Rahul Avaroth Bhaskaran, Zuzana Vondráčková, Abhishek Koladiya, Martin Čapek, Francesco Dionigi, Sabine Begall, Hynek Burda, Leo Peichl, Pavel Němec
{"title":"Distinct retinal ganglion cell types in strictly subterranean, naturally microphthalmic mammals.","authors":"Rahul Avaroth Bhaskaran, Zuzana Vondráčková, Abhishek Koladiya, Martin Čapek, Francesco Dionigi, Sabine Begall, Hynek Burda, Leo Peichl, Pavel Němec","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2586","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2586","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>African mole-rats (Bathyergidae, Rodentia) are subterranean rodents that live in extensive dark underground tunnel systems and rarely emerge aboveground. They can discriminate between light and dark but show no overt visually driven behaviours except for light-avoidance responses. Their eyes and central visual system are strongly reduced but not degenerated. Here, we focus on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Sighted mammals have numerous RGC types with distinct morphological and functional properties that encode different aspects of a visual scene. We analysed the morphological diversity of 216 intracellularly dye-injected RGCs in the giant mole-rat (<i>Fukomys mechowii</i>) and 48 RGCs in Ansell's mole-rat (<i>Fukomys anselli</i>). Using a hierarchical cluster analysis on 11 morphological parameters, we show that both species possess at least five RGC types with distinct dendritic field sizes and branching patterns. These resemble some RGC types of the mouse and rat, but mole-rat RGCs feature overall sparser and more asymmetric branching patterns. The dendritic trees of most RGCs in all clusters are monostratified in the inner plexiform layer, but bistratified and multistratified/diffuse cells also exist. Thus, although RGC morphologies have become disorganized, the basic retinal organization principle of parallel information processing by distinct RGC types is retained.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2038","pages":"20242586"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11732417/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984608","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}
Laurence R Gesquiere, Christine Adjangba, Georgia Young, Clara Brandon, Sophie Parker, Emily E Jefferson, Tim L Wango, Vivian K Oudu, Raphael S Mututua, J Kinyua Warutere, I Long'ida Siodi, A Catherine Markham, Elizabeth A Archie, Susan C Alberts
{"title":"Energetic costs of social dominance in wild male baboons.","authors":"Laurence R Gesquiere, Christine Adjangba, Georgia Young, Clara Brandon, Sophie Parker, Emily E Jefferson, Tim L Wango, Vivian K Oudu, Raphael S Mututua, J Kinyua Warutere, I Long'ida Siodi, A Catherine Markham, Elizabeth A Archie, Susan C Alberts","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1790","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1790","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In vertebrates, glucocorticoids can be upregulated in response to both psychosocial and energetic stressors, making it difficult to identify the cause of elevated glucocorticoid concentrations when both types of stressors are present. This problem has been particularly challenging in studies of social dominance rank in wild animals. In contrast to glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone concentrations are largely unaffected by psychosocial stressors and therefore offer a better estimate of energetic challenges. Here, we measured faecal metabolites of both triiodothyronine (mT3) and glucocorticoids (fGC) in wild baboons and assessed how these hormonal profiles vary with male dominance rank. We found that alpha males have lower mT3 and higher fGC than males of other ranks, indicating sustained energetic costs of alpha status. By contrast, low-ranking males have higher mT3 but similar fGC concentrations than non-alpha high-ranking males, reflecting their lower exposure to energetic stressors but greater vulnerability to psychosocial stressors than higher-ranking males. We also found that mate-guarding of fertile females, a behaviour expressed at higher rates by alpha males, partly explains the energetic costs of high social status. These findings offer evidence of the different types of costs experienced by low- and high-ranking animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2039","pages":"20241790"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11750358/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143010478","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}
George Butler, Sarah R Amend, Chris Venditti, Kenneth J Pienta
{"title":"Punctuational evolution is pervasive in distal site metastatic colonization.","authors":"George Butler, Sarah R Amend, Chris Venditti, Kenneth J Pienta","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2850","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2850","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The evolution of metastasis, the spread of cancer to distal sites within the body, represents a lethal stage of cancer progression. Yet, the evolutionary dynamics that shape the emergence of metastatic disease remain unresolved. Here, using single-cell lineage tracing data in combination with phylogenetic statistical methods, we show that the evolutionary trajectory of metastatic disease is littered with bursts of rapid molecular change as new cellular subpopulations appear, a pattern known as punctuational evolution. Next, by measuring punctuational evolution across the metastatic cascade, we show that punctuational effects are concentrated within the formation of secondary tumours at distal metastatic sites, suggesting that qualitatively different modes of evolution may drive primary and metastatic tumour progression. Taken as a whole, our findings provide empirical evidence for distinct patterns of molecular evolution at early and late stages of metastatic disease and our approach provides a framework to study the evolution of metastasis at a more nuanced level than has been previously possible.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2039","pages":"20242850"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11750355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143010511","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}
Emma A Elliott Smith, Madonna L Moss, Hannah P Wellman, Verena A Gill, Daniel H Monson, Seth D Newsome
{"title":"Forecasting sea otter recolonization: insights from isotopic analysis of modern and zooarchaeological populations.","authors":"Emma A Elliott Smith, Madonna L Moss, Hannah P Wellman, Verena A Gill, Daniel H Monson, Seth D Newsome","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1682","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1682","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Retrospective datasets offer essential context for conservation by revealing species' ecological roles before industrial-era human impacts. We analysed isotopic compositions of pre-industrial and modern sea otters (<i>Enhydra lutris</i>) to reconstruct pre-extirpation ecology and offer insights for management. Our study focuses on southeast Alaska (SEAK), where sea otters are recolonizing, and northern Oregon, where translocations are being considered. We measured bulk bone collagen <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N values and essential amino acid <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C values of extirpated sea otters from archaeological contexts, and bulk isotopic values from vibrissae of modern SEAK sea otters. We compare these results with published isotopic data of potential prey and additional archaeological datasets. In SEAK, our data show pre-industrial sea otter populations consumed infaunal bivalves and used soft-sediment (33%) and kelp forest habitats (67%), with sub-regional variation. We anticipate current populations will expand into this historical niche, and conflict with regional traditional/subsistence bivalve fisheries will persist. In northern Oregon, isotopic data from extirpated sea otters indicate past consumption of low trophic level invertebrates and a stronger reliance on kelp forests (88%) rather than soft-sediment habitats, highlighting the importance of kelp forests for future translocations. Our work exemplifies the value of historical ecology in informing conservation strategies for recovering species.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2039","pages":"20241682"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11775623/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143060393","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":"Population variability across geographical ranges: perspectives and challenges.","authors":"Cleber Ten Caten, Tad Dallas","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1644","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.1644","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Populations fluctuate over time and across geographical space, and understanding how different factors contribute to population variability is a central goal in population ecology. There is a particular interest in identifying trends of population variability within geographical ranges as population densities of species can fluctuate substantially across geographical space. A common assumption is that populations vary more near species geographical range edges because of unsuitable environments and higher vulnerability to environmental variability in these areas. However, empirical data rarely support this expectation, suggesting that population variability is not related to its position within species geographical ranges. We propose that performance curves, which describe the relationship between population growth rates and environmental conditions, can be used to disentangle geographical patterns of population variability. Performance curves are important for understanding population variability because populations fluctuate more in locations where they have lower growth rates owing to unsuitable environmental conditions. This is important for the assessment of these geographical patterns in population variability because geographical edges often do not reflect environmental edges. Considering species performance curves when evaluating geographical patterns of population variability would also allow researchers to detect populations that are more susceptible to future changes in environmental conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2039","pages":"20241644"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11775592/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143060437","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":"Active control over exploration improves memory in toddlers.","authors":"Yi-Lin Li, Francesco Poli, Azzurra Ruggeri","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2555","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2555","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Across two experiments, we implemented a novel gaze-contingent eye-tracking paradigm to investigate the early emergence of memory benefits from active control over exploration and to examine how exploratory behaviours affect memory formation in early development. Toddlers (experiment 1: <i>n</i> = 36, 18-36 months; experiment 2: <i>n</i> = 41, 23-36 months) were either allowed to actively control their exploration (active condition) or presented with the same information that they could only passively observe (passive condition in experiment 1; yoked condition in experiment 2). They were then tested in a preferential-looking paradigm in which familiar versus novel stimuli were presented in pairs. Evidence from eye-movement patterns indicates that toddlers demonstrate improved recognition memory when given active control over learning. Toddlers' pace of learning (i.e. visitation rate) explains the recognition improvement in their active exploration. Their memory improvement is also related to individual differences in the systematicity of exploratory behaviour (i.e. sequence entropy). These findings suggest that toddlers exhibit more sophisticated exploratory strategies than previously believed, revealing the early emergence and development of their ability to adapt these strategies to enhance memory and therefore support learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2039","pages":"20242555"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11777551/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143060181","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":"Multiple drivers of spring migration timing for red deer over the past 16 years in northern Europe.","authors":"Tilde Katrina Slotte Hjermann, Inger Maren Rivrud, Erling L Meisingset, Atle Mysterud","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.0842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0842","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The timing of migration is fundamental for species exploiting seasonally variable environments. For ungulates, earlier spring migration is expected with earlier vegetation green-up. However, other drivers, such as access to agricultural farmland and variation in local conditions, are also known to affect migration. We investigated the timing of spring migration for 96 male and 201 female red deer (<i>Cervus elaphus</i>) using a long-term dataset (2005-2020). Overall, the timing of migration was mainly characterized by large individual variability between and within years (95% range 6 April to 18 June). The spring migration timing was, as expected, later with colder winter and spring conditions (North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter and April indices) and later peak vegetation green-up (NDVI), with a five-day delay in green-up causing a migration delay of 1.2 days. Timing was also influenced by local conditions in summer and winter home ranges. Red deer with greater access to farmland and a more variable topography (hence variable plant phenology) in winter delayed migration. Similarly, individuals with higher-elevation summer ranges (with delayed onset of plant growth) also delayed migration. Our analyses highlight that the timing of red deer migration is determined by multiple drivers affecting foraging conditions in the landscape, indicative of considerable phenotypic plasticity.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2038","pages":"20240842"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11706655/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142953898","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}
Liam N Nash, Fátima C Recalde, Timothy Chambers, Victor S Saito, Gustavo Q Romero, Pavel Kratina
{"title":"Aquatic-terrestrial linkages drive contrasting biodiversity patterns in tropical and temperate forests.","authors":"Liam N Nash, Fátima C Recalde, Timothy Chambers, Victor S Saito, Gustavo Q Romero, Pavel Kratina","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2423","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Riparian ecosystems harbour unique biodiversity because of their close interconnections with adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Yet, how aquatic ecosystems influence terrestrial biodiversity over different spatial scales is poorly understood, particularly in the tropics. We conducted field campaigns to collect 235 terrestrial invertebrate assemblages along 150 m transects from 47 streams in both Brazil and the UK, compiling one of the largest known datasets of riparian invertebrate community composition at multiple spatial scales. Invertebrate densities increased towards water in both regions. In Brazil, this was driven by an increase in spiders, with a corresponding decrease in non-predators, resulting in higher predator : prey ratios near water. In the UK, non-predator densities increased towards water, decreasing predator : prey ratios. While pairwise dissimilarity increased with distance from water in both regions, β-diversity was significantly higher in tropical assemblages, with more β-diversity explained by turnover. Spider community composition was significantly structured by distance from water in the Brazilian sites, suggesting tropical assemblages were influenced more by emerging aquatic prey, with a distinct spider community replacing other predators, with possible top-down control of terrestrial prey. High turnover-driven dissimilarity among tropical assemblages suggests that Brazilian riparian ecosystems are better managed at the landscape scale, with an emphasis on in-stream measures preventing disruption of aquatic resource subsidies.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2038","pages":"20242423"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11706639/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142953959","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}
C L Poore, E J Ibarra-Garibay, A L Toth, E A Riddell
{"title":"Lack of thermal acclimation in multiple indices of climate vulnerability in bumblebees.","authors":"C L Poore, E J Ibarra-Garibay, A L Toth, E A Riddell","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2216","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Indices of climate vulnerability are used to predict species' vulnerability to climate change based on intrinsic physiological traits, such as thermal tolerance, thermal sensitivity and thermal acclimation, but rarely is the consistency among indices evaluated simultaneously. We compared the thermal physiology of queen bumblebees between a species experiencing local declines (<i>Bombus auricomus</i>) and a species exhibiting continent-wide increases (<i>B. impatiens</i>). We conducted a multi-week acclimation experiment under simulated climate warming to measure critical thermal maximum (CT<sub>max</sub>), critical thermal minimum (CT<sub>min</sub>), the thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate and water loss rate and acclimation in each of these traits. We also measured survival throughout the experiment and after the thermal tolerance trials. Neither species acclimated to the temperature treatments by adjusting any physiological trait. We found conflicting patterns among indices of vulnerability within and between species. We also found that individuals with the highest CT<sub>max</sub> exhibited the lowest survival following the thermal tolerance trial. Our study highlights inconsistent patterns across multiple indices of climate vulnerability within and between species, indicating that physiological studies measuring only one index of climate vulnerability may be limited in their ability to inform species' responses to environmental change.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2038","pages":"20242216"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11732424/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984624","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}
Xiaoshen Yin, Claire E Schraidt, Morgan M Sparks, Peter T Euclide, Tyler J Hoyt, Carl R Ruetz Iii, Tomas O Höök, Mark R Christie
{"title":"Parallel genetic adaptation amid a background of changing effective population sizes in divergent yellow perch (<i>Perca flavescens</i>) populations.","authors":"Xiaoshen Yin, Claire E Schraidt, Morgan M Sparks, Peter T Euclide, Tyler J Hoyt, Carl R Ruetz Iii, Tomas O Höök, Mark R Christie","doi":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2339","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rspb.2024.2339","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aquatic ecosystems are highly dynamic environments vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. High-economic-value fisheries are one of many ecosystem services affected by these disturbances, and it is critical to accurately characterize the genetic diversity and effective population sizes of valuable fish stocks through time. We used genome-wide data to reconstruct the demographic histories of economically important yellow perch (<i>Perca flavescens</i>) populations. In two isolated and genetically divergent populations, we provide independent evidence for simultaneous increases in effective population sizes over both historic and contemporary time scales including negative genome-wide estimates of Tajima's D, 3.1 times more single nucleotide polymorphisms than adjacent populations, and contemporary effective population sizes that have increased 10- and 47-fold from their minimum, respectively. The excess of segregating sites and negative Tajima's D values probably arose from mutations accompanying historic population expansions with insufficient time for purifying selection, whereas linkage disequilibrium-based estimates of <i>Ne</i> also suggest contemporary increases that may have been driven by reduced fishing pressure or environmental remediation. We also identified parallel, genetic adaptation to reduced visual clarity in the same two habitats. These results suggest that the synchrony of key ecological and evolutionary processes can drive parallel demographic and evolutionary trajectories across independent populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":20589,"journal":{"name":"Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences","volume":"292 2038","pages":"20242339"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11732403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984628","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}