Biologia futura最新文献

{"title":"A BEE indicator for monitoring wild bee diversity in agricultural systems.","authors":"Marco d'Agostino, Emanuele Luigi Zenga, Manuela Giovanetti, Fortunato Fulvio Bitonto, Marta Galloni, Marino Quaranta, Laura Bortolotti","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00268-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00268-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Given the growing importance of assessing the condition of wild bees in agroecosystems, we focused on developing a BEE indicator that could be easily used by non-expert taxonomists to score bee diversity. Our goal was to create a tool suitable for farm-level use, one that does not require taxonomic expertise nor heavy field work. Since existing literature has emphasized the significance of environmental features surrounding any investigated site, we incorporated this aspect into our design. We began by identifying a user-friendly field tool to differentiate among bee morphogenera, then proceeded by developing a process for data analyses and interpretation. A protocol is also shared. Further on, we run a case-study testing this tool at 13 sites in three countries, differentiating farms based on farming practices (conventional or organic, as proxy of opposite conditions). The results confirmed that (a) a diagnostic table based on morphological similarities is a practical field tool that, in almost all cases, allows for accurate classification of a bee individual into a specific group (morphogenus); (b) the process of analysis, based on number of morphogenera and landscape composition reflects variability among bees and across sites; (c) evaluating environmental features is essential for placing the results of bee variability into the appropriate context.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144504791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Easternmost distribution of Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax, du Buysson 1905) in Slovakia: urgent need for advanced detection and interregional monitoring.","authors":"Balázs Kolics, Éva Kolics, Zoltán Ács, Helena Mališová Proková, Katarína Baldaufová Senková, Dušan Senko","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00262-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00262-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) continues its spread across Europe, posing a significant threat to biodiversity, viticulture, and apiculture. This study reports the first molecular data of the invasive yellowlegged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) in Slovakia, confirmed through molecular analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Radio telemetry successfully located the nest within inaccessible private property, highlighting the technique's crucial role in early detection. This finding, along with the need for manual tracking techniques, public awareness campaigns, and regional monitoring programs, underscores the urgent need for proactive legal frameworks to facilitate the use of radio telemetry and ensure timely intervention to prevent further spread and mitigate the ecological and economic impacts of this invasive species in Slovakia and neighboring countries. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of continued research and development of radio telemetry techniques, including improved signal range and integration with drone technology, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of V. velutina detection and control.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144493975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dogs as a model to study the emergence of concept manipulation skills for language-readiness.","authors":"Dorottya S Rácz, Marianna Boros, Attila Andics","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00267-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00267-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Language-readiness entails the ability to segment holistic events into discrete concepts, learn signals for such concepts, and combine them in a rule-based manner to create composite meanings. There is much debate about whether, and to what extent, the brain mechanisms that enable concept manipulation abilities in humans are unmatched in the animal kingdom. Challenging human-uniqueness theories, we propose a social cognition-mediation account hypothesizing that concept manipulation abilities essential for language-readiness could also emerge in other species with a sufficient level of certain prerequisite social-cognitive skills, namely goal-representation, intentionality-attribution, and mentalization. We argue for the involvement of a new species in comparative studies on language evolution to evaluate this hypothesis: the domestic dog, a species that has undergone selective pressures for prosociality during domestication similar to those experienced by early humans, as well as shows a natural propensity to communicate their experiences. As a consequence, dogs may possess the necessary social-cognitive capacities to develop concept manipulation skills. Dogs' concept manipulation abilities have never been systematically investigated, nor directly compared to those of humans. Capitalizing on recent advances in comparative non-invasive neuroimaging and behavioural measures, here we propose feasible, promising experimental approaches for such investigations.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144493974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding stress-induced illegitimate aggression: the role of physiological and psychological factors in police cadets.","authors":"József Haller, István Farkas, József Végh, Zsombor Hermann, Krisztián Ivaskevics, Johanna Farkas, Erika Malét Szabó, Ildikó Bock-Marquette, Szilárd Rendeki","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00265-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s42977-025-00265-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To better understand the consequences of stress in realistic scenarios, police cadets were tasked with performing a police intervention under differing expectations. One group was led to anticipate a dangerous mission, while the other expected a routine event. In the field, however, both groups faced the same challenging situation. The warned group exhibited strong pre-intervention stress responses, which was minimal in the other group. By contrast, the unwarned group experienced a sudden surge in stress within the first minute of the intervention, as reality clashed with their expectations. A similar sudden stress response by the beginning of the intervention was missing from the warned group. A significant portion of cadets unlawfully attacked suspects, a behavior linked to intense stress displayed at the onset of the intervention. This emotional, illegitimate aggression was driven primarily by the noradrenergic stress response, with no indication of cortisol involvement. Traditional statistical methods (group comparisons, univariate, and multivariate regressions) suggested that psychological traits had little impact compared to acute stress effects. However, machine learning revealed that psychological characteristics-such as those assessed by the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire, Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Big Five Personality Test, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-played a crucial role in conjunction with stress responses. Multivariate analyses yielded data similar to those obtained through machine learning, but only when the dependent variables were selected to match those identified as crucial by the latter. These findings highlight the power of machine learning in uncovering complex interactions that traditional methods might overlook.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144332410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From kin to canines: understanding modern dog keeping from both biological and cultural evolutionary perspectives.","authors":"Eniko Kubinyi, Borbála Turcsán","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00264-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s42977-025-00264-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This review examines modern companion dog keeping from both biological and cultural evolutionary perspectives. Dog keeping is explored as a trait that has evolved from being adaptive, contributing to the survival and prosperity of human populations, to possibly being neutral or even maladaptive in modern contexts on the population level. Currently, many people in Western cultures regard dogs as family members or \"fur babies\", even though investing money, time, and emotional commitment in them does not directly increase biological fitness. This new kinship can be better understood through a cultural evolution framework, which is compared to the biological (Fisherian) runaway model to understand how human behaviours can evolve beyond their original utility. For future studies, the review proposes exploring whether and how well dogs can be substitutes for human relationships, their impact on human fertility and social networks, who benefits from dog keeping, and for whom keeping a dog is unnecessary or harmful.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144332409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nitrogen supplying capability of wool pellets as an alternative fertilizer depending on soil biological activity.","authors":"Flórián Kovács, Enikő Papdi, Ingrid Gyalai, Borbála Biró, Katalin Juhos","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00266-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00266-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pellets made from waste wool, typically sourced from sheep shearing residues generated by the textile or wool industry, have recently emerged as a promising alternative for plant nutrition. However, limited information is available on the impact of wool pellets (WP), applied at a dosage of 4 g per pot, on soil functioning, biological activity, plant physiology, and nutrient supply. A pot experiment was set up in a randomized block design with four replicates on sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). The effect of WP on permanganate-oxidizable carbon, fluorescein diacetate, and β-glucosidase enzyme activities were investigated in two soils differing in their soil organic matter (SOM) contents (low and high) and compared to the control and a reference N fertilizer solution. The nitrate and total nitrogen content of plants, the photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange intensity, shoot and root biomass, pepper fruit, and photosynthetic rate per total N-uptake were also examined. WP treatments (4 g per pot) increased soil biological activity in both soil types (with 0.58% and 1.84% soil organic matter, respectively) and significantly improved plant physiological parameters and N-use efficiency compared to the control and reference N fertilizer addition. Although the total N content in wool pellets was higher than in the mineral reference N-solution, this reference treatment served as a baseline dose allowing comparison with the N-supply intensity of the WP. WP significantly increased shoot biomass in both soil types, with a more pronounced effect in the low SOM soil due to faster mineralization and higher air capacity. In contrast, higher fruit was achieved in the high SOM soil. WP treatment increased N-uptake to 2.18 and 2.34 mg/week in low and high SOM, respectively. The research findings highlight wool pellets as a powerful alternative to inorganic fertilizers, offering a sustainable nutrient supply. Moreover, utilizing wool a by-product often considered waste as an organic fertilizer contributes to solving both economic and environmental challenges associated with wool disposal.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144315853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Low genetic differentiation and symmetric migration between urban and forest populations of great tits.","authors":"Bendegúz Mihalik, Nóra Ágh, Ivett Pipoly, Edina Nemesházi, Krisztián Szabó, Gábor Seress, András Liker","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00259-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00259-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gene flow may be limited between urban and non-urban populations of wild animals that can influence their landscape-level genetic structure and potential to adapt to new ecological conditions. To test this idea, we genetically characterized great tit (Parus major) populations breeding in an urban and a forest area 3.5 km apart, differing in several phenotypic traits some of which may contribute to adaptation to urban living. We used 16 microsatellite markers to genotype 189 breeding adult individuals (119 urban and 70 forest birds) and (1) tested whether the two populations are genetically differentiated, and (2) estimated the rate and direction of migration between the sites. Heterozygosity tended to be lower in the urban than in the forest habitat. Genetic population structure analyses did not show a consistent clustering of breeding birds between the urban and forest sites, and this conclusion was not affected by the inclusion of phenotypic data in the analyses. The pairwise fixation index (F_st) was low (0.009) and only 1% of the total genetic variance was explained by variation between populations. Finally, there was detectable gene flow between the two areas, and its estimated values did not suggest asymmetry in the direction of migration. We conclude that great tits living in the city are genetically connected to the nearby forest population by reciprocal migration, which may explain the low level of genetic differentiation.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144315852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toad's survivability and soil microbiome alterations impacted via individual abundance.","authors":"Tian Zhang, Yang Liu, Junde Li, Mingjun Yuan, Chunhan Qiao, Xiao Huang, Xueyao Yang, Bo Gao, Chuan Lou, Yan Yang, Yu Cao","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00261-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00261-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Artificial breeding is a valid strategy for the reverse of current extinction tendency in wild population of amphibian like toads. Considering public health, an alternative to antibiotics is demanded for ameliorating survival of toads during the culture period. Relying on the cognition of probiotics or antagonistic bacteria, the present work investigated viability and soil microorganism variations induced by distribution characteristic on toads using high-throughput sequencing technology. Comparison and analysis of soil metagenome from clustered and depopulated groups distinguished by toad behavior showed differences of bacterial community composition (e.g., Proteobacteria bacterium TMED72 and Nannocystis exedens) and antibiotic resistance genes involving antibiotic efflux and inactivation (e.g., mdtB and acrF). There were 18 and 10 distribution-typical genes independently enriched in Proteobacteria bacterium TMED72 and bacterium TMED88 of clustered group and Nannocystis exedens of depopulated group. In Nannocystis exedens, one of the distribution-typical genes was annotated as 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase acting role on bacterial growth restriction. It implied that, compared with the group emerging rare traces, the reduction of soil bacteria which possess genes retarding bacterial growth putatively impairs competitiveness to pathogenic bacteria and results in poor survivability of toads under clustering behavior. With the co-occurrence of virulence genes, more evidences are needed on the antagonistic bacteria Nannocystis exedens as antibiotic substitute.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does a \"robot dog\" need legs, ears, and tail? A comparative analysis of intention- and emotion-attribution to Miro-E and Unitree Go1.","authors":"Gabriella Lakatos, Patrick Holthaus, Pranjal Sharma, Vignesh Velmurugan, Theodora Hamilton-Holbrook, Lewis Riches, Sílvia Moros, Luke Wood","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00263-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00263-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study reported in this paper analysed the effectiveness and acceptability of ethologically inspired expressive behaviours implemented in two distinctively different embodiments of the zoomorphic robots Miro-E and Unitree Go1. It investigated how primary school children attribute intentions and emotions to the two robots, examining the importance of certain body parts in human-robot interactions to convey affective states and express intentions (e.g. ears, tail, and legs). A total of 111 students aged 7-10 years participated in the study in a within-subject design, observing an interaction between each robot and an Experimenter in small groups. Every child observed both robots interacting with an Experimenter in the same scenario following an AB-BA order. After each interaction, a questionnaire was presented to each student individually. Effects of (a) robot embodiment, (b) dog-ownership, and (c) students' age on their perception of the robots, focusing on differences between the two robots' emotionally and intentionally expressive behaviour, were analysed. Results identified significant effects of each independent variable. While the Miro-E robot was identified as expressing emotions better-underlying the importance of affective features such as ears, and a tail-there was no significant difference in children's intention-attribution to the two robots, and Unitree Go1 was selected as the preferred one over Miro-E. Despite the differences both Miro-E and Unitree Go1 reliably conveyed the intended emotions and intentions, providing further evidence for the applicability of the ethorobotics approach. Findings implied that the incorporation of zoomorphic embodiment features to express social signals could expand potential applications of these robots.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144214804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular insights into ochratoxin A biodegradation.","authors":"Renáta Ábrahám, Erzsébet Baka, Mohammed Al-Nussairawi, András Táncsics, Milán Farkas, István Nagy, Balázs Kriszt, Mátyás Cserháti","doi":"10.1007/s42977-025-00258-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00258-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Most of the agricultural products can potentially be exposed to mycotoxins-especially to ochratoxin A (OTA)-, which may cause foodborne diseases such as renal toxicity and notable economic losses worldwide. Biological detoxification is the most promising method to control OTA contamination. To provide a comprehensive understanding, this review summarizes the biodegradation pathways of OTA and discusses microbes capable of degrading OTA and their detoxification strategies. A detailed analysis of potentially useful enzymes for food and feed detoxification will be reported, highlighting specific enzymatic strategies identified in scientific literature. A comparative analysis of the functional capabilities of different OTA hydrolases demonstrates significant variation in degradation efficiency, thus the optimization of these enzymes is essential for the development of effective detoxification strategies. This review underscores the potential of harnessing these microorganisms and their enzymes for mitigating the toxic effects of OTA in contaminated environment and examining the essential requirements that must be met for the successful application of OTA degrading enzyme technology for promoting public health and food safety.</p>","PeriodicalId":8853,"journal":{"name":"Biologia futura","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144075593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}