Biology Letters最新文献

The effect of spontaneous mutations on CUP1 copy number and copper tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 自发突变对酿酒酵母CUP1拷贝数和铜耐受性的影响。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-06 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0090

Rohan Sohoni, Gillian G Schatz, Nathaniel Sharp

{"title":"The effect of spontaneous mutations on CUP1 copy number and copper tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.","authors":"Rohan Sohoni, Gillian G Schatz, Nathaniel Sharp","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0090","url":null,"abstract":"Genomic regions containing tandem duplications may be subject to particularly high rates of copy number mutations due to recombinational repair of DNA damage. Consequently, changes in copy number may be among the most accessible beneficial mutations during evolution in a new environment. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the gene CUP1 occurs in multiple tandem copies and encodes a metallothionein relevant for copper homeostasis. We examined CUP1 copy number in 220 mutation accumulation lines and their ancestors to quantify spontaneous genetic change at this locus. We also measured copper tolerance in these strains to understand the phenotypic effects of CUP1 copy number change and other mutations. Mutations in CUP1 copy number occurred relatively rapidly, with a bias towards losses. While copper tolerance also declined due to mutations, this change was less rapid and was only partly driven by CUP1 copy number. Thus, while CUP1 is highly susceptible to copy number change, our results add to a body of evidence that these accessible mutations on their own do not fully account for variation in copper tolerance.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147833312","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

Threading the needle: spatial constraints sharpen visual sensitivity in honeybees. 穿针引线：空间限制提高了蜜蜂的视觉灵敏度。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-06 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0849

Timothy R Jakobi, Matt Garratt, Mandyam V Srinivasan, Sridhar Ravi

引用次数: 0

Peers over the past: prior predation-risk experience does not dictate antipredator responses of individuals in groups. 过去的同伴：先前的捕食风险经历并不能决定群体中个体的反捕食反应。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-29 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0806

Kanika Rawat, Kavita Isvaran

{"title":"Peers over the past: prior predation-risk experience does not dictate antipredator responses of individuals in groups.","authors":"Kanika Rawat, Kavita Isvaran","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0806","url":null,"abstract":"Animals can use predation-risk experiences to modulate their antipredator responses and improve survival under future risk conditions, a phenomenon known as behavioural carryover. However, different contexts, such as group living, may alter both risks and associated responses for an individual. A group can provide multiple antipredator benefits, including dilution and confusion effects, potentially modifying the payoffs of behavioural carryover. Despite the prevalence of both antipredator strategies, we know little about how group living and behavioural carryover interact. We tested the influence of group living on the behavioural carryover of predation-risk experience in Aedes aegypti. Previous work showed that predation-risk experience shapes future behaviour when individuals are solitary. We hypothesized that these carryover effects would become redundant in groups due to the protective benefits of group living. To test this, we compared the behaviour of risk-experienced and naive individuals in groups, both in the presence and absence of an immediate threat, and contrasted it with that of solitary individuals. As expected, past predation-risk experience did not influence behaviour in a group. Surprisingly, both experienced and naive individuals altered their behaviour in response to an immediate threat. These results suggest that predation-risk experience is more relevant when prey are solitary than in groups.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761380","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

Predator-prey scaling laws support a suspension-feeding lifestyle in Cambrian luolishaniid lobopodians. 捕食者-被捕食者的尺度规律支持寒武纪洛里山纲足足动物的悬食生活方式。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-29 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0650

Jared C Richards, Javier Ortega-Hernández

{"title":"Predator-prey scaling laws support a suspension-feeding lifestyle in Cambrian luolishaniid lobopodians.","authors":"Jared C Richards, Javier Ortega-Hernández","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0650","url":null,"abstract":"The early Palaeozoic saw a dramatic diversification of shelly epibenthic metazoans adapted to suspension and filter feeding, but the extent to which these radiations affected the evolution of non-biomineralized suspension-feeding taxa is uncertain because these organisms are not typically well represented in the fossil record. Luolishaniids are a highly derived and disparate clade of (typically) armoured lobopodians, widely interpreted as suspension feeders based on the presence of five or six anterior pairs of setulose appendages. Luolishaniids are globally widespread and represent the only Cambrian non-biomineralized free-living epibenthic bilaterians suggested to have a suspension-feeding mode of life, but their proposed ecology relies solely on a qualitative interpretation of their functional morphology. Here we test the hypothesis that the setulose appendages of luolishaniids were adapted for a suspension-feeding function. Quantitative morphological comparisons reveal a positive and statistically significant relationship between body length and the mesh spacing of the setulose anterior limbs of luolishaniids. Standardized comparisons indicate that the body size disparity between luolishaniids (predators) and Cambrian mesoplankton (prey) is consistent with patterns observed in modern suspension-feeding organisms. We provide quantitative evidence for suspension feeding in luolishaniids, which represents the first statistically supported example of modern-like predator-prey scaling patterns observed in Cambrian soft-bodied metazoans. Despite the uncanny appearance of luolishaniids, and Cambrian organisms more broadly, our results suggest their adaptations and mode of life feature ecological attributes shared with modern marine invertebrates.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761372","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

Despotism trumps phylogeny in explaining suppression of play among adults in non-human primates. 在解释非人灵长类动物中成年人对玩耍的抑制时，专制胜过系统发育。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-29 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0597

Martina Francesconi, Marco Gamba, Gordon M Burghardt, Sergio M Pellis, Elisabetta Palagi

{"title":"Despotism trumps phylogeny in explaining suppression of play among adults in non-human primates.","authors":"Martina Francesconi, Marco Gamba, Gordon M Burghardt, Sergio M Pellis, Elisabetta Palagi","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0597","url":null,"abstract":"Adult-adult social play is unevenly expressed across human populations and primate species, raising the question of why some societies sustain such play while others do not. We tested whether adult-adult play is shaped by morphology, phylogeny, social structure or social style in 37 primate species, using Bayesian logistic regression with a phylogenetic random effect. Adult play was not predicted by female body mass or sexual dimorphism, which are phylogenetically conserved. Social style was the key factor: tolerant species were more likely to exhibit the behaviour than despotic ones, with intermediate probabilities in moderately despotic species. Phylogenetic analyses further showed that closely related species tend to resemble one another in their likelihood of adult-adult play, and that this phylogenetic signal persists even after accounting for the other predictors. Model comparisons consistently favoured social style over social structure, indicating that it better captures the conditions that enable adult-adult play. Adult-adult play and tolerance may form a positive feedback loop, while despotic systems seem to inhibit both play and its potential social benefits. This pattern mirrors human cultural variation, in which authoritarian regimes suppress playful and creative expression.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761435","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

Wide-ranging, year-round breaching behaviour of basking sharks revealed by long-term biologging. 长期生物学揭示了姥鲨广泛的、全年的破坏行为。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-23 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0696

C Antonia Klöcker, Mikko Vihtakari, Martin Christopher Arostegui, Axel Schlindwein, Keno Ferter, Otte Bjelland, Haley R Dolton, Øystein Langangen, Nuno Queiroz, David W Sims, Claudia Junge

{"title":"Wide-ranging, year-round breaching behaviour of basking sharks revealed by long-term biologging.","authors":"C Antonia Klöcker, Mikko Vihtakari, Martin Christopher Arostegui, Axel Schlindwein, Keno Ferter, Otte Bjelland, Haley R Dolton, Øystein Langangen, Nuno Queiroz, David W Sims, Claudia Junge","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0696","url":null,"abstract":"Marine megafauna, including various species of cetaceans and fishes, exhibit energetically costly breaching behaviour during which individuals rapidly propel themselves out of the water. The function of breaching remains enigmatic, largely due to short-duration observations of limited spatial extent. Here, we used animal-borne biologgers to record breaching events of plankton-feeding basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) over full annual cycles at high temporal resolution (5 s) across broad spatial scales (35° latitude). Recording 577 breaches across four individuals over 366 days (mean 144 yr⁻¹ shark⁻¹), breaching appears to be a routine behaviour in both sexes, peaking in autumn, but occurring across all seasons and habitats, including deep oceanic areas. Notably, we identified thermal constraints on breaching rates in colder water, with a critical minimum observed at 5°C. Beyond demonstrating that breaching is more common than previously recognized, our study suggests it serves several functions, some potentially independent of spatial and temporal contexts (e.g. seasonal courtship), such as ectoparasite removal. The ubiquity of breaching across space and time highlights the need for comprehensive 'behaviour maps' for ocean giants to elucidate the physiological constraints, ecological significance and management implications of breaching in a changing ocean.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761354","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

Humidity induces structural colour change and contributes to biogeographic colour variation in sweat bees. 湿度引起结构颜色变化，并有助于汗蜂的生物地理颜色变化。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-22 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0803

Madeleine M Ostwald, Leslie Cervantes Rivera, Jorge De La Cruz, Katja C Seltmann

{"title":"Humidity induces structural colour change and contributes to biogeographic colour variation in sweat bees.","authors":"Madeleine M Ostwald, Leslie Cervantes Rivera, Jorge De La Cruz, Katja C Seltmann","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0803","url":null,"abstract":"Dynamic coloration is one of the most striking visual displays in the animal kingdom. While reversible colour changes are well characterized in animal communication, more passive effects of climate on baseline coloration remain poorly understood. Here, we present a novel experimental demonstration of reversible, humidity-induced colour change in bees. In controlled lab experiments, we show that relative humidity affects cuticle colour of the sweat bee Agapostemon subtilior, changing dramatically within 24 h from a deep blue-green at low humidity to a pale, coppery green at high humidity. Older specimens experienced greater magnitude colour shifts, suggesting that cuticular degradation may increase water permeability and amplify moisture effects. To understand whether these effects shape colour variation in the wild, we extracted colour data from a large dataset of crowd-sourced field images. We found that ambient humidity weakly predicts colour variation across A. subtilior's western range, in a manner consistent with the direction of colour change established in lab experiments. While the structural basis for this colour change is still unknown, these shifts are directionally consistent with moisture-induced swelling of multilayer structures that causes reflection of longer wavelengths, a mechanism described in other insects and cephalopods. Together, these results demonstrate that climate modulates structural coloration in bees, emphasizing the role of abiotic conditions in shaping dynamic visual traits.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761374","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

Nematode infections induce distinct chemical signatures and provoke aggression in ants. 线虫感染会诱发不同的化学特征，并引起蚂蚁的攻击。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-22 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0716

Bhoomika Ashok Bhat, Nan-Ji Jiang, Rayko Halitschke, Yuko Ulrich

{"title":"Nematode infections induce distinct chemical signatures and provoke aggression in ants.","authors":"Bhoomika Ashok Bhat, Nan-Ji Jiang, Rayko Halitschke, Yuko Ulrich","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0716","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0716","url":null,"abstract":"Maintaining group integrity by excluding outsiders and pathogens is a fundamental requirement and challenge of social living. In social insects, these defences rely heavily on chemical communication, with cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) mediating both nestmate recognition and infection-related social responses. In ants, CHCs are stored and homogenized in the pharyngeal gland, contributing to the formation of a shared colony odour that enables nestmate recognition. We investigated the behavioural and chemical responses of the clonal raider ant Ooceraea biroi to infections by the nematode Diploscapter sp., which specifically infects the pharyngeal gland. Using behavioural and chemical analyses, we show that: (i) infected ants elicit increased aggression from uninfected nestmates and non-nestmates, consistent with a social immune defence that may limit parasite entry in colonies; (ii) aggression correlates with infection-specific changes in CHC profiles; and (iii) infections do not compromise nestmate recognition, which mostly acts through CHCs different from those altered by infection. Thus, while many parasitic nematodes can evade host immune recognition, Diploscapter fails to evade the social recognition system of its host. Instead, efficient detection of and aggression towards infected individuals likely reduce parasite introduction and transmission both within and between colonies.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761393","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

Lamellar surface area calculations support respiratory function of trilobite exopodites. 片层表面积计算支持三叶虫的呼吸功能。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-22 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0071

Sarah R Losso, Federica Vallefuoco, Igino Foglia, Léo Laborieux, Ana Belén Muñoz-García, Javier Ortega-Hernández

{"title":"Lamellar surface area calculations support respiratory function of trilobite exopodites.","authors":"Sarah R Losso, Federica Vallefuoco, Igino Foglia, Léo Laborieux, Ana Belén Muñoz-García, Javier Ortega-Hernández","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0071","url":null,"abstract":"Trilobites had biramous appendages with an inner endopodite (walking leg) and outer exopodite (gill) connected to the body through the protopodite (limb base). Whereas both endopodite and protopodite were involved in locomotion and feeding, the exopodite has been subject to various functional interpretations including respiration, ventilation and swimming. Evidence from sites with exceptional fossil preservation indicates that trilobite exopodites show substantial variability in terms of the number and size of their articles, lamellae and setae, but the implications of this morphological diversity have never been investigated. Here, we created anatomically correct three-dimensional models of exopodites in Olenoides serratus and Triarthrus eatoni to calculate the surface area (SA) of the lamellae and explore its relationship with body size. Lamellar SA of O. serratus was 16 589 mm2 (for a specimen 67.8 mm sagittal length) compared with the smaller T. eatoni 2159 mm2 (36.3 mm sagittal length). We also calculated SA for nine additional trilobite species with well-preserved appendages based on lamellar measurements. The results indicate that lamellae SA of trilobites increased exponentially with overall body size. Trilobite data follows the same trendline of gill SA/biomass observed in extant species and thus supports the interpretation of their exopodites as respiratory structures despite substantial variation in morphology.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761433","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

Migrating by night, inactive by day: ecological barrier crossing in a migratory songbird. 夜间迁徙，白天不活动：候鸟穿越生态屏障。

IF 3 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-04-22 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0055

Pablo Macías-Torres, Anders Hedenström

{"title":"Migrating by night, inactive by day: ecological barrier crossing in a migratory songbird.","authors":"Pablo Macías-Torres, Anders Hedenström","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0055","url":null,"abstract":"Long-distance migratory songbirds cross ecological barriers such as deserts and seas as part of their journeys. Yet, the behavioural adaptations used to perform these crossings remain poorly understood. Using accelerometer data from multisensor loggers carried by free-flying thrush nightingales (Luscinia luscinia), a nocturnal migratory passerine, we quantified fine-scale activity patterns during the entire migratory journey, including desert crossings during both spring and autumn migration. When migrating over ecological barriers, the birds performed consecutive nocturnal migratory flights, followed by daytime layovers when the birds remained inactive until the next sunset, when resuming migratory flights. The absence of diurnal locomotion while crossing desert environments suggests that thrush nightingales do not refuel while stopping within the barriers but instead rely on energy reserves accumulated prior to barrier entry. This multi-day behavioural inactivity highlights physiological and energetic constraints faced by small migratory birds when crossing ecological barriers and illustrates the careful allocation of energy reserves prior to the barrier crossing to endure several consecutive migratory flights without refuelling. Our results provide new detailed insights into how long-distance migrants cross ecological barriers, improving our understanding of behavioural adaptations in bird migration ecology.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147761367","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