Biology Letters最新文献_第3页

Caffeine pollution changes anti-predator behaviour in Gammarus pulex similarly to manipulative parasites. 咖啡因污染改变了Gammarus pulex的反捕食者行为，类似于操纵寄生虫。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-09 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0360

Elias Fritzsche, Hannah Otto, Rudram Bhagwat, Nicole C Bosse, Carola Mauel, Joachim G Frommen, Timo Thünken

{"title":"Caffeine pollution changes anti-predator behaviour in Gammarus pulex similarly to manipulative parasites.","authors":"Elias Fritzsche, Hannah Otto, Rudram Bhagwat, Nicole C Bosse, Carola Mauel, Joachim G Frommen, Timo Thünken","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0360","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0360","url":null,"abstract":"Caffeine is an emerging environmental contaminant in freshwater ecosystems that is primarily introduced through wastewater. Even at low concentrations, caffeine can affect the physiology and behaviour of aquatic organisms. Still, its ecological significance remains little understood. We examined the impact of environmentally relevant caffeine concentrations on the anti-predator behaviour of the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex. Gammarids play a central role in aquatic decomposition processes and are a primary food source for various aquatic predators. We examined the effects of caffeine in relation to a well-documented effect caused by the manipulative parasite Polymorphus minutus. This acanthocephalan parasite manipulates the anti-predator behaviour of its intermediate host, the gammarid, by altering its photophobia, thereby increasing its transmission to the final host, water birds. Using a two-choice experimental design, we assessed the phototactic behaviour of P. minutus-infected and uninfected G. pulex after 20 h of high- and low-concentration caffeine exposure. High concentrations of caffeine increased the activity of exposed individuals and reduced photophobia to a degree comparable with that of a P. minutus infection. These results suggest that human-derived chemicals can shift antipredator behaviour in a direction similar to an evolved parasite-mediated manipulation, which could increase predation risk and ultimately alter ecosystem dynamics.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13561076/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910769","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

Parrotfish demonstrate little behavioural shift during marine heatwaves. 鹦嘴鱼在海洋热浪中表现出很少的行为变化。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-09 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0337

Dan Bez Golanski, Renanel Pickholtz, Moshe Kiflawi, Glenn T Crossin, Gitai Yahel, Jonathan Belmaker

{"title":"Parrotfish demonstrate little behavioural shift during marine heatwaves.","authors":"Dan Bez Golanski, Renanel Pickholtz, Moshe Kiflawi, Glenn T Crossin, Gitai Yahel, Jonathan Belmaker","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0337","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0337","url":null,"abstract":"The world is experiencing notable increases in the duration, intensity and frequency of marine heatwaves (MHWs). Documented effects of MHWs on fishes encompass various population- and community-level impacts, ranging from localized mass mortalities to transient or semi-permanent range shifts, while some populations show little measurable change. However, there is limited information on in situ behavioural responses of individuals before, during and after MHWs. In this study, we used acoustic telemetry to examine the activity levels, depths and daily displacement of 32 terminal-phase male parrotfishes belonging to five species across 12 moderate-sized MHWs (2016-2021). The study took place in the northern Red Sea and coincided with a mass mortality of parrotfishes during a rapid warming event. The parrotfishes exhibited only minuscule behavioural changes during or after the MHWs, regardless of how the MHW was defined or characterized. Thus, within the range of MHWs studied, MHWs have little to no impact on parrotfishes' behaviour. Our observations suggest that either the mechanisms by which parrotfishes respond to thermal stress are not behavioural, or that such responses may only occur under more severe MHWs.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13561080/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910796","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

Severe thiamine deficiency in Baltic salmon coincides with low wild recruitment, increasingly so at long migration distances. 波罗的海鲑鱼严重缺乏硫胺素，与野生捕捞量低同时发生，在长距离迁徙中这种情况日益严重。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-09 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0219

Carl Tamario, Marc M Hauber, Mariëlle L van Toor, Samuel Hylander

{"title":"Severe thiamine deficiency in Baltic salmon coincides with low wild recruitment, increasingly so at long migration distances.","authors":"Carl Tamario, Marc M Hauber, Mariëlle L van Toor, Samuel Hylander","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0219","url":null,"abstract":"Thiamine deficiency is a condition implicated as a driver of population declines across continents and taxa. In salmonids, symptoms of this deficiency are often observed in compensatory hatcheries, where large parts of the clutches display severe neurological disorders and die. However, whether hatchery-quantified thiamine deficiency is associated with reduced wild salmonid recruitment has rarely been tested. Here, we combine two long-term monitoring datasets: (i) a 30+ year time series of thiamine deficiency status in eight Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) rivers draining into the Baltic Sea (called M74), and (ii) wild recruitment data for each corresponding river estimated by electrofishing. We investigated how wild recruitment varied with M74 incidence and further tested whether within-river migration length affected the strength of this relationship. We found that severe thiamine deficiency coincided with reduced wild recruitment. Furthermore, longer within-river migration steepened the negative association between thiamine deficiency and recruitment. As a control comparison, we did not find any evidence that thiamine status, as quantified in the Baltic, was associated with salmon recruitment on the Atlantic coast. These results indicate that M74, which is mainly observed in hatcheries, may reflect the conditions experienced by wild salmon in the rivers.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910712","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

DNA methylation-based ageing in a deuterostome invertebrate: an epigenetic clock for the crown-of-thorns seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris). 后口动物中基于DNA甲基化的衰老：棘冠海星的表观遗传时钟（Acanthaster cf. solaris）。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-07 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0265

Sarah L T Kwong, Alyssa Maree Budd, Maria Gomez-Cabrera, Julia Y-H Hung, Morgan S Pratchett, Cecilia Villacorta-Rath, Sven Uthicke

{"title":"DNA methylation-based ageing in a deuterostome invertebrate: an epigenetic clock for the crown-of-thorns seastar (Acanthaster cf. solaris).","authors":"Sarah L T Kwong, Alyssa Maree Budd, Maria Gomez-Cabrera, Julia Y-H Hung, Morgan S Pratchett, Cecilia Villacorta-Rath, Sven Uthicke","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0265","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0265","url":null,"abstract":"Accurate and reliable ageing tools are essential for wildlife conservation and management. While DNA methylation has emerged as a promising tool for age estimation in vertebrates, its application to invertebrates remains contested and has been limited to arthropods. Here, we develop an epigenetic clock for the Pacific crown-of-thorns seastar (CoTS; Acanthaster cf. solaris), a destructive coral predator contributing to habitat degradation across Indo-Pacific reefs. Using Oxford Nanopore Technologies, we generated whole-genome DNA methylation profiles across five age groups and identified 1910 CpG sites with methylation patterns significantly associated with age. We then fitted age prediction models using elastic net regression and evaluated predictive performance with leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV), achieving a mean absolute error of 0.31 ± 0.22 years, corresponding to 4-6% of the CoTS lifespan (5-8 years). This accuracy suggests the potential to differentiate annual cohorts, supporting future management-relevant inference. To facilitate practical implementation, we constructed an optimized epigenetic clock from 14 CpG sites consistently selected across LOOCV iterations. Our results demonstrate that DNA methylation-based age estimation is feasible in a deuterostome invertebrate, extending epigenetic ageing approaches beyond arthropods and establishing their potential to advance age determination and management in invertebrates that lack reliable ageing methods.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13561050/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910743","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

Activity shapes large herbivores' ecological influences. 活动塑造了大型食草动物的生态影响。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-02 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0252

Sam Ferreira, Robert McCleery

{"title":"Activity shapes large herbivores' ecological influences.","authors":"Sam Ferreira, Robert McCleery","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0252","url":null,"abstract":"The ecological effects of large herbivores are shaped by their spatial and temporal patterns of activity (i.e. where, when and how intensely they use specific locations). When large herbivores' ecological influences are perceived to be undesirable, the traditional approach has been to reduce their population size. This numbers-first logic assumes that ecological effects scale primarily with abundance. We argue that this framing provides an incomplete understanding of large herbivores' ecological impacts. Using African elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a well-documented case study, we show that ecological effects on plants, animals and ecosystem processes correlate more with spatio-temporal patterns of activity than with population size. In large, open systems characterized by strong gradients of water availability, forage quality, shade and risk, elephants concentrate into predictable hotspots while relaxing activity elsewhere, generating localized impacts and opportunities for recovery. By contrast, in small, fenced or fragmented landscapes, where movements are constrained, and gradients are weak, spatial self-regulation breaks down, producing homogenized use and widespread ecological effects. We contend that understanding where, when and under what constraints herbivores use space provides a more general and mechanistic basis for interpreting ecological influence than abundance alone, with implications that extend beyond elephants to large herbivores globally.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148872987","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

Hunting birds for food, but not sport, associated with poorer conservation status. 捕猎鸟类是为了食物，而不是为了运动，这与动物保护状况较差有关。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-02 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0163

Jacob E Hill, Kenneth F Kellner, Jerrold L Belant

引用次数: 0

Acoustic differentiation of soil-surface-dwelling invertebrates under controlled conditions. 受控条件下土壤-地表无脊椎动物的声分异。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-09-02 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0255

Amy N Annells, Martin F Breed, Timothy R Cavagnaro, Riley J Hodgson, Sofie M Costin, Tarryn Davies, Alex F Taylor, Jake M Robinson

{"title":"Acoustic differentiation of soil-surface-dwelling invertebrates under controlled conditions.","authors":"Amy N Annells, Martin F Breed, Timothy R Cavagnaro, Riley J Hodgson, Sofie M Costin, Tarryn Davies, Alex F Taylor, Jake M Robinson","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0255","url":null,"abstract":"Soil degradation threatens food security, climate regulation, biodiversity and human wellbeing worldwide. Up to 75% of the world's soils are degraded, prompting rapid upscaling of global restoration efforts to meet international targets. Moreover, many soil management practices (e.g. conservation agriculture, cover cropping and reforestation) create litter/mulch habitats that support soil-surface-dwelling microbial and invertebrate functions. However, monitoring soil and leaf-litter biodiversity remains a major barrier to tracking restoration success, particularly for invertebrates that underpin key processes such as nutrient cycling and soil aggregation. Traditional sampling methods are labour-intensive, destructive and poorly suited to long-term or landscape-scale monitoring. Soil ecoacoustics is emerging as a promising non-destructive tool for monitoring soil biodiversity. However, its capacity for taxonomic resolution of invertebrate groups remains untested. Here, we present a proof-of-concept study demonstrating the potential of a soil-surface-dwelling invertebrate acoustic classifier. Using a low-cost, sound-attenuated recording system, we quantified 19 spectral and temporal audio features from six morphologically and behaviourally distinct invertebrate species under controlled conditions. Acoustic profiles differed among taxa and generally clustered into podous and apodous groups, suggesting that acoustic signatures capture taxon-specific traits. This work provides a foundation for developing automated acoustic classifiers that could enable scalable, non-destructive monitoring of soil biodiversity.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148872984","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

Hybridization events in Squamata support the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis. Squamata中的杂交事件支持生动性驱动的冲突假说。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-08-26 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0234

David C Broek, Jente Ottenburghs

{"title":"Hybridization events in Squamata support the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis.","authors":"David C Broek, Jente Ottenburghs","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0234","url":null,"abstract":"Hybridization occurs in various groups of vertebrates, although the incidence, frequency and parental divergence times differ. One hypothesis for this difference between taxonomic groups is the so-called viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis, which is built upon the theory that more genetic and immunological mismatches may arise when the zygote spends a longer time within the mother. Accordingly, theory predicts a higher chance of failure of hybridization events between viviparous species compared to oviparous species. In this study, we reviewed hybridization events in both viviparous and oviparous Squamata (lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids) and used the collected data to test the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis with a phylogenetic generalized linear mixed model. Hybridization was phylogenetically widespread and present among both reproductive modes, although divergence times of parental species were significantly longer in hybridization events between oviparous species. Moreover, the interaction between divergence time and viviparity showed a negative effect on hybridization probability. The results indicate that viviparous species lose the capability of hybridizing more rapidly with increasing divergence time than oviparous species. Hence, our findings provide support for the viviparity-driven conflict hypothesis.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817204","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

Host phylogeny and microbiome composition predict gut nematode community composition within a diverse assemblage of African herbivores. 宿主系统发育和微生物组组成预测肠道线虫群落组成在非洲食草动物的多样化组合。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-08-26 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0248

Joel O Abraham, Reed Leventis, Georgia Titcomb, Andrew Dobson, Andrew H Moeller, Andrea Graham

{"title":"Host phylogeny and microbiome composition predict gut nematode community composition within a diverse assemblage of African herbivores.","authors":"Joel O Abraham, Reed Leventis, Georgia Titcomb, Andrew Dobson, Andrew H Moeller, Andrea Graham","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0248","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0248","url":null,"abstract":"Gut nematodes influence animal health and fitness, with effects shaped by their abundance and community composition. While closely related host species tend to harbour similar nematodes, the relative roles of host ecology and phylogeny in structuring nematode communities remain unclear. Here, we assess how host holobiont traits-body size, diet, space use, potentially pathogenic gut microbes and overall gut microbiome composition-predict gut nematode abundance and composition, while controlling for host phylogenetic relatedness. We jointly analyse DNA metabarcoding data on nematodes, microbiomes and diets from 17 free-ranging African herbivore species. Host phylogeny and microbiome composition were the strongest predictors of nematode community structure. Physical proximity and diet also contributed, although to a lesser extent, whereas body size did not. Nematode abundance correlated positively with the richness of putative pathogenic bacteria, which in turn increased with diet richness. Nematode presence/absence covaried with the microbiome and diet composition, and we identified pairwise associations between nematodes, putative pathogenic bacteria and diet plants. Our findings illustrate that host ecology and phylogeny jointly influence gut nematode communities. In particular, the gut microbiome is a key predictor of nematode communities, even after accounting for host phylogeny, emphasizing the ecological interconnectedness of these gut constituents.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13584170/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817141","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

Complex breeding phenological shifts of neotropical birds across space and time. 新热带鸟类复杂的时空繁殖物候变化。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-08-26 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0199

Yara Ballarini, Miguel Ângelo Marini

{"title":"Complex breeding phenological shifts of neotropical birds across space and time.","authors":"Yara Ballarini, Miguel Ângelo Marini","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0199","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is altering breeding phenology patterns in different ways across regions, periods and species. We examined spatial and temporal variation in the breeding phenology of four Neotropical birds, specifically testing whether the magnitude of phenological shifts increases with distance from the equator, as previously reported for Northern Hemisphere species. We used data from 1310 clutches from Pitangus sulphuratus, Zonotrichia capensis, Tyrannus savana and Troglodytes aedon, spanning 1901-2020 and latitudes 32°N to -54°S. Breeding dates were analysed in relation to time, latitude and climatic variables through Bayesian linear models. Species showed very contrasting responses. Temporal patterns differed among species: Ty. savana and Tr. aedon delayed breeding over time, P. sulphuratus advanced and Z. capensis showed no temporal effect. Latitude influenced breeding phenology in Z. capensis, and year-latitude interactions indicated spatial variation in temporal changes for Ty. savana and Tr. aedon. Although all species analysed exhibited latitudinal structure in breeding phenology, the magnitude and direction of temporal changes differ among species, with no evidence that phenological shifts become stronger at higher latitudes farther from the equator, and that the Northern and Southern Hemispheres show different patterns.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817128","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