Journal of Experimental Biology最新文献_第10页

Unpredictable prey motion shapes behavior across time scales. 不可预测的猎物运动决定了它们跨越时间尺度的行为。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-06 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.250896

Sean C Cadigan, Nathon A Smith, Te K Jones, Melville J Wohlgemuth

{"title":"Unpredictable prey motion shapes behavior across time scales.","authors":"Sean C Cadigan, Nathon A Smith, Te K Jones, Melville J Wohlgemuth","doi":"10.1242/jeb.250896","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.250896","url":null,"abstract":"Locating, tracking and intercepting objects is a fundamental behavior for many organisms. For instance, predators must track and capture erratically moving prey for their survival. Using the echolocating bat as a model species, we investigated how short-term changes in target motion predictability affect longer-term motor plans when tracking a prey item. We used a paradigm where prey motion is under experimental control, and then applied computational methods to characterize how target motion predictability influences short- and long-term behavioral control. We found that target motion predictability during the tracking phase of insect capture influences both short-term changes in sonar call control as well as longer-term behavioral control for transitioning between hunting phases. For changes in immediate behavioral control, bats produce more bursts of calls at a higher rate when tracking unpredictable moving prey, an indication that the bat is collecting more information about the target's motion for unpredictable than predictable trials. In terms of longer-term behavioral control, target motion unpredictability delays the transition from tracking to capture phase behaviors. We suggest that the bat does this to collect more information about target motion to time the transition from tracking to capture behaviors for hunting success. Additionally, we found the effects of target motion unpredictability are first seen as changes in the vocal motor plan and then the auditory motor plan (ear motion), hinting at a sequencing of motor changes that warrants further investigation.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13480953/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148421252","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}

引用次数: 0

Oxygen uptake of rainbow trout during acute warming: effects of oxygen supersaturation and aerobic exercise. 急性变暖期间虹鳟鱼的摄氧量：氧过饱和度和有氧运动的影响。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-07 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252245

Imogen G Bellinger, Heather Bauer Reid, Graham D Raby

{"title":"Oxygen uptake of rainbow trout during acute warming: effects of oxygen supersaturation and aerobic exercise.","authors":"Imogen G Bellinger, Heather Bauer Reid, Graham D Raby","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252245","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.252245","url":null,"abstract":"Naturally occurring oxygen supersaturation (hyperoxia) could provide a refuge for fish from heat waves if thermal tolerance is limited by the ability to take up sufficient oxygen to meet cellular oxygen demands during acute heat stress, as previously proposed. While several studies have assessed warming tolerance (CTmax) in water breathers under hyperoxia, none have assessed whether warming tolerance during aerobic exercise (CTSmax) is affected by hyperoxia. Here, we assessed whether hyperoxia could increase the thermal tolerance and metabolic rate of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) both at high swimming speeds (CTSmax; 85% of maximum swimming speed) and in traditional CTmax trials. To do so, n=16 rainbow trout were subjected to thermal tolerance trials under two treatments: hyperoxia [150% dissolved oxygen (DO)] and normoxia (100% DO). For these trials, fish were warmed at a rate of 2°C h-1, with estimates of oxygen consumption (ṀO2) generated for each 30 min (1°C) increment. Hyperoxia caused an apparent increase of ca. 0.6°C in CTSmax but the effect disappeared after controlling for random effects and differences in variance among trial types. Likewise, hyperoxia had no effect on CTmax. Surprisingly, we found no effect of hyperoxia on ṀO2 during the CTSmax trials. Interestingly, although all fish increased their ṀO2 during the acute warming trials, many did not reach ṀO2,max based on earlier critical swimming speed (Ucrit) trials at a benign temperature. Together, our results provide insight into the effects of ecologically relevant levels of oxygen saturation on thermal tolerance in fish.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13480951/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148520583","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}

引用次数: 0

Predicting axial muscle-fibre strains in larval zebrafish. 预测斑马鱼幼体轴向肌纤维品系。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-12 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.251951

Johan L van Leeuwen, Noraly M M E van Meer, Martin J Lankheet

{"title":"Predicting axial muscle-fibre strains in larval zebrafish.","authors":"Johan L van Leeuwen, Noraly M M E van Meer, Martin J Lankheet","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251951","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251951","url":null,"abstract":"The fast axial muscle fibres of teleosts enable rapid starts and high-speed swimming. Their arrangement in densely packed nested helices, combined with shear deformation, has been proposed to reduce variance in muscle-fibre-aligned strains across transverse cross-sections, enabling similar contributions to power generation. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), a helical pattern is already present at hatching, but its effect on strain variance remained unclear. Previous studies analysed only the anal region and used distortion-prone vibratome sections. Here, we predicted muscle-fibre-aligned strain distributions as a function of lateral curvature using in vivo measurements of muscle-fibre orientation along the anterior 70% of the axial muscles of 4 days post-fertilisation larval zebrafish. Using a bending-beam model, we compared strain distributions for hypothetical longitudinal fibre orientations and the measured helical arrangement, and examined how added-shear deformation and modest median-plane compression alter these distributions. Relative to longitudinal fibres, the helical arrangement reduced muscle-fibre-aligned strains in lateral regions but had little effect on strain variance across transverse sections. Incorporating shear into the helical arrangement, however, consistently reduced strain variance irrespective of body curvature, with the strongest effects anteriorly where helicity is most developed. Allowing median-plane compression further reduced strain variance on the concave side but increased it on the convex side. To assess functional relevance, we predicted maximum mean fibre strains and strain rates along the body from previously recorded swimming kinematics. We conclude that a helical muscle-fibre arrangement with added shear reduces strain variance and supports feasible strain rates during vigorous swimming. These results probably generalise across bony fish larvae.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13535098/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148411694","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}

引用次数: 0

Food-dependent activation of one-carbon metabolism during heat shock in Mytilus californianus. 加利福尼亚贻贝热休克过程中一碳代谢的食物依赖性激活。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-11 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252105

R Frank Fabela, Melissa A May, Lars Tomanek

{"title":"Food-dependent activation of one-carbon metabolism during heat shock in Mytilus californianus.","authors":"R Frank Fabela, Melissa A May, Lars Tomanek","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252105","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.252105","url":null,"abstract":"Of the ecological factors affecting the cellular stress response, food ration has received little attention despite a likely role in stress tolerance limits. To test the interactive effects of food and temperature on the proteomic response to heat shock, the intertidal mussel Mytilus californianus was acclimated to four combinations of nearshore (low) and aquaculture (high) phytoplankton levels, combined with low (20°C) and high (30°C) aerial temperatures during daytime low tides. Whole mussels were then exposed to an acute (6 h), aerial heat stress (33°C) and allowed to recover for 1 and 25 h in pre-exposure conditions. Proteomic changes in the gill before and after heat shock were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and label-free quantification. Mussels acclimated to low temperature-low food elicited a greater heat shock response compared with other acclimation groups, increasing protein levels of core carbohydrate and sulfide metabolism. These glycolytic metabolites proposedly feed into one-carbon metabolism (e.g. folate and methionine cycles) and connecting pathways, which also increased abundance and likely contribute to purine synthesis, methylation and transsulfuration. These mussels additionally increased levels of proteins scavenging hydrogen peroxide, chelating ferrous iron and maintaining reduced glutathione levels. Proteins modifying chromatin (histone) structure and regulating transcription likely link the metabolic changes to chromatin modifications, specifically through S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases, which may contribute to repairing DNA damage caused by oxidative stress. Overall, our results suggest a food-dependent link between metabolism and epigenetic modifications that we hypothesize may function as an autoregulatory feedback mechanism during the cellular stress response under tidally fluctuating conditions.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13535095/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148436872","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}

引用次数: 0

Chytridiomycosis infection and heat compromise sperm quality in a threatened frog. 壶菌病感染和高温影响了一只受威胁的青蛙的精子质量。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-04 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252760

Rose Upton, Anne Ibbotson, Kaya Klop-Toker, Lachlan Campbell, Nadine Nolan, Phillip Jobling, Michael Mahony, John Clulow, Natalie E Calatayud, Alex Callen

{"title":"Chytridiomycosis infection and heat compromise sperm quality in a threatened frog.","authors":"Rose Upton, Anne Ibbotson, Kaya Klop-Toker, Lachlan Campbell, Nadine Nolan, Phillip Jobling, Michael Mahony, John Clulow, Natalie E Calatayud, Alex Callen","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252760","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.252760","url":null,"abstract":"Environmental change is reshaping wildlife reproduction through increasing temperatures and often leads to the spread of emerging infectious diseases, yet the physiological consequences of managing these stressors remain poorly understood. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable owing to their ectothermy and high susceptibility to chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Here, we examined how Bd infection and thermal treatment interact to influence sperm quality and reproductive investment in male green and golden bell frogs (Ranoidea aurea), a species that has suffered severe population declines. Moderate Bd infection was associated with elevated sperm concentration relative to uninfected and heavily infected males, consistent with increased short-term reproductive investment under elevated mortality risk. However, severe infection led to pronounced reductions in sperm concentration and motility. Thermal treatment successfully eliminated Bd infection but imposed reproductive costs: sperm concentration declined following treatment and remained significantly reduced 6 months later, despite partial recovery of sperm motility and membrane integrity. Our findings reveal that disease and thermal stress jointly shape amphibian reproductive outcomes through context-dependent trade-offs between immune defence and gamete production. Although mild infection may trigger short-lived increases in reproductive output, both severe infection and pathogen clearance via thermal exposure impose lasting constraints on fertility. These results highlight an underappreciated cost of disease mitigation and suggest that increasing thermal extremes associated with climate change may further limit amphibian reproductive resilience, with important implications for conservation management and population persistence.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13480957/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148396721","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}

引用次数: 0

Control of high-speed jumps: removing rotation from the jumps of locusts (Schistocerca gregaria). 控制高速跳跃：消除蝗虫（Schistocerca gregaria）跳跃的旋转。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-07 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.249846

Chloe K Goode, Scott Dixon, Gregory P Sutton

{"title":"Control of high-speed jumps: removing rotation from the jumps of locusts (Schistocerca gregaria).","authors":"Chloe K Goode, Scott Dixon, Gregory P Sutton","doi":"10.1242/jeb.249846","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.249846","url":null,"abstract":"To jump, locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) use a latch-mediated spring-actuated (LaMSA) mechanism in their metathoracic legs, which gradually stores and then rapidly releases elastic energy, propelling them into the air. This system consistently results in a head-up, tail-down pitch of the body immediately after take-off, caused by a thus far unknown underlying mechanism. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that head-up, tail-down angular rotation is a product of the locust's centre of mass being positioned off-centre to the force vector produced by the metathoracic legs; therefore, shifting the centre of mass forwards should counterbalance any torque acting around it. This was achieved experimentally by attaching a small mass, ranging from 3.4 to 13.6% of the locust's body mass, to the head of a locust before filming it jump to a target substrate. The resultant angular velocity from these jumps decreased as the added mass increased, with a mass equivalent to 10.2% of the body mass resulting in the complete elimination of angular velocity and therefore an entirely linear jump. When added mass totalled 13.6%, negative angular velocities were recorded (head-down, tail-up). This was matched with a corresponding decrease in the rotational energy percentage of each jump's total energy budget, and a slight decrease in linear velocity for the largest added mass. These findings strongly support the theory that locusts do not independently control their body pitch at take-off, and that changes to the body mass distribution can counter it.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13480952/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148308199","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}

引用次数: 0

Ontogenetic shifts in fatty acid metabolic pathways of European lobster (Homarus gammarus) revealed by in vivo radiotracing. 欧洲龙虾（Homarus gammarus）体内放射性示踪揭示的脂肪酸代谢途径的个体发生变化。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-05 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252202

Renata Goncalves, Ivar Lund, Kylian Manon Eggink, Nieves G Acosta, Diana B Reis, José A Perez, Covadonga Rodríguez

{"title":"Ontogenetic shifts in fatty acid metabolic pathways of European lobster (Homarus gammarus) revealed by in vivo radiotracing.","authors":"Renata Goncalves, Ivar Lund, Kylian Manon Eggink, Nieves G Acosta, Diana B Reis, José A Perez, Covadonga Rodríguez","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252202","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.252202","url":null,"abstract":"Lipids are central to crustacean development, yet lobster larvae's capacity to assimilate and modify dietary fatty acids (FAs) during ontogeny remains poorly understood. This study investigated the in vivo capacity for incorporation, esterification and structural modification of FAs in early-stage European lobster (Homarus gammarus). Larvae (stages I-III) and post-larvae (stage IV) were incubated in triplicate for 5 h under controlled seawater conditions with [1-14C]-labeled linoleic (LA, 18:2n-6), α-linolenic (ALA, 18:3n-3), arachidonic (ARA, 20:4n-6), eicosapentaenoic (EPA, 20:5n-3) or docosahexaenoic (DHA, 22:6n-3) acid. Unlabeled controls were maintained under identical conditions. For lobsters incubated with [1-14C]FAs, incorporation into total lipids, esterification and FA elongation/desaturation products were quantified. Lipid class and FA composition were assessed in unlabeled controls. FA incorporation was strongly development dependent. Stage I larvae preferentially incorporated n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), particularly EPA and ALA, whereas stage IV post-larvae favored incorporation of LA and ALA. At all stages, [1-14C]FAs were mainly esterified into polar lipids classes, particularly the phospholipids phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Esterification into neutral lipids, mainly triacylglycerols, increased from stage I to III and declined in stage IV. FA elongation and desaturation were limited but detectable, peaking in stage III larvae. EPA was synthesized from ALA and ARA from LA. Detected LA-to-EPA conversion probably reflects peroxisomal β-oxidation and label redistribution. DHA synthesis was not detected. These results reveal stage-specific lipid metabolic capacities and limited endogenous production of long-chain PUFAs, underscoring the need for dietary LC-PUFA supplementation to support optimal H. gammarus larval development.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148436893","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}

引用次数: 0

Thermal fluctuations affect embryonic physiology in a tropical agamid lizard. 热波动影响热带蜥蜴的胚胎生理。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-11 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252800

Amanda Ben, Debarpita Das, Nubla Bm, Maria Thaker

引用次数: 0

An eyestalk-enriched GATA factor (NdGATA123c) modulates photosensitivity and molting in Neocaridina denticulata sinensis. 一种眼柄富集GATA因子（NdGATA123c）可调节齿状新木犀的光敏性和脱毛。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-04 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.252737

Congcong Yan, Xiaoyu Zhang, Shangpeng Wang, Shizhao Wang, Yue Li, Yuying Sun, Jiquan Zhang

{"title":"An eyestalk-enriched GATA factor (NdGATA123c) modulates photosensitivity and molting in Neocaridina denticulata sinensis.","authors":"Congcong Yan, Xiaoyu Zhang, Shangpeng Wang, Shizhao Wang, Yue Li, Yuying Sun, Jiquan Zhang","doi":"10.1242/jeb.252737","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.252737","url":null,"abstract":"GATA proteins are a class of important transcription factors with conserved zinc finger domains, playing essential roles in developmental regulation and tissue homeostasis in animals. However, the molecular characteristics and in-depth functional studies of the GATA family members in crustaceans are still lacking. In this study, we identified 67 GATA genes across 12 crustacean genomes, with most species harboring 5-6 family members. Comparative analysis showed that these crustacean GATA genes exhibited clustered chromosomal distribution and highly conserved GATA-type zinc-finger domains. The expression profiles of GATA genes in the freshwater shrimp Neocaridina denticulata sinensis (Nd) across different tissues showed that NdGATA123c was the only one highly expressed in the eyestalk. Through RNA interference and transcriptome sequencing, knockdown of NdGATA123c in the eyestalk led to the upregulation of multiple cuticle protein genes and disrupted the homeostasis of pathways associated with visual signaling, endocrine regulation and intracellular signal transduction. These molecular changes were associated with altered phototactic responses to red and green light during the early stage of illumination, abnormal pigment granule arrangement in the ommatidia and prolongation of the molting cycle. Together, these results suggest that NdGATA123c, as an eyestalk-enriched GATA zinc-finger transcription factor, may contribute to the maintenance of local signaling homeostasis linked to visual adaptation and molting rhythm in N. denticulata sinensis. This study provides new insights into the evolution and functional differentiation of GATA transcription factors in crustaceans.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148411718","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}

引用次数: 0

Interval timing and animal communication. 间隔计时和动物交流。

IF 3 2区生物学

Journal of Experimental Biology Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-07-29 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.251731

Carlos A Rodriguez-Saltos, Jadyn E Scott

{"title":"Interval timing and animal communication.","authors":"Carlos A Rodriguez-Saltos, Jadyn E Scott","doi":"10.1242/jeb.251731","DOIUrl":"10.1242/jeb.251731","url":null,"abstract":"Animals time durations between arbitrary events to make predictions about their environment. This ability, known as interval timing, has been studied in the context of reward expectancy in the laboratory and foraging in the wild. However, timing is also used in other contexts, such as in animal communication. Communication signals have characteristic timing, which affects the sender's likelihood of attracting mates, fending off rivals and deterring eavesdroppers. The literature on timing in reward expectancy and communication is extensive, but there is little crossover between the two fields. Here, we review this literature while highlighting the neural mechanisms that may be shared between the two modes of timing. We focus our comparison on learned communication signals, such as birdsong, given that learning is also a crucial component of reward expectancy. However, we also argue that even the study of innate communication signals could shed light on the nature of the neural oscillators that animals use to keep track of time. We also highlight potential differences between interval and communication timing. We argue that timing precision might be particularly important in communication, as precision can be an honest indicator of quality. However, increased precision might occur at a cost to the range of intervals that can be produced in a signal. Thus, communication signals provide an opportunity to study the physiological constraints that limit the precision and range at which neurons can sustain rhythms to either produce rhythmic behavior or keep track of time.","PeriodicalId":15786,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Experimental Biology","volume":"229 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148604086","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}

引用次数: 0