian photoperiodism
“Life in a seasonal environment requires appropriate timing of physiological changes to survive, but how the circadian clockwork times these changes remains unclear. Here the authors show that the circadian clock genes BMAL2 and DEC1, in concert with epigenetic pathways in the pituitary, have a central role in seasonal timekeeping in mammals.”
- S. H. Wood
- , M. M. Hindle
- & A. S. I. Loudon
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Article
| Open AccessRapid adaptation to invasive predators overwhelms natural gradients of intraspecific variation
Invasive species can influence the evolution of natives. Here, authors use common garden experiments to show that invasive predatory crayfish have homogenized the developmental timing of a native frog by selecting for more rapid development to avoid predation.
- Andrea Melotto
- , Raoul Manenti
- & Gentile Francesco Ficetola
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Article
| Open AccessBiological rhythms in the deep-sea hydrothermal mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus
Little is known about gene expression of organisms in the deep sea, partially owing to constraints on sampling these organisms in situ. Here the authors circumvent this problem, fixing tissue of a deep-sea mussel at 1,688 m in depth, and later analyzing transcriptomes to reveal gene expression patterns showing tidal oscillations.
- Audrey M. Mat
- , Jozée Sarrazin
- & Marjolaine Matabos
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Article
| Open AccessMAPK-dependent hormonal signaling plasticity contributes to overcoming Bacillus thuringiensis toxin action in an insect host
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an important bioinsecticide, but high-level resistance has been rapidly evolving in agricultural pests. Here, Guo et al. show that the MAPK cascade can be activated by enhanced upstream insect hormone signals to counter Bt virulence in the diamondback moth.
- Zhaojiang Guo
- , Shi Kang
- & Youjun Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessBacterial symbionts support larval sap feeding and adult folivory in (semi-)aquatic reed beetles
Symbiotic microbes in insects can enable their hosts to access untapped nutritional resources. Here, the authors show that symbiotic bacteria in reed beetles can provide essential amino acids to sap-feeding larvae and help leaf-feeding adults to degrade pectin, respectively.
- Frank Reis
- , Roy Kirsch
- & Martin Kaltenpoth
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Article
| Open AccessADP binding by the Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito D7 salivary protein enhances blood feeding on mammals
D7 proteins are highly abundant in the salivary glands of several blood feeding insects. Here, the authors study the ligand binding specificity and physiological roles of the mosquito D7 proteins CxD7L1 and CxD7L2, showing that CxD7L1 acquired ADP-binding properties to enhance blood feeding in mammals.
- Ines Martin-Martin
- , Andrew Paige
- & Eric Calvo
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Article
| Open AccessInformation can explain the dynamics of group order in animal collective behaviour
In animal groups, the degree of alignment of individuals could have different benefits and costs for individuals depending on their reliance on private or social information. Here the authors show that in shoals of three-spined sticklebacks, some individuals reach resources faster when groups are disordered, a state which favours reliance on privately acquired information, while other individuals reach resources faster when groups are ordered, allowing them to exploit social information more effectively.
- Hannah E. A. MacGregor
- , James E. Herbert-Read
- & Christos C. Ioannou
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal priorities for conservation of reptilian phylogenetic diversity in the face of human impacts
In addition to species richness, evolutionary measures of biodiversity are important considerations for conservation. Here, Gumbs et al. develop new biodiversity metrics incorporating phylogenetic diversity and human pressure and highlight conservation priorities in a global analysis of reptiles.
- Rikki Gumbs
- , Claudia L. Gray
- & James Rosindell
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptation of the master antioxidant response connects metabolism, lifespan and feather development pathways in birds
Fast metabolisms tend to shorten lifespans by increasing oxidative damage. This study identifies a gene mutation that keeps a key antioxidant response active, possibly allowing Neoaves bird species to avoid the tradeoff between rapid metabolism and longevity that challenges most mammals, including humans.
- Gianni M. Castiglione
- , Zhenhua Xu
- & Elia J. Duh
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Article
| Open AccessEcological drivers of global gradients in avian dispersal inferred from wing morphology
In birds, the hand-wing index is a morphological trait that can be used as a proxy for flight efficiency. Here the authors examine variation of hand-wing index in over 10,000 bird species, finding that it is higher in migratory and non-territorial species, and lower in the tropics.
- Catherine Sheard
- , Montague H. C. Neate-Clegg
- & Joseph A. Tobias
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Article
| Open AccessVariation among 532 genomes unveils the origin and evolutionary history of a global insect herbivore
The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella is a cosmopolitan agricultural pest. By analyzing 532 genomes from 114 populations around the world, the authors find evidence supporting a South American origin of this moth, and look for signatures of positive selection.
- Minsheng You
- , Fushi Ke
- & Mousheng Zhuang
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Article
| Open AccessBenthic fauna declined on a whitening Antarctic continental shelf
Sea-ice cover in Antarctica has increased over the last decades and reached a maximum in 2014. Here, the authors report strong declines in zoobenthic biomass and abundance and changes in community composition on the NE Weddell Sea shelf over 26 years, with implications for blue carbon and biochemistry in a globally important marine region.
- Santiago E. A. Pineda-Metz
- , Dieter Gerdes
- & Claudio Richter
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Article
| Open AccessChronic bee paralysis as a serious emerging threat to honey bees
Chronic bee paralysis is a viral disease of honey bees with a global distribution, but its epidemiology isn’t well understood. Here, Budge et al., using government honey bee health inspection records from England and Wales, demonstrate the disease is emergent and highlight periodic reintroduction of the disease between years.
- Giles E. Budge
- , Nicola K. Simcock
- & Steve P. Rushton
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Article
| Open AccessRecent hybrids recapitulate ancient hybrid outcomes
Hybrid genomes provide a window into the speciation process over time. Here, Chaturvedi et al. use Lycaeides butterflies from hybrid zones of different ages to show that selection and recombination have repeatable effects on hybrid genome composition across timescales.
- Samridhi Chaturvedi
- , Lauren K. Lucas
- & Zachariah Gompert
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Article
| Open AccessEnhanced heat tolerance of viral-infected aphids leads to niche expansion and reduced interspecific competition
Organisms living on and inside of plants—such as microbes and herbivorous insects—can interact in complex ways. Here the authors show that a plant virus increases the temperature of the plant and also the thermal tolerance of an aphid species feeding on the plant; this change in thermal tolerance also affects competition with another aphid species.
- Mitzy F. Porras
- , Carlos A. Navas
- & Tomás A. Carlo
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Article
| Open AccessKea show three signatures of domain-general statistical inference
Previously only humans and the great apes have been shown to use probabilities to make predictions about uncertain events, and integrate social and physical information into their predictions. Here, the authors demonstrate these capacities in a parrot species, the kea.
- Amalia P. M. Bastos
- & Alex H. Taylor
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Article
| Open AccessJuvenile cleaner fish can socially learn the consequences of cheating
Cleaner fish can cheat clients for higher rewards but this comes with a risk of punishment. Here, Truskanov et al. show that juvenile cleaner fish can learn by observing adults to behave more cooperatively themselves but also to prefer clients that are more tolerant to cheating.
- Noa Truskanov
- , Yasmin Emery
- & Redouan Bshary
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Article
| Open AccessA system wide approach to managing zoo collections for visitor attendance and in situ conservation
Zoos contribute to conservation actions in the wild. Here, Mooney et al. use a global dataset to show that, while zoos with more and larger animals attract the most visitors and contribute the most to conservation projects, there are viable alternative strategies to maximise attendance and conservation activity.
- Andrew Mooney
- , Dalia A. Conde
- & Yvonne M. Buckley
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Article
| Open AccessBalancing selection via life-history trade-offs maintains an inversion polymorphism in a seaweed fly
Few studies empirically pinpoint how balanced polymorphisms are maintained. “Mérot et al”. identify an inversion polymorphism that is maintained in seaweed fly populations because of antagonistic pleiotropy that mediates a classic life history tradeoff between larval survival and adult reproduction.
- Claire Mérot
- , Violaine Llaurens
- & Maren Wellenreuther
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Article
| Open AccessNetwork-based diffusion analysis reveals context-specific dominance of dance communication in foraging honeybees
Honeybees have a sophisticated system to communicate foraging locations through a “dance”, but they also share food-related olfactory cues. Here, Hasenjager and colleagues use social network analysis to disentangle how foraging information is transmitted through these systems in different contexts.
- Matthew J. Hasenjager
- , William Hoppitt
- & Ellouise Leadbeater
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Article
| Open AccessPhysical and behavioral adaptations to prevent overheating of the living wings of butterflies
Butterfly wings have low thermal capacity and thus are vulnerable to damage by overheating. Here, Tsai et al. take an interdisciplinary approach to reveal the organs, nanostructures and behaviors that enable butterflies to sense and regulate their wing temperature.
- Cheng-Chia Tsai
- , Richard A. Childers
- & Nanfang Yu
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Article
| Open AccessNuthatches vary their alarm calls based upon the source of the eavesdropped signals
Animals can obtain information on predation risk directly from observing predators or indirectly from the alarm calls of others. Here, the authors show that red-breasted nuthatches encode information on risk in their own alarm calls differently depending on the source of the information.
- Nora V Carlson
- , Erick Greene
- & Christopher N Templeton
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Article
| Open AccessThe origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates
Acoustic communication is widespread, but not universal, across terrestrial vertebrates. Here, the authors show that acoustic communication evolved anciently, but independently, in most tetrapod groups and that these origins were associated with nocturnal activity.
- Zhuo Chen
- & John J. Wiens