Integrative Organismal Biology最新文献

{"title":"Strategies to Build Observation Skills for Integrative and Organismal Biology Undergraduates: A Scoping Review.","authors":"Brandi Goss, Kelly Goedde-Matthews, Robert E Furrow","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag037","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ability to observe natural phenomena and connect those observations to theoretical concepts and processes is critical for knowledge integration and scientific inquiry in integrative and organismal biology. However, no published effort had reviewed evidence-based pedagogical methods for teaching scientific observation skills in integrative and organismal biology. This review found 53 papers with relevant pedagogical interventions for increasing observation skills from a diversity of disciplines (e.g., ecology, health sciences, and environmental sciences) and participant populations (preschool through postgraduate). However, only 2 studies assessed interventions aimed at improving observation skills for undergraduate biology students. More research is needed to understand how these pedagogical strategies might translate to undergraduate integrative and organismal biology students. Pedagogical strategies fell into 4 main categories (manipulating the learning environment, scaffolding the observation process, and engaging with arts interpretation or creation), with arts interpretation showing particular promise for translation to integrative and organismal biology applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag037"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13416737/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148619861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morph-specific Dorsal Fin Characteristics and Sex Steroids in Muscles Across Life History Stages in a Sex Dynamic Marine Fish, <i>Lythrypnus dalli</i>.","authors":"J M Starkey, K J White, R Sapkota, C J Richards, S L Barber, D S Pradhan","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag035","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag035","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While sex steroids orchestrate the organization and activation of external anatomical and behavioral phenotypes, tissue specific mechanisms that regulate these processes are largely unknown. To understand the regulation of both fixed and plastic morphological and endocrine characteristics across social contexts, we investigated the bluebanded goby, <i>Lythrypnus dalli</i>, a sexually plastic fish. The distribution and density of androgen receptors is sexually dimorphic in skeletal muscles of these fish and is associated with courtship displays in males. The supracarinalis muscle, which runs dorsal and parallel to the spinal cord is used for courtship displays by males and for aggressive displays by all <i>L. dalli</i> morphs. Here, we first investigated dorsal fin lengths across fish from different life history stages. We found that while the distribution of dorsal fin sizes exists on a continuum, 45.54% of males had dramatically longer dorsal fins compared to females, and dorsal fin lengths increased within 10 days of protogynous (female to male) sex change. Epaxial and hypaxial are trunk muscles that power all movements through association with all limb muscles in fish. We conducted two separate studies to examine sex steroid levels in skeletal muscles of fish housed either in larger open communities, or in smaller, isolated groups. In fish from community groups, supracarinalis muscles in males had significantly higher levels of 11-ketotestosterone and lower estradiol compared to females, while isolated groups had no sex differences. In fish from isolated groups, only the epaxial and hypaxial muscles had plastic endocrine responses such that within only 5 days of transition, protogynous fish had significantly higher 11-ketotestosterone compared to stable males and intermediate estradiol compared to stable males and females. Overall, endocrine changes preceded morphometric changes and exhibited plasticity across different environments and life history stages. These results support the presence of many traits, from external morphological features to the cryptic endocrine level, that contribute to the occurrence of multiple morphs across life history stages in <i>L. dalli.</i> The integration of these phenotypes is important to understand the mechanisms that regulate the functional performance of behavioral displays in specific social contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag035"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13416745/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148619775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Onset of Sensory Function and Embryonic Discrimination of Ecologically Relevant Cues in Fish.","authors":"K Steinberg, J Ward","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag036","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Embryos of oviparous species use a variety of sensory modalities to perceive and respond to environmental cues. However, the timing and mechanisms by which prenatal sensory experiences are acquired, encoded, and translated into lasting behavioral outcomes remain poorly understood. Here, we identified the developmental window of the onset of behavioral responses to olfactory cues in a teleost model of embryonic behavioral development, the fathead minnow (<i>Pimephales promelas</i>), and tested the hypothesis that embryos are sensitive to differences in the information content of cues indicative of predation on eggs vs. free-swimming conspecifics. Assays conducted at regular intervals during embryogenesis showed that a behavioral response to olfactory cues emerges well before hatching, with individuals responding to cues that indicate egg threat. Embryonic exposure to olfactory cues indicative of predation did not significantly alter the timing of emergence from the egg or larval behavior after hatching, but individuals reared in the presence of olfactory cues from injured conspecifics tended to hatch at an earlier stage of development. Our findings suggest that the timing of cue exposure relative to sensory development during embryogenesis may be an important factor contributing to behavioral plasticity in oviparous animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag036"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13416736/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148619793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An adapted process to develop customized assessments to measure the impact of biology lessons.","authors":"A E Foltz, S Z Hoagland, A N Olson, B N MacNeill, M R Stetzer, M K Smith, B A Couch","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag034","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When instructors, curriculum developers, or education researchers implement an innovative lesson or develop a shareable lesson plan, they likely want to know if the lesson is effective at facilitating student learning. Published assessments, which have undergone a substantial development and optimization process, are commonly used to evaluate the impact of curricular and pedagogical innovations. However, there are some cases when using an existing concept assessment does not align with the goals of the person administering the assessment. Concept assessments usually cover a broad content domain spanning entire units, courses, or majors. If an instructor, curriculum developer, or researcher intends to assess learning associated with a discrete time period (e.g., a lesson), a concept assessment may be too broad and thus lack alignment validity. Consequently, they may decide to develop their own assessment. They can accomplish this by writing original questions, using question banks, using questions provided in open educational resources, or a combination of these approaches. Alternatively, they may pursue a time- and resource-intensive comprehensive assessment development process, typically involving several steps to accrue validity evidence. There are currently no guidelines for scaling the process for contexts in which existing concept assessments are misaligned and a comprehensive assessment development process is impractical. Here, we describe an adapted assessment development process to generate lesson-customized assessments. We started with five published biology lessons, covering a broad range of biology topics, and created a lesson-customized assessment for each. Our assessment development process consisted of identifying lesson learning objectives, drafting an initial assessment, soliciting expert feedback and student interviews, and conducting several cycles of review and revision. We provide suggestions to help with practicality and make the process more accessible. Though we developed customized assessments for published biology lessons, our approach is broadly applicable to other cases where customized assessments may be beneficial.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag034"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13383078/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148602615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Orientation of Blacktip Sharks (<i>Carcharhinus limbatus</i>) to Underwater Sound.","authors":"C L Sullivan, E R Gerstein, S M Kajiura","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag033","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sharks respond to low frequency pulsed sounds but are presumed to lack the capacity to detect these sounds beyond the acoustic near field, where particle motion dominates. This study quantified the distance that blacktip sharks (<i>Carcharhinus limbatus</i>) oriented to sound stimuli and determined that responses could be consistently initiated from the acoustic far field. Using an aerial drone, <i>C. limbatus</i> were filmed responding to sound stimuli (100-200 Hz; 200-400 Hz; and 400-800 Hz) generated by an underwater speaker. Upon detection, <i>C. limbatus</i> elicited a sudden 20-160° turn away from the speaker and rapidly swam away. Sharks responded to all frequencies from at least 62 m, and 71.6% of all responses (<i>n</i> = 209) occurred in the far field. Sharks never responded to a high frequency (10 kHz) control stimulus of comparable volume. The sound pressure levels for all stimuli were measured <i>in situ</i> and used to model the propagation away from the source. This permitted direct calculation of the stimulus intensity for the point at which each shark initiated a response. A greater sound pressure level was required to elicit a response at higher frequencies, supporting earlier work that demonstrated greatest sensitivity to low frequencies. The ability of blacktip sharks to detect and orient away from a sound stimulus at distances that extend beyond the acoustic near field, suggests that they are detecting particle motion in the far field.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag033"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13398238/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148584347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Picture This: Enhancing Biology Education through Artistic Expression.","authors":"S E Barnes, M R Maxwell","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag029","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this perspective, we describe the Biology through Art project, an interdisciplinary approach to biology education that fosters creativity, engagement, and innovation through the inclusion of visual arts. Decades of research highlight the intrinsic connection between scientific practice and visual representation, underscoring drawing as a critical tool for hypothesis generation, experimental design, data visualization, and scientific communication. Yet, despite these demonstrated cognitive and academic benefits, art-based approaches remain underutilized in undergraduate biology, often due to student anxiety about drawing proficiency, instructor unfamiliarity with art pedagogy, time constraints, and challenges to scaling assignments to large classes. We discuss solutions to these barriers, and present recent examples of course assignments that enhance biology instruction through artistic expression. These assignments, developed for organismal and integrative biology courses by Biology through Art faculty, stimulate active learning, promote conceptual synthesis, and enhance scientific literacy. By presenting research-supported benefits, addressing barriers, offering adaptive curricular models, and highlighting collaborative strategies, we encourage biology educators to integrate art inclusion as a pathway to cultivate scientifically literate, creative, and engaged biology learners.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag029"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13352434/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148420883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantitative Genetic Analysis of Baboon Facial Variation Challenges a Classic Papionin Trait.","authors":"A Thiebaut, C C Roseman, M C Mahaney, L J Hlusko","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag031","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Linnaean family of monkeys that includes baboons, macaques, and mandrills (among others) is notably characterized by large, extended muzzles that vary in lateral nasal dorsum profile. In paleontological studies, this variation is referred to as the anteorbital drop (AOD). Here, we first devise a method to quantify this phylogenetic character. We then employ quantitative genetic analyses using a MCMCglmm model of facial variation in a captive, pedigreed baboon colony (<i>n</i> = 934), including admixed individuals derived from at least two <i>Papio</i> species, from the Southwest National Primate Research Center to assess the quantitative variation of the AOD, its genetic integration relative to other aspects of facial variation, and its relative evolvability. Specifically, we test two hypotheses to assess the appropriateness of the AOD as a way to characterize lateral nasal dorsum profile variation for paleontological studies. We find that the first hypothesis of limited variation within the population is rejected, as this admixed population demonstrates a remarkable degree of AOD variation spanning what is observed across papionin genera. The second hypothesis proposes that variation in the AOD is highly heritable and highly evolvable. Our results indicate that the AOD is highly heritable, but simultaneously less evolvable than other aspects of facial variation. Additionally, sex has little influence on AOD variation, in contrast to other facial measurements. These results challenge the use of AOD as a phylogenetic character, as it likely results from a broad range of non-sexually dimorphic processes that contribute to facial length. We caution against using AOD as a discrete character in phylogenetic analyses and invite further investigation of its biological significance. This study aims to illustrate how quantitative genetic approaches can probe the evolutionary relevance of traditional traits used in paleontology.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag031"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13334917/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148436618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Naïve Garter Snake Chemosensory Preferences Corroborate Diet of Wild Individuals and Reveal Behavioral Convergence for Foraging in Deep Water.","authors":"E Carrillo, M Berry, D S Rojas, I A Somarriba, R S Mehta","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obag030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Garter snakes are semi-aquatic obligate carnivores with diverse diets and behavioral adaptations for foraging at the water's edge. In this study, we tested the persistence of innate chemosensory prey preference and aquatic prey capture ability in two garter snake species, the Lake Chapala garter snake (<i>Thamnophis eques obscurus</i>) and checkered garter snake (<i>T. marcianus</i>) that were captive bred and naïve to aquatic prey and aquatic prey capture contexts. Using number of tongue flicks, number of attacks, and attack latency as proxy for interest in terrestrial and aquatic prey extracts, we corroborated dietary preferences reported in the literature that described <i>T. e. obscurus</i> as an obligate forager and <i>T. marcianus</i> as a facultative aquatic forager in their native habitat. We then categorized strike mode and quantified several metrics describing prey capture efficiency at two treatment depths-shallow (2 cm; wading depth) and deep (10 cm; submerged depth). At shallow depths, <i>T. e. obscurus</i> used mostly forward strikes, had a greater gape angle, was more accurate at striking live mosquito fish, was faster at capturing fish prey, and had better visual acuity as indicated by pupil constriction. In shallow water, <i>T marcianus</i> used lateral strikes to capture prey. Foraging at increased depth resulted in forward strikes, larger gape angles, longer prey capture latency, longer foraging times, and greater pupil constriction in both species. Moreover, in deeper water, both snake species tended to stay underwater to transport (swallow) prey rather than resurface. We also compared head shape to help explain strike mode and found that <i>T. e. obscurus</i> had narrower and shorter heads compared to <i>T. marcianus</i> who had wider and taller heads. Our work provides insight into the innate prey preference of naïve snakes and their adaptability to aquatic prey capture contexts. Specifically, we show how an aquatic specialist is more efficient at capturing aquatic prey but that a terrestrial-aquatic generalist is flexible and exhibits behavioral variation across aquatic contexts. Finally, we show how the deep-water context requires behavioral convergence in strike mode, pupil constriction to respond to refractive changes in the water, and tests the ability of semi-aquatic snakes to stay underwater for longer periods of time.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag030"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13598406/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149038445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to: Aquatic Turning Performance in Juvenile Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/iob/obag027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/iob/obag017.].</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag027"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13273411/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148277343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parallel Reduction in Skeletal Density During Benthic to Pelagic Transitions in Baikal Sculpins.","authors":"B A Gutierrez, O Larouche, S Loetzerich, M E Gerringer, K M Evans, A Aguilar, S Kirilchik, M W Sandel, J M Daane","doi":"10.1093/iob/obag026","DOIUrl":"10.1093/iob/obag026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Habitat transitions are a major driver of morphological evolution. Teleost fishes have repeatedly transitioned from benthic to pelagic habitats, often evolving predictable changes in body shape that enhance hydrodynamic efficiency. While freshwater sculpins (Cottidae, Perciformes) are usually benthic, two genera in Lake Baikal, <i>Comephorus</i> and <i>Cottocomephorus</i>, have independently evolved into mid-water niches. As sculpins lack a swim bladder, these lineages instead improved buoyancy through reduced skeletal density and increased lipid stores. Using micro-computed tomography and two-dimensional morphometrics, we characterized skeletal evolution in six benthic, two benthopelagic, and two pelagic species across the Baikal sculpin radiation. Parallel changes to mineral density, porosity, and thickness evolved independently in pelagic and benthopelagic clades, with mineral density showing the most consistent and significant reductions. Density reductions occurred throughout the skull in pelagic and benthopelagic species. The basibranchials and neurocranium exhibited the lowest overall bone density across all cranial elements. While the jaws maintained the highest absolute density values among the bones we measured, they also showed the greatest proportional reduction in density associated with pelagic habitat use, with a 56.86% decrease in percentage hydroxyapatite and a 21.39% increase in porosity. Morphometric analyses further identified parallel evolution toward an elongate body shape, reduced and posteriorly shifted eyes, and elevated fin insertion in pelagic and benthopelagic taxa. These results demonstrate a repeated skeletal lightening and body shape changes accompanying benthic-to-pelagic transitions. This pattern mirrors other benthic-to-pelagic transitions in teleosts that lack swim bladders, highlighting shared biomechanical and microstructural solutions to life in the open water.</p>","PeriodicalId":13666,"journal":{"name":"Integrative Organismal Biology","volume":"8 1","pages":"obag026"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13383080/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148602654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}