Biology Letters最新文献_第8页

Age-specific patterns of reproductive success in wild female Eurasian lynx across Europe. 全欧洲野生雌性欧亚猞猁生殖成功的年龄特异性模式。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-27 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0748

Yutong Liang, Jenny Mattisson, Henrik Andren, John D C Linnell, Erlend B Nilsen, John Odden, Jens Persson, Malin Aronsson, Örjan Johansson, Heather Hemmingmoore, Miha Krofel, Lan Hočevar, Urša Fležar, Teresa Oliveira, Rok Černe, Darja Slana, Aleksander Trajbarič, Anja Molinari-Jobin, Paolo Molinari, Kristina Vogt, Karolin Prott, Fridolin Zimmermann, Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten, Jakub Skorupski, Magdalena Tracz, Marcin Grzegorzek, Jarmila Krojerová-Prokešová, Martin Duľa, Miroslav Kutal, Robert W Mysłajek, Sabina Nowak, Michał Figura, Deniz Mengüllüoğlu, Dime Melovski, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Joe Premier, Marco Heurich

{"title":"Age-specific patterns of reproductive success in wild female Eurasian lynx across Europe.","authors":"Yutong Liang, Jenny Mattisson, Henrik Andren, John D C Linnell, Erlend B Nilsen, John Odden, Jens Persson, Malin Aronsson, Örjan Johansson, Heather Hemmingmoore, Miha Krofel, Lan Hočevar, Urša Fležar, Teresa Oliveira, Rok Černe, Darja Slana, Aleksander Trajbarič, Anja Molinari-Jobin, Paolo Molinari, Kristina Vogt, Karolin Prott, Fridolin Zimmermann, Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten, Jakub Skorupski, Magdalena Tracz, Marcin Grzegorzek, Jarmila Krojerová-Prokešová, Martin Duľa, Miroslav Kutal, Robert W Mysłajek, Sabina Nowak, Michał Figura, Deniz Mengüllüoğlu, Dime Melovski, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Joe Premier, Marco Heurich","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0748","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0748","url":null,"abstract":"Reproductive lifespan and age-specific reproductive performance are key life-history traits, shaping individual fitness and population dynamics. Here, we examine age-specific variation in reproductive success in a wild large carnivore, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), using 38 years of longitudinal data from 173 known-age females across Europe and western Asia. Female lynx exhibited age-related reproductive patterns: (i) breeding probability increased with age before declining at older ages, (ii) litter size remained generally stable at two kittens, although it declined to one kitten in older mothers at northern latitudes, and (iii) offspring survival peaked at intermediate female ages, with variation across individuals, years and latitudes. These patterns likely reflect physiological maturation and increased experience (ages 2 to 8), followed by declines due to reproductive and maternal effect senescence in older females. Temporal and latitudinal variations suggest that environmental conditions shape reproductive patterns in Eurasian lynx, with senescence particularly pronounced in resource-scarce environments. Our findings enhance the understanding of age-related reproductive patterns in carnivores across environmental contexts, contributing to life-history theory and improving evidence-based management by accounting for age structure in population forecasting.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148026903","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

Sex-dependent carry-over between winter social associations and breeding proximity in a communally roosting wild parrot. 在一个共同栖息的野生鹦鹉的冬季社会联系和繁殖邻近之间的性别依赖的携带。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-20 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0832

Julia Penndorf, Annegret Csak, Lucy Aplin

{"title":"Sex-dependent carry-over between winter social associations and breeding proximity in a communally roosting wild parrot.","authors":"Julia Penndorf, Annegret Csak, Lucy Aplin","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0832","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0832","url":null,"abstract":"Between-season carry-over in social associations is widely observed and can have important benefits for individuals, ranging from reduced conflict between neighbours to cooperative nest defence. Yet the underlying drivers of social carry-over effects remain unclear, as current research has predominantly focused on species where breeding territories are influenced by individuals' non-breeding spatial distribution, making it challenging to disentangle social and spatial preferences. Sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) form communal night-roosts with fission-fusion dynamics around the roost site. During spring, breeding individuals split from the roost to occupy nearby tree hollows but remain non-territorial, allowing us to test whether individuals exhibit a preference to breed in proximity to winter social associates. We find that male-but not female-winter social associations are correlated with breeding location; males bred closer to their winter associates, and more socially connected males tended to breed closer to the roost location. Male cockatoos are largely philopatric to their natal roost and exhibit long-lasting foraging associations, preferentially with kin. Our results demonstrate carry-over between these social networks and the fine-scale arrangement of breeding individuals, a pattern likely consistent with an active choice to retain stable, across-context social relationships.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969714","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

The allometry of discontinuous gas exchange cycles in Atta cephalotes leaf-cutter ants. 切叶蚁体内不连续气体交换循环的异速生长。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-20 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0761

Olivia Kate Walthaus, David Labonte

{"title":"The allometry of discontinuous gas exchange cycles in Atta cephalotes leaf-cutter ants.","authors":"Olivia Kate Walthaus, David Labonte","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0761","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0761","url":null,"abstract":"The variation of metabolic rate with body size is a fundamental aspect of animal biology, yet the extent to which metabolic scaling arises from interactions between functional demand and physiological constraints remains debated. Many idle insects exhibit discontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGCs), in which CO2 is released in periodic bursts separated by intervals of minimal gas exchange. Standard metabolic rate (SMR) is then determined to first order by the product of cycle frequency (fc) and burst volume (Vb; SMR ≈ fc·Vb). Variation in these respiratory parameters may provide insight into the mechanistic basis of metabolic scaling. Here we investigate DGCs in adult workers of Atta cephalotes leaf-cutter ants spanning nearly two orders of magnitude in body mass and exhibiting strong positive allometry of the mandible closer muscles, potentially imposing increasing metabolic demand. The SMR scaling exponent significantly exceeded the prediction of the nutrient supply network model, and differed from exponents observed across insects. This disproportionate increase was driven entirely by an increase in Vb, perhaps because fc is stabilised by neural and mechanical constraints. Notably, Vb scaled with an exponent indistinguishable from that of the mandible closer muscle volume, providing further evidence that the principles of symmorphosis may be upheld in insects.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969729","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

Storm petrels trade movement speed for information gain. 风暴海燕用移动速度换取信息。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-13 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0108

Federico De Pascalis, Francesco Ventura, David Grémillet, Andrea Benvenuti, Danilo Pisu, David Pala, Diego Rubolini, Jacopo G Cecere

{"title":"Storm petrels trade movement speed for information gain.","authors":"Federico De Pascalis, Francesco Ventura, David Grémillet, Andrea Benvenuti, Danilo Pisu, David Pala, Diego Rubolini, Jacopo G Cecere","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0108","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2026.0108","url":null,"abstract":"Animals travelling through air or water can benefit from surrounding flows. This is evident in procellariforms, oceanic birds capable of undertaking some of the longest journeys in the animal kingdom despite the need to periodically return to the nest. While airflow negotiation is well understood for larger species relying on dynamic soaring, less is known for the smallest species, which use flapping flight. Using GPS-tracking, we investigated wind use of the 28 g Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis). Birds actively searched for crosswind support at meso- (tens of kilometres) and macroscales (hundreds of kilometres). However, this reliance on crosswinds was associated with lower groundspeeds and a full compensation mechanism for drift during homing, implying an increased energy expenditure. Yet, crosswind support may facilitate navigation via a cognitive odour map and improve prey detection through olfaction, increasing the likelihood of intersecting odour plumes. These results indicate that storm petrels could face a trade-off between movement efficiency and information gain. Overall, our study offers new perspectives on the adaptations required to sustain aerial life in the marine realm and highlights the adaptability of seabirds in exploiting the windscape through strategic flow negotiation.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147926123","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

Effects of between-group competition on sexual size dimorphism in primates. 类群间竞争对灵长类性别大小二型性的影响。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-13 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0680

Cyril C Grueter, Xiaoguang Qi, Stefan Lüpold

{"title":"Effects of between-group competition on sexual size dimorphism in primates.","authors":"Cyril C Grueter, Xiaoguang Qi, Stefan Lüpold","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0680","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0680","url":null,"abstract":"Sexual selection acting on males through intrasexual competition for mates is a well-established driver of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in primates. However, studies typically focus on within-group competition, overlooking the potential significance of competition arising from interactions between neighbouring social groups, particularly when home ranges overlap. Here, we analysed the relationships between SSD, mating system and different proxies of range use across up to 143 species of anthropoid and strepsirrhine primates. Contrary to expectations, mating system-a commonly used proxy for male competition-did not significantly predict SSD. Instead, male-biased SSD increased with home range overlap and encounter rate between social groups, even after accounting for mating system and body size allometry. This suggests that spatial pressures, such as the latent threat of competition from rival groups, impose stronger selection on male compared with female size. Home range overlap may select for larger males to deter rivals, defend resources or monopolize females across shared territories, potentially without frequent physical contests. Our work calls for renewed attention to how spatial competition, including resource defence and mate guarding across overlapping territories, influences trait evolution in primates and other social vertebrates and to re-evaluate proxies of sexual selection.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147926106","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

The devil you know: a longer history of pathogen coevolution predicts higher behavioural tolerance of infection among host populations. 你知道的魔鬼：更长的病原体共同进化历史预示着宿主群体对感染的行为耐受性更高。

IF 2.7 2区生物学

Biology Letters Pub Date : 2026-05-13 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0668

James S Adelman, Amberleigh E Henschen, Francis E Tillman, Rami A Dalloul, Marissa M Langager, Allison A Rowley, Dana M Hawley

{"title":"The devil you know: a longer history of pathogen coevolution predicts higher behavioural tolerance of infection among host populations.","authors":"James S Adelman, Amberleigh E Henschen, Francis E Tillman, Rami A Dalloul, Marissa M Langager, Allison A Rowley, Dana M Hawley","doi":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0668","DOIUrl":"10.1098/rsbl.2025.0668","url":null,"abstract":"Animals can achieve tolerance of infection, defined as minimizing per-pathogen reductions in host fitness, through physiology and behaviour. However, whether physiological tolerance and behavioural tolerance covary within or among host populations is poorly understood. Because these mechanisms of tolerance can influence the transmission of pathogens in complex and even opposing ways, revealing such patterns has important implications for the spread and evolution of infectious diseases. Here we compare behavioural tolerance among a subset of house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) populations at the extremes of a historical invasion gradient of the bacterial pathogen, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG): two with a 20-25 year history of pathogen endemism and two with no such history. We assessed behavioural tolerance as the relationship between locomotion and pathogen load and found that, similar to prior work on physiological tolerance, behavioural tolerance was more pronounced in populations with a longer history of MG endemism. In addition, we saw substantial inter-individual variation in locomotion both before and during infection. Our results suggest that while physiological and behavioural tolerance appear to covary across populations in this system, individuals can express a range of both, yielding diverse consequences for pathogen transmission.","PeriodicalId":9005,"journal":{"name":"Biology Letters","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147926099","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

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 2.7 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

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 2.7 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 2.7 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":"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":2.7,"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

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 2.7 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":"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":2.7,"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