Marion Javal, Philipp Lehmann, Anandi Bierman, Vladimír Koštál, Martin Moos, Chantelle Smit, Heiko Vogel, Desmond E Conlong, John S Terblanche
{"title":"Integrative -omics approaches reveal mechanisms of combined heat stress and extreme hypoxia tolerance in a Cerambycid beetle larva.","authors":"Marion Javal, Philipp Lehmann, Anandi Bierman, Vladimír Koštál, Martin Moos, Chantelle Smit, Heiko Vogel, Desmond E Conlong, John S Terblanche","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251552","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251552","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Atmospheric oxygen, which is essential for energy metabolism, can directly influence an animal's heat tolerance by affecting oxygen transport processes, especially in those living in oxygen-poor environments such as plant tissues, underground or aquatic environments. Yet, oxygen availability and heat tolerance are rarely studied together, limiting our ability to predict their combined effects on insect performance. This study examines the larval tolerance of a large xylophagous cerambycid beetle Cacosceles newmannii to combined hypoxic and thermal stress using performance assays (duration of righting response) coupled with metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses. Metabolomic profiling showed that most metabolites were downregulated in the body but upregulated in the haemolymph as stress increased. Transcriptomic profiles clustered primarily by temperature (25°C vs 35°C), independent of oxygen level. Cacosceles newmannii appeared capable of modulating its performance to reduce the energy costs and physiological damage induced by hypoxia. This suggested a high baseline hypoxia tolerance rather than a rapid plastic (induced) physiological hypoxia response, probably due to the species' endophytic lifestyle. Conversely, thermal stress led to a predictable increase in metabolic activity but did not markedly affect performance, triggering adjustments to maintain cellular functions while limiting the impact of stresses expected under conditions of high temperature, such as desiccation. In short, our study highlights the distinct metabolic pathways mobilised to cope with hypoxic versus thermal stress, emphasizing the importance of integrated approaches in understanding insect responses to environmental challenges. These findings have significant implications for understanding the ecology of the species, with applications for pest management and sustainable agriculture in the context of climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147344554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sergio Rossoni, Mary E Sumner, Doekele G Stavenga, Samuel T Fabian, Jack A Supple, Paloma T Gonzalez-Bellido
{"title":"Predation via motion parallax in one of two gleaning insects.","authors":"Sergio Rossoni, Mary E Sumner, Doekele G Stavenga, Samuel T Fabian, Jack A Supple, Paloma T Gonzalez-Bellido","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251710","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251710","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A predator's survival is highly dependent on correctly deciding whether to attack potential prey. Pursuit predators, for example, can estimate the size of a moving target from the ratio between its angular speed and size. Such heuristic rules are not available, however, when ambushing stationary prey. Here, we investigated how pixie robber flies (Psilonyx annulatus) and damselflies (Ischnura posita) hunt stationary prey using different sensory strategies, relating to their marked differences in eye morphology. We show that pixie robber flies assess prey using whole-body translational movements. During this assessment, the prey is outside the pixie robber fly's stereopsis range, yet attacks are launched from a distance dictated by absolute, not angular, prey size. These findings suggest that pixie robber flies use motion parallax to infer three-dimensional cues, such as prey distance and/or size, before attacking. Motion parallax may be particularly suitable for pixie robber flies as they hunt in cluttered, low-lighting conditions and have a small size, making it difficult for potential prey to detect their movement, even in close proximity. Damselflies probably rely on alternative processes to assess prey, as translational movements are absent in the assessment phase.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13035275/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146227182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jean-François Doherty, Ben Rossouw, Leonard J Foster, Benjamin J Matthews
{"title":"Shell-shocked: parasite-induced behaviour and development in an invasive dead-end snail host.","authors":"Jean-François Doherty, Ben Rossouw, Leonard J Foster, Benjamin J Matthews","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251496","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parasites with complex life cycles produce large numbers of free-living infectious stages to overcome the low odds of successful transmission between hosts. These stages often infect non-competent or 'dead-end' hosts, which cannot support parasite development or transmission. While typically viewed as ecological cul-de-sacs, dead-end hosts may still experience meaningful effects from parasite exposure. Here, we examined how exposure to Paragordius varius hairworm larvae influences behaviour and development of Physella acuta, an invasive freshwater snail likely functioning as a dead-end host in this system. Using a dose-response design under controlled conditions, we exposed juvenile snails to increasing larval concentrations and tracked activity over 24 h in relation to water, total home range and core activity areas. Snails were then reared to assess impacts on shell development. Infection intensity scaled with larval dose. At the highest exposure, snails showed an almost one-third reduction in home range, spent substantially more time submerged and entered water less frequently but for longer durations. These shifts indicate reduced exploratory behaviour and altered water use, potentially limiting ecological flexibility. Although shell size and shape were unaffected, shell crush resistance increased markedly with dose, suggesting altered properties tied to behavioural or physiological responses. Our results show that parasites can impose sublethal yet ecologically significant costs on dead-end hosts. This challenges traditional views of dead-end hosts as passive endpoints and highlights their potential role in shaping host-parasite dynamics. For invasive species such as P. acuta, even non-transmissive infections may carry fitness and ecological consequences.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146220143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katherine Brown, Craig E Franklin, Michaela J P Handel
{"title":"'Why is publishing so expensive?'","authors":"Katherine Brown, Craig E Franklin, Michaela J P Handel","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.252490","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":"229 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147592581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eran Gefen, Shoval Atiya, Li-Mor David, Stav Talal
{"title":"Sprinting performance is linked to surface activity in scorpions.","authors":"Eran Gefen, Shoval Atiya, Li-Mor David, Stav Talal","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251978","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251978","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aerobic capacity in arachnids is closely linked with considerable structural variation in their respiratory systems. However, although all scorpions are non-tracheated and possess four pairs of book lungs, they vary greatly in their locomotor activity patterns. Many non-burrowing species express short bursts of activity whereas other species dig deep burrows within hours, suggesting more aerobically fueled exercise. We hypothesized that locomotion in surface dwellers is more dependent on anaerobic ATP synthesis, and that this would be reflected in their exercise performance and functional adaptation to potential disturbance of resting-state homeostasis. We used an experimental design consisting of two surface-dwelling Buthidae species (Hottentotta judaicus and Leiurus hebraeus), a burrowing buthid (Buthus israelis) and two burrowing Scorpionidae (Scorpio fuscus and Scorpio palmatus). Maximum running speeds were higher for buthids, which were also more prone to fatigue than scorpionids. Higher respiratory exchange ratios recorded for buthids during activity and subsequent recovery indicated a higher reliance on anaerobically fueled locomotion compared with scorpionids. Our data show that quicker removal of excess CO2 resulting from anaerobic exercise and hemolymph buffering in buthids is associated with significantly higher carbonic anhydrase activity in their hemolymph, compared with that of scorpionids. Efficient CO2 emission may also contribute to the lower respiratory water losses of buthids, and thus assist in facing both biotic and abiotic challenges of surface existence, from which the scorpionid burrows provide refuge.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147365520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A matter of antennal touch: timing and spatial selectivity of a tactually mediated, targeted oviposition behavior.","authors":"Tim-P R Lütkemeyer, Sven Bradler, Volker Dürr","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251272","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251272","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Selective oviposition is a behavioral trait that requires detection and discrimination of potential sites followed by appropriate, sometimes spatially precise placement of eggs. In several lineages of stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea), selective oviposition has evolved from a non-selective ancestral state, in which animals simply drop eggs to the ground. We herein describe such a selective behavior for Lobofemora sp., which places single eggs into small holes in front of its head and between the antennae, despite belonging to a lineage whose ancestral state has been reconstructed as dropping eggs. To test the hypotheses that such an egg placement involves antennal tactile detection and discrimination of site properties, we combined an oviposition assay with long-term motion tracking. We show that Lobofemora sp. employs its antennae for size-dependent site preference and postural adjustment according to directional properties of the site. Furthermore, we hypothesized and demonstrated that females refrain from egg-laying when no holes are available. We conclude that antennal tactile cues are sufficient to stimulate and inform targeted oviposition in Lobofemora. Because related egg-dropping species of the same lineage are unknown to use their short antennae for tactile exploration, we suggest that recruitment of the antennae for substrate probing was key to evolving this oviposition behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147276378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jan Černý, Markéta Hejníková, Šárka Podlahová, Radmila Čapková Frydrychová, Michala Sábová, Helena Štěrbová, Dalibor Kodrík
{"title":"Self-toxicity and tolerance mechanisms of honeybee venom in honeybees.","authors":"Jan Černý, Markéta Hejníková, Šárka Podlahová, Radmila Čapková Frydrychová, Michala Sábová, Helena Štěrbová, Dalibor Kodrík","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251886","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251886","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Honeybee venom (apitoxin) is a potent mixture of biologically active peptides and enzymes, primarily evolved as a defence against insect predators - including other bees. Recent evidence suggests that honeybees also employ components of apitoxin for both external and internal defence against parasites and microbial infections. Consequently, they are predicted to exhibit a remarkable resistance to their own venom, which they frequently encounter within colonies. To investigate this phenomenon, we examined the physiological responses of honeybee workers and drones to envenomation. Individuals were injected with a crude venom dose equivalent to 7.1 µg of melittin (≈LD20). Venom exposure significantly affected multiple physiological parameters, including the levels and gene expression of adipokinetic hormone and vitellogenin, antioxidative markers, lipofuscin accumulation and haemolymph arginine kinase concentration. Ultrastructural analyses further revealed profound alterations in thoracic muscle, including mitochondrial and myofibrillar degradation. Notably, workers and drones exhibited distinct physiological responses to venom. Our results indicate that honeybees mount a complex, multi-level defence to their own toxin, highlighting their potential as a unique model for studying endogenous anti-toxin mechanisms. Insights from this system may inspire future biomedical and biotechnological applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147365559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Faster fowl fall frequently: speed and force regulation during turning maneuvers by guinea fowl on high and low friction terrains.","authors":"Hannah Goldsmith, Jade Hall, Monica A Daley","doi":"10.1242/jeb.250929","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.250929","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Safely navigating variable terrains requires animals to balance competing demands of speed, stability, maneuverability and injury avoidance. Straight-line locomotion has been extensively studied, but less is known about how animals coordinate turning maneuvers. The physics of turning creates a coupling between speed, turn sharpness and ground reaction force (GRF) demands, resulting in a trade-off between speed and maneuverability. Here, we investigated locomotor strategies as guinea fowl navigated turns in high and low friction substrates. We measured center of mass trajectories and GRF in four conditions: control straight, control turns, slippery straight and slippery turns. We hypothesized that guinea fowl would slow down in turns to maintain peak GRF similar to that in steady, straight conditions, and that slippery terrain would lead to a shift towards slower speeds and shallower turn angles for slip avoidance. We found that guinea fowl slowed down by 14% in high friction turns and 27% in slippery turns compared with straight running and maintained GRF peaks within the 95% prediction interval for straight runs. Contrary to predictions, guinea fowl used similar turn strategies in low and high friction terrain, executing gradual turns with ∼7 deg change in heading per step, shifting from aerial to grounded running and leaning into the turn. Substantial individual variation in preferred speeds persisted across terrains, and preferred speed correlated with slip and fall rates (faster birds fell more frequently), suggesting individual variation in risk tolerance. Our findings support the hypothesis that animals modulate speed and ground reaction forces to balance competing mechanical demands in unsteady maneuvers, although the underlying control mechanisms remain to be determined.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13086494/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147283875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tarun Sharma, Anne Sustar, Jaison J Omoto, Michael H Dickinson
{"title":"The role of haltere campaniform sensilla in equilibrium reflexes of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.","authors":"Tarun Sharma, Anne Sustar, Jaison J Omoto, Michael H Dickinson","doi":"10.1242/jeb.250431","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.250431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flying animals use a combination of sensory modalities to maintain stable flight in the face of external and internal perturbations. Although insects rely extensively on vision for this task, members of the order Diptera possess specialized mechanosensory organs called halteres, which contain hundreds of strain-sensing campaniform sensilla that encode forces on the base of the structures as they oscillate during flight. Although the importance of halteres for flight stabilization is supported by past experiments involving surgical ablation or artificial manipulation, the requirement of the campaniform sensilla themselves has yet to be directly demonstrated. We investigated the role of haltere campaniform sensilla in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, by using a collection of Gal4 driver lines which are expressed in different populations of campaniform neurons, while recording the equilibrium responses of tethered flies subjected to rotation about their yaw axis. We show that the magnitude of the wing and head motor responses of flies decreases linearly with an increasing number of campaniform sensilla genetically silenced or ablated, providing direct evidence for the involvement of these mechanosensory structures in the detection of angular velocity during flight.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147355385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Latent feeding behaviors support trophic versatility in cichlids.","authors":"Khalil T Russell, Peter C Wainwright","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251609","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251609","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The relationship between morphology and ecology is mediated by behavior. We explored this relationship by assessing the link between trophic ecology and the use of prey-specific feeding behaviors in a cichlid fish system. Cichlid diversification features repeated transitions between reliance on free-moving prey and attached benthic prey, requiring predators to evolve prey-specific approaches to feeding. Using 2000 Hz video, we characterized feeding behavior on an experimental attached benthic prey in seven species of Mesoamerican heroine cichlid spanning three independent transitions to specialized piscivory and two to specialized benthic-feeding ecology. We investigated the effect of feeding ecology on the behavior and kinematics of benthic grazing, a derived, specialized mode of cichlid feeding. Surprisingly, all species readily fed on benthic prey, regardless of their feeding ecology. Nearly all non-benthic species used the same benthic-feeding behaviors as ecological benthic feeders. Our findings demonstrate an unexpected level of behavioral versatility among cichlid species in exploiting functionally demanding prey outside their typical diets. We propose that this repertoire of latent feeding behaviors supports trophic versatility and facilitates niche diversification. We also show that two benthic-feeding lineages of Neotropical cichlids evolved distinct approaches to benthic feeding, exhibiting the highest and lowest total feeding-strike kinesis, respectively. Together, our findings highlight the importance of behavior in linking morphology and ecology and motivate further study into the diversity and evolutionary context of benthic feeding across the Cichlidae.</p>","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147283824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}