Biological Reviews最新文献

{"title":"From muscle fibres to muscle gears: how dynamic fascicle orientation and shape change impact skeletal muscle function.","authors":"Matheus D Pinto, James M Wakeling, Javier A Almonacid, Anthony J Blazevich","doi":"10.1002/brv.70213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70213","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Skeletal muscle architectural design strongly affects force-generating capacity and excursion range, and its functional importance to animal and human movement is well founded. Traditionally, this 'structure-function relation' has been inferred from architecture measurements with muscles at rest (from anatomical dissections or medical imaging techniques such as ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging) and muscle function tested under quasi-steady force conditions (e.g. isometric). A contemporary view recognises that, during active, dynamic contractions, muscles undergo load- and velocity-dependent changes in architecture and three-dimensional shape while remaining near-constant volume. Consequently, whole-muscle length change and velocity can become decoupled from fascicle length change and velocity, such that the whole muscle cannot be treated as a simple linear velocity transmission system but instead as a geared system where the input fascicle length change and velocity differ from the output whole muscle length change and velocity. This phenomenon is described by the concept of 'muscle gearing' and can be quantified as the ratio of the velocities or displacement of the muscle to the fascicle. Gear ratios are not fixed; instead, gear shifts with force and velocity, allowing the whole-muscle output to better match the mechanical demands of the task. Variable gearing is thought to emerge from load-dependent changes in fascicle angle and three-dimensional muscle deformations under volume-preserving and tissue constraints. Variable gearing has important functional implications, as it influences fascicle operating length and shortening velocity for a given task and thereby shifts where fascicles operate along their intrinsic force-length and force-velocity relationships. Through these effects, along with changes in the projection of fascicle force onto the muscle line of action as pennation varies, variable gearing can broaden whole-muscle force and power output across movement conditions. Accordingly, muscle gearing should be considered an integral component of a comprehensive framework for understanding dynamic muscle function in both normal and pathological states. Here, we synthesise evidence from animal and human studies to characterise variation in gearing across muscles, species and contraction conditions, and the factors that may underlie it. We use a previously validated three-dimensional finite-element muscle model to interrogate mechanisms that are difficult to isolate experimentally and, for the first time, demonstrate an effect of muscle activation on gearing. We also consider how ageing, injury and exercise training may alter gearing. Overall, muscle gearing has important functional implications, and our modelling demonstrates that it is an emergent property of the physics of muscle contraction.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149178153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Omphalosauridae (Ichthyosauriformes): enigmatic marine reptiles in the global recovery from the end-Permian extinction.","authors":"P Martin Sander, Luc Ebbo, Jun Liu, Yu Qiao, Andrzej S Wolniewicz","doi":"10.1002/brv.70208","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Omphalosauridae are an under-appreciated part of the biotic recovery from the end-Permian Mass Extinction. This clade, including the genera Omphalosaurus, Sclerocormus and Cartorhynchus, is an enigmatic radiation of secondarily marine reptiles related to ichthyosaurs (Ichthyopterygia). Found across the Northern Hemisphere, omphalosaurid fossils invariably originate from open marine rocks of Olenekian (Early Triassic, 250-247 Ma) to earliest Ladinian (Middle Triassic, 237 Ma) age. The most distinctive feature (and the most common kind of fossil) of Omphalosauridae is its peculiar maxillary and dentary tooth batteries, presumably adapted for grinding up shelled cephalopods (ammonoids). Here, we report the first three-dimensionally preserved omphalosaurid skull and associated neck. The fossil originates from the Olenekian Vikinghøgda Formation of the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and is assigned to a new genus and species, Ammonitritor scientiacivium. Phylogenetic analysis recovers a well-supported Omphalosauridae as the sister group to a clade comprising the Chinese Chaohusaurus and Ichthyopterygia. The most basal member of the clade is Cartorhynchus, followed by Ammonitritor. The clade Nasorostra, previously proposed for the Chinese omphalosaurids Cartorhynchus and Sclerocormus, was not recovered. Olenekian omphalosaurids likely attained maximum body lengths exceeding 6 m, while Middle Triassic forms reached well over 10 m. Thus, some of the oldest marine reptiles from Panthalassa were already large-bodied at their first appearance, approximately 2 million years after the end-Permian extinction. Together with other Ichthyosauriformes, omphalosaurids represent the only marine reptile clade generally present in Panthalassa during the Early and Middle Triassic.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Orchard netting impacts on biodiversity leading to cascading effects at the ecosystem level.","authors":"Corrado Alessandrini, Karan Sethi, Emanuela Granata, Ekaterina Mogilnaia, Valeria Vitangeli, Giovanni Zanfei, Chiara Fedrigotti, Paolo Biella, Dino Scaravelli, Luigi Marchesi, Péter Batáry, Diego Rubolini, Paolo Pedrini, Mattia Brambilla","doi":"10.1002/brv.70186","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70186","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Agriculture must ensure food production without further compromising the ecosystem functions upon which it depends. Agricultural practices should therefore avoid harming farmland biodiversity, especially of taxa that supply the key ecosystem services (e.g. pollination, pest control and nutrient uptake) that ultimately support crop production. Orchards are among the largest permanent plantations worldwide and are increasingly characterised by the spread of plastic nets used to protect fruits/nuts from either abiotic (anti-hail, anti-rain, shade nets) or biotic (exclusion nets) hazards. Despite having received little attention to date, these nets may impact natural communities, acting both as physical barriers and as drivers of habitat changes to which biota must respond. Species-level responses to netting depend on the organism's ability to enter the netted environment and successfully exploit available resources. Net-mediated ecological filtering and plastic behavioural responses may alter species interactions, leading to cascading ecological impacts that may create species-poorer 'netted communities' with simplified ecological networks. Such changes may erode biological control potential, other ecosystem functions, and overall system stability. We conducted a systematic review on the effects of protection nets on biota, and reported novel empirical evidence on anti-hail nets' impacts on communities of orchard-dwelling birds, flower-visiting insects, and rodents. In total, we identified 48 studies from the literature, however this literature was strongly biased towards apple orchards, western countries, and pest taxa. Net deployment was highly effective in deterring target pest species, in some cases regardless of their original function, as even weather-protection nets limited pest populations. Side effects on non-target taxa were also often reported, such as decreases in pollinators and natural enemies, and/or increases in secondary pests or microbial diseases. However, most assessments largely disregarded non-pest taxa and the broader ecological consequences of netting. The few studies that addressed the effects of nets at the guild/community level, including our empirical study, confirmed that orchard netting resulted in species-poor assemblages, with possible ecosystem-level consequences. We propose that future assessments should pay more attention to the indirect effects of netting on non-target taxa, and on the supply of crop-supporting ecosystem services mediated by wild species occurring in agroecosystems. Due to the trade-offs between these services and net-mediated crop protection, integrated alternatives should be tested to improve the environmental sustainability of food production and biodiversity conservation in farmed landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"2448-2466"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13542310/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate and human impacts on the dietary niche overlap of sympatric livestock and wild ungulates.","authors":"Xiaofan Ma, Chao Zhang, Yumei Li, Huayao Gao, Yonggang Nie","doi":"10.1002/brv.70212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70212","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As anthropogenic activities continue to expand globally, large-scale livestock encroachment into wildlife habitats increasingly threatens ecological balance, particularly by altering species interactions. Millions of wild ungulates now share plant resources with domestic grazers, facing dual pressures from interference competition and nutritional stress due to declining forage quality. Although extensive research has documented potential competition between sympatric wild and domestic ungulates, a comprehensive quantitative synthesis of the magnitude and drivers of these interactions remains lacking. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of 57 peer-reviewed studies (329 cases) to evaluate global patterns of dietary niche overlap between wild ungulates and livestock. Our results revealed that both wild ungulate traits and livestock type significantly influenced the effect sizes. Moreover, climate zones, annual precipitation, and interactions with anthropogenic pressures modulated livestock-wildlife dietary niche overlap. Polar regions and large-bodied species exhibited heightened sensitivity to human activities, while areas with higher annual precipitation showed reduced variation in dietary niche overlap intensity. These findings suggest that wildlife-livestock dietary niche overlap is shaped by multiple factors. While additional factors beyond dietary niche overlap should be considered in conservation assessments, our results suggest several potential management strategies including reducing anthropogenic disturbance in polar regions, integrating grazing management with efforts to reduce human disturbance in large ungulate habitats, and adjusting livestock composition and supplementary feeding in moisture-deficient and tropical regions. Future conservation assessments should integrate dietary overlap shifts with other conservation risks for a more comprehensive evaluation.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149023285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolving the biome debate: ecological and palaeo-data concur that the extensive tree-limited grassy biomes of central and north-western Madagascar are largely anthropogenic.","authors":"Grant S Joseph, Sean Hixon, Colleen L Seymour, Laurie R Godfrey, Miguel Pedrono, Karen E Samonds, Andrinajoro R Rakotoarivelo, Brooke E Crowley","doi":"10.1002/brv.70211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70211","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For millennia, human activities have transformed ecosystems globally. Determining which landscapes are predominantly anthropogenic is crucial to conservation and habitat restoration. Madagascar, a critically-threatened biodiversity hotspot, is a prominent example. Currently 80% of non-cropland habitat is tree-limited savanna falling under the tropical grassy biome (savanna/TGB). Savanna/TGB is particularly prevalent in the Dry Deciduous Forest (DDF) in the north/northwest and below the treeline in the Central Highlands (CH). Relative savanna/TGB cover when agropastoralism arrived &lt;1300 years ago (ya) has been intensely debated. Two competing hypotheses have emerged. The Mixed Mosaic Perspective argues current savanna/TGB is mostly anthropogenic, and differs from endemic, tree-rich savannas, because it has been produced by frequent agropastoralist fires, grazing by 7-10 million zebu cattle, and habitat clearance. These novel disturbances replaced a mosaic of savanna/TGB, comprised of C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; and C&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; graminoids (both grasses and sedges), forest, heathland and wetland, with non-endemic fire- and grazing-adapted pantropical C&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; grasses. This perspective is founded on multiple lines of evidence: &gt;90% of endemic vertebrates are forest-adapted, Malagasy people named many locations currently in savanna/TGB after forest, and only 1000 ya, abundant tree-adapted fauna with predominantly C&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; diets inhabited the CH and DDF. The Vast Grassland Perspective (VGP) contends that late Holocene aridity favoured vast savanna/TGB, and that cattle and human-lit fires maintain savanna/TGB previously grazed by now-extinct megafauna. This view contends that ecological models predict 'treeless grassland' across the CH and DDF, with savanna/TGB woodland naturally limited to &lt;5%, and it questions palaeoecological evidence as spatially-limited. Clarifying which viewpoint is correct is fundamental to conservation; if human-lit fires and cattle grazing are not surrogates for past ecological processes, they may be detrimental to ecosystem function. We address this debate by applying ecological models that predict grassy habitat likelihood based on precipitation, and, for the first time, map these likelihoods across the entire CH and DDF. We review all available literature and apply novel interpolations of palaeo-data to highlight existing spatial coverage and broad spatiotemporal trends. We then assess if predicted habitats from our ecological models concur with reconstructed habitat at the onset of pastoralism. Ecological models align with palaeo-data at &gt;90% of sites but diverge markedly from current conditions. Today, savanna/TGB is three to seven times more extensive than predicted, with &gt;183,000 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; less forest than models suggest should exist, given current precipitation. Multiple lines of evidence indicate widespread anthropogenic transformation started with the arrival of agropastoralism ~1300 ya, and began shifting bi","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149011705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food-solicitation displays in nestling birds: still begging for answers.","authors":"Daniel Parejo-Pulido, Tomás Redondo","doi":"10.1002/brv.70210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nestling begging is a key model for understanding animal communication and parent-offspring conflict. Dynamic begging displays are often interpreted as costly, honest signals of need, with honesty maintained by viability costs, as proposed in Godfray's influential signalling model. However, this framework has faced increasing theoretical criticism and mixed empirical support. Here, we reassess three core predictions of the honest-signalling framework. First, experimental evidence strongly supports begging as a signal of short-term hunger, but evidence that it reliably reflects long-term need or intrinsic quality is limited. Begging is also highly plastic, varying with prior experience, nestmate and parental behaviour, body temperature, brood size and other contextual factors. This raises questions about the precision and information content of the display. Second, although parents often increase provisioning in response to collective begging, food allocation within broods is frequently influenced by non-begging cues such as size, position and colouration, and intense begging is not invariably rewarded. Sibling responses are also more diverse than predicted by purely competitive models, encompassing escalation, de-escalation, negotiation and potentially prosocial coordination. Third, empirical support for direct costs of begging, particularly predation and physiological costs, remains weak or inconsistent, whereas indirect inclusive-fitness trade-offs appear more plausible. Together, these findings challenge assumptions of fully informative signals, invariant parental responsiveness and necessary direct signalling costs. We argue that future work should move beyond traditional signalling and scramble-competition models by incorporating parental flexibility, receiver inattention, learning, signal and response plasticity, and family-level rather than dyadic parent-offspring interactions. We also outline conceptual and empirical avenues that may facilitate progress, highlighting a field that remains rich in unresolved questions and opportunities for future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149000995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Knowledge gaps and research directions in migration ecology for advancing the conservation of migratory songbirds.","authors":"Daniel A F Bloche, Heiko Schmaljohann, Nir Sapir","doi":"10.1002/brv.70209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/brv.70209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding migration ecology is essential for effective conservation of migratory species. To achieve a comprehensive understanding of the ecology of migrating species, it is necessary to study how species react to the complex interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions when optimizing their migratory journey in terms of survival, energy and time. Nocturnal migratory songbirds, which often migrate alone and alternate migratory endurance flights with stopovers, provide an excellent group for studying such individual decisions. Specifically, the decision to interrupt the migratory flight and land and the decision to depart from a stopover are critical for the success of migration. We screened 1490 studies, of which 286 studies were eligible, using a systematic literature review, to identify five significant knowledge gaps in the migration ecology of songbirds: (i) exploring when and where bird mortality occurs during migration; (ii) inferring stopover functions from landing decisions; (iii) assessing the consequences of migration distance on migratory decisions; (iv) measuring how predation danger affects bird decisions; and (v) studying the consequences of habitat quality on the migratory decisions. To address these knowledge gaps, we propose novel frameworks that integrate methods applied at different spatial and temporal scales to study songbird decisions in flight and at stopovers. We also discuss testable hypotheses and future directions to stimulate research for enhancing the understanding of migration ecology and advancing the conservation of threatened migratory songbird species.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148917690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The evidence base for ranger patrol effectiveness in conservation and how to improve it","authors":"Trina Rytwinski,&nbsp;Robert S. A. Pickles,&nbsp;Matthew J. Muir,&nbsp;Steven J. Cooke,&nbsp;Joseph R. Bennett,&nbsp;Lisa A. Kelly,&nbsp;Adrienne Smith,&nbsp;Cynthia Cadet,&nbsp;Dwi N. Adhiasto,&nbsp;Inés Arroyo Quiroz,&nbsp;Mark D. Booton,&nbsp;Daphne P. Carlson,&nbsp;Drew T. Cronin,&nbsp;Anthony Dancer,&nbsp;Meredith L. Gore,&nbsp;Jennifer R. B. Miller,&nbsp;Stephen F. Pires,&nbsp;Amy Pokempner,&nbsp;James Slade,&nbsp;Andrew M. Lemieux","doi":"10.1002/brv.70172","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70172","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ranger patrols are a cornerstone of wildlife protection efforts around the world and occur across all ecological governance systems. Evidence that patrols reduce threats to wildlife and enable their recovery has not been systematically examined previously. Without evidence of patrol effectiveness in varying contexts, protected area managers risk wasting limited conservation resources and lack information required to improve the effectiveness of patrols. We conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the effectiveness of terrestrial patrols for conserving African, Asian, and Latin American wildlife directly threatened by exploitation. After filtering 57 studies, we calculated effect sizes from each of the remaining 15 studies that included a comparator and measurement of wildlife abundance and calculated standardised mean difference and % change in wildlife species abundance. Results suggest tentative support that areas implementing patrols (alongside other interventions) were associated with higher wildlife abundance levels compared to time periods or locations without patrols. We were unable to confirm causality between patrols and changes in wildlife population abundance because studies were inadequately designed to evaluate and report on effectiveness. Studies commonly lacked a comparator or counterfactual event, temporal or spatial replication, and consistent and/or long-term monitoring of population abundance, and had study designs that confounded conservation actions. Further, of the 15 included studies linking wildlife abundance to patrol efforts, five also reported a reduction in a poaching threat, but only three of these used a comparator in the threat reduction evaluation. Without monitoring threat trends alongside wildlife abundance, it is difficult to be confident that patrols resulted in increases in wildlife abundance. To help evaluate patrol interventions (i.e. not only whether they work but where and under what conditions they work), we identify opportunities to improve future patrol effectiveness research and provide recommendations on how to improve the evidence base.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 5","pages":"2172-2189"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70172","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147758146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Waders in a sea of debris: a global overview","authors":"Yada Trapletti-Lanti,&nbsp;Mónica Expósito-Granados,&nbsp;Elizabeth Znidersic,&nbsp;Marga L. Rivas","doi":"10.1002/brv.70176","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70176","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The impact of plastic pollution on ecosystems and marine fauna is well documented, although research into its effects on waders (also known as shorebirds) remains limited. Given that waders are exposed to coastal marine litter, this exposure could be a significant factor in the decline of their populations. This study aims to assess the global distribution of plastic ingestion in waders and investigate regional differences in their exposure. Our analysis included 30 studies, examining 316 digestive tracts and 1114 faecal samples. Only four studies analysed plastic in wader nests or entanglements. Eastern Asia exhibited the highest prevalence of plastic ingestion in waders, although no significant differences were detected among coastal regions. Descriptive patterns suggest that this trend may be influenced by intensive industrial activity, high population density, and pollution along migratory flyways. Southern Asia had the highest prevalence of plastics in faecal samples. No statistically significant differences were observed across wader families; however, descriptive results indicated elevated ingestion frequencies in Haematopodidae and Scolopacidae, while Recurvirostridae and Haematopodidae tended to show higher plastic prevalence in faecal samples. This study highlights the need for standardised sampling protocols and continued research on the effects of plastic on wader populations, which could contribute to their conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 5","pages":"2253-2264"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70176","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147808973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stress, needs, and behaviour: understanding chronic stress in pet domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) from the prism of needs","authors":"Alisa Tananaeva,&nbsp;Monique A. R. Udell","doi":"10.1002/brv.70179","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70179","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Research suggests that domestic dogs (<i>Canis lupus familiaris</i>) living as pets within urban environments may experience challenges such as sensory overstimulation, limited agency, and hyper-dependence on humans. Such factors have been associated with the development of chronic stress within this population. While stress can be an adaptive response to internal or external challenges, chronic stress can have a negative impact on a dog's health, well-being and strain the human–animal bond. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 5.8 million domestic dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters, of which 607,000 were killed in 2024. Recent research indicates that behavioural issues remain among the most common reasons for relinquishment. Numerous studies identify chronic stress as an important yet often overlooked contributor to the development of problematic behaviours. Given the broad health and behavioural consequences of chronic stress, we argue that frameworks helping caregivers and communities recognize causes of stress and opportunities for mitigation are critically important. Moreover, sharing human environments exposes dogs to many of the same urban stressors, making dogs a particularly informative model for exploring mechanisms, detection, and mitigation of chronic stress relevant to both canine and human well-being. In this review, we briefly summarize current knowledge about the mechanisms and regulation of chronic stress in pet dogs, describe how prolonged dysregulation of stress-response systems affects health and behaviour, and review current physiological and behavioural indicators of chronic stress in dogs, discussing their present limitations. We consider existing evidence for the hypothesis that a sustained inability to satisfy species-specific, breed-specific, and individual needs across physiological, safety, social, and cognitive domains may be a major cause of chronic stress in dogs living in urban environments. Finally, we outline key directions for future research, including possible approaches for developing validated diagnostic and screening methods to measure chronic stress in pet dogs, systematic evaluation of individual needs, and the development of interventions to mitigate chronic stress in companion dogs. This review does not aim to introduce a new animal welfare framework. Rather, it serves as a complementary perspective to existing ones, evaluating evidence for a link between a dog's ability to meet their needs and the development of chronic stress. Although the factors discussed here are not the only determinants of stress and well-being in dogs, this review emphasizes how understanding and meeting a dog's needs may help us understand and reduce chronic stress and related behavioural and health outcomes.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 5","pages":"2279-2299"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147808984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}