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| Open AccessNeofunctionalization of an ancient domain allows parasites to avoid intraspecific competition by manipulating host behaviour
Evolutionary arms races can drive adaptations in hosts and parasites as well as among competing parasites. A combination of multi-omics and functional tests identifies a set of genes that allow a parasitic wasp to minimize intraspecific competition by inducing hosts to escape before more wasps can parasitize them.
- Jiani Chen
- , Gangqi Fang
- & Jianhua Huang
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Article
| Open AccessGene-drive suppression of mosquito populations in large cages as a bridge between lab and field
Experimental analysis of gene drive population dynamics has mostly been limited to small cage trials. Here the authors, to fill the gap between lab based studies and field studies, use large indoor cages and see population suppression without the emergence of resistant alleles
- Andrew Hammond
- , Paola Pollegioni
- & Andrea Crisanti
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Article
| Open AccessIndividual environmental niches in mobile organisms
Understanding how individual niches vary can inform ecology and conservation. A study of 45 GPS-tracked white storks across three breeding populations reveals that individual environmental niches are nested, arranged along a specialist-generalist gradient that is highly consistent over time.
- Ben S. Carlson
- , Shay Rotics
- & Walter Jetz
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Article
| Open AccessEarly-life social experience affects offspring DNA methylation and later life stress phenotype
Early social experience can alter epigenetic patterns and stress responses later in life. A study on wild spotted hyenas finds that maternal care and social connections after leaving the den influence DNA methylation and contribute to a developmentally plastic stress response.
- Zachary M. Laubach
- , Julia R. Greenberg
- & Wei Perng
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Article
| Open AccessArtificial nighttime lighting impacts visual ecology links between flowers, pollinators and predators
Artificial light at night is a major way in which humans are altering the environment, impacting the ecology and behaviour of other species. Modelling how nocturnal hawkmoths see and are seen under multiple light sources suggests a range of potentially disruptive impacts on key behaviours.
- Emmanuelle S. Briolat
- , Kevin J. Gaston
- & Jolyon Troscianko
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Article
| Open AccessSocial transmission in the wild can reduce predation pressure on novel prey signals
Many species learn through social transmission, which can alter co-evolutionary selection pressures. Experiments involving artificial prey and social networks show that wild birds can learn about unpalatable food by watching others, which helps explain the persistence of costly prey defences despite influxes of naïve juvenile predators.
- Liisa Hämäläinen
- , William Hoppitt
- & Rose Thorogood
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Article
| Open AccessToxoplasma gondii infections are associated with costly boldness toward felids in a wild host
The parasite causing toxoplasmosis can manipulate prey to behave in ways that promote transmission to the parasite’s definitive feline hosts. The first study consistent with this extended phenotype in the wild finds that infected hyena cubs approach lions more closely than uninfected peers and have higher rates of lion mortality.
- Eben Gering
- , Zachary M. Laubach
- & Thomas Getty
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Article
| Open AccessPhantom rivers filter birds and bats by acoustic niche
An experimental study finds that birds and bats avoid whitewater river noise, and that intense noise reduces bird foraging activity and causes bats to switch hunting strategies. Overlap between noise and song frequency predicts bird declines until high levels where other mechanisms appear important.
- D. G. E. Gomes
- , C. A. Toth
- & J. R. Barber
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Article
| Open AccessCoevolutionary transitions from antagonism to mutualism explained by the Co-Opted Antagonist Hypothesis
While there is strong evidence that many mutualisms evolved from antagonism, how or why remains unclear. A study combining theory and a data-based model sheds light on how mutualisms evolve without extremely tight host fidelity and how ecological context affects evolutionary outcomes and vice-versa.
- Christopher A. Johnson
- , Gordon P. Smith
- & Régis Ferrière
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Article
| Open Accessbric à brac controls sex pheromone choice by male European corn borer moths
Many organisms, including moths, use pheromones to attract mates. A study using multiple genomic tools and gene editing identifies a new, neuronal gene underlying mate preference and shows that signal and response loci are in linkage disequilibrium despite being physically unlinked.
- Melanie Unbehend
- , Genevieve M. Kozak
- & Erik B. Dopman
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Article
| Open AccessBalanced imitation sustains song culture in zebra finches
Studying how songbirds learn songs can shed light on the development of human speech. An analysis of 160 tutor-pupil zebra finch pairs suggests that frequency dependent balanced imitation prevents the extinction of rare song elements and the overabundance of common ones, promoting song diversity within groups and species recognition across groups.
- Ofer Tchernichovski
- , Sophie Eisenberg-Edidin
- & Erich D. Jarvis
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Article
| Open AccessSight of parasitoid wasps accelerates sexual behavior and upregulates a micropeptide gene in Drosophila
Parasitoids exploit host bodies for reproduction, selecting for host defences. A new host defence is reported, in which adult Drosophila accelerate mating behaviour at the sight of certain parasitoid wasps, mediated by the upregulation of a nervous system gene that encodes a 41-amino acid micropeptide.
- Shimaa A. M. Ebrahim
- , Gaëlle J. S. Talross
- & John R. Carlson
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| Open AccessCooperation-based concept formation in male bottlenose dolphins
Social animals have sophisticated ways of classifying relationships with conspecifics. Data from 30 years of observations and playback experiments on dolphins with a multi-level alliance system show that individuals form social concepts that categorize conspecifics according to their shared cooperative history.
- Stephanie L. King
- , Richard C. Connor
- & Simon J. Allen
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Article
| Open AccessResponses of intended and unintended receivers to a novel sexual signal suggest clandestine communication
Parasitoid flies eavesdrop on the mating songs of male Hawaiian crickets, creating conflict between sexual and natural selection. Here, the authors investigate the selection acting on a recently evolved male mating signal, a “purring” song, which appears to be undetected by parasitoids.
- Robin M. Tinghitella
- , E. Dale Broder
- & David M. Zonana
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Article
| Open AccessCryptochrome 1 mediates light-dependent inclination magnetosensing in monarch butterflies
Exactly how some animals use magnetic fields to navigate is a longstanding puzzle. A study using a new behavioural assay and transgenic butterflies finds the cryptochrome gene necessary for inclination-based magnetic sensing, and shows that both antennae and eyes, which express this gene, are magnetosensory organs.
- Guijun Wan
- , Ashley N. Hayden
- & Christine Merlin
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Article
| Open AccessGroup-level cooperation in chimpanzees is shaped by strong social ties
Strong social bonds are known to affect pairwise cooperation in primates such chimpanzees. Here, Samuni et al. show that strong social bonds also influence participation in group-level cooperation (collective action in intergroup encounters) using a long-term dataset of wild chimpanzees.
- Liran Samuni
- , Catherine Crockford
- & Roman M. Wittig
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Article
| Open AccessTwo novel venom proteins underlie divergent parasitic strategies between a generalist and a specialist parasite
Parasitism is a widespread evolutionary strategy. A study that spans functional and evolutionary genomics identifies the molecular basis and history underlying two genes that have mediated divergent parasitic strategies (specialist vs generalist) between two sister species of parasitoid wasp.
- Jianhua Huang
- , Jiani Chen
- & Shuai Zhan
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Article
| Open AccessBrain morphology predicts social intelligence in wild cleaner fish
The causes and consequences of social intelligence are challenging to establish. A study on wild cleaner fish reports that large forebrains enable individuals to score higher in a social competence test, suggesting forebrain size is important for complex social decision-making.
- Zegni Triki
- , Yasmin Emery
- & Redouan Bshary
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Article
| Open AccessDomestication via the commensal pathway in a fish-invertebrate mutualism
It has been hypothesized that domestication can occur through the ‘commensal pathway’ in which the domesticate takes advantage of a niche created as a byproduct by the domesticator. Here, Brooker et al. provide evidence for a commensal domestication process between longfin damselfish and mysid shrimps.
- Rohan M. Brooker
- , Jordan M. Casey
- & William E. Feeney
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Article
| Open AccessMigrant birds and mammals live faster than residents
Migration is costly. In the first global analysis of migratory vertebrates, authors report that migratory birds and mammals have faster paces of life than their non-migratory relatives, and that among swimming and walking species, migrants tend to be larger, while among flying species, migrants are smaller.
- Andrea Soriano-Redondo
- , Jorge S. Gutiérrez
- & Stuart Bearhop
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Article
| Open AccessVortex phase matching as a strategy for schooling in robots and in fish
Whether and how fish might benefit from swimming in schools is an ongoing intriguing debate. Li et al. conduct experiments with biomimetic robots and also with real fish to reveal a new behavioural strategy by which followers can exploit the vortices shed by a near neighbour.
- Liang Li
- , Máté Nagy
- & Iain D. Couzin
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Perspective
| Open AccessInteractions with conspecific outsiders as drivers of cognitive evolution
The social intelligence hypothesis predicts that social organisms tend to be more intelligent because within-group interactions drive cognitive evolution. Here, authors propose that conspecific outsiders can be just as important in selecting for sophisticated cognitive adaptations.
- Benjamin J. Ashton
- , Patrick Kennedy
- & Andrew N. Radford
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Article
| Open AccessVisual mate preference evolution during butterfly speciation is linked to neural processing genes
The genetic mechanisms underlying mate choice decisions can inform our understanding of speciation. A study on Heliconius butterflies identifies 5 candidate genes that would allow sympatric species to evolve distinct preferences without altering their visual perception of the wider environment.
- Matteo Rossi
- , Alexander E. Hausmann
- & Richard M. Merrill
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Article
| Open AccessEnvironmental variability supports chimpanzee behavioural diversity
Environmental variability is one potential driver of behavioural and cultural diversity in humans and other animals. Here, the authors show that chimpanzee behavioural diversity is higher in habitats that are more seasonal and historically unstable, and in savannah woodland relative to forested sites.
- Ammie K. Kalan
- , Lars Kulik
- & Hjalmar S. Kühl
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Article
| Open AccessEcological uncertainty favours the diversification of host use in avian brood parasites
Nearly 17% of all bird species are hosts to obligate brood parasites like the common cuckoo. Antonson et al. show that parasite species hedge their reproductive bets by outsourcing parental care to a greater variety of host species when the rearing environment for their young is more unpredictable.
- Nicholas D. Antonson
- , Dustin R. Rubenstein
- & Carlos A. Botero
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Article
| Open AccessAnthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption
Anthropogenic stressors affect many aspects of marine organismal health. Here, the authors expose surgeonfish to temperature and pesticide stressors and show that the stressors, separately and in combination, have adverse effects on thyroid signaling, which disrupts several sensory systems and important predation defenses.
- Marc Besson
- , William E. Feeney
- & David Lecchini
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Article
| Open AccessInformation can explain the dynamics of group order in animal collective behaviour
In animal groups, the degree of alignment of individuals could have different benefits and costs for individuals depending on their reliance on private or social information. Here the authors show that in shoals of three-spined sticklebacks, some individuals reach resources faster when groups are disordered, a state which favours reliance on privately acquired information, while other individuals reach resources faster when groups are ordered, allowing them to exploit social information more effectively.
- Hannah E. A. MacGregor
- , James E. Herbert-Read
- & Christos C. Ioannou
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptation of the master antioxidant response connects metabolism, lifespan and feather development pathways in birds
Fast metabolisms tend to shorten lifespans by increasing oxidative damage. This study identifies a gene mutation that keeps a key antioxidant response active, possibly allowing Neoaves bird species to avoid the tradeoff between rapid metabolism and longevity that challenges most mammals, including humans.
- Gianni M. Castiglione
- , Zhenhua Xu
- & Elia J. Duh
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Article
| Open AccessEcology and allometry predict the evolution of avian developmental durations
Developmental duration is a key life-history trait. Cooney et al. compile data on 3096 bird species to quantify the degree to which phylogenetic history, body size and ecological variables like predation risk or breeding phenology influence variation in developmental duration.
- Christopher R. Cooney
- , Catherine Sheard
- & Alison E. Wright
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Article
| Open AccessChild volunteers in a women's paramilitary organization in World War II have accelerated reproductive schedules
Life history theory predicts that females will adjust reproductive timing in response to environmental challenges. Here the authors show that young girls exposed to higher mortality rates during war give birth earlier and more often than their peers who were not exposed to these conditions.
- Robert Lynch
- , Virpi Lummaa
- & John Loehr
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Article
| Open AccessEnhanced heat tolerance of viral-infected aphids leads to niche expansion and reduced interspecific competition
Organisms living on and inside of plants—such as microbes and herbivorous insects—can interact in complex ways. Here the authors show that a plant virus increases the temperature of the plant and also the thermal tolerance of an aphid species feeding on the plant; this change in thermal tolerance also affects competition with another aphid species.
- Mitzy F. Porras
- , Carlos A. Navas
- & Tomás A. Carlo
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Article
| Open AccessJuvenile cleaner fish can socially learn the consequences of cheating
Cleaner fish can cheat clients for higher rewards but this comes with a risk of punishment. Here, Truskanov et al. show that juvenile cleaner fish can learn by observing adults to behave more cooperatively themselves but also to prefer clients that are more tolerant to cheating.
- Noa Truskanov
- , Yasmin Emery
- & Redouan Bshary
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Article
| Open AccessDNA metabarcoding and spatial modelling link diet diversification with distribution homogeneity in European bats
Ecological niche breadth may help explain spatial distribution patterns in animals. In this study on European bats, Alberdi et al. combine DNA metabarcoding and species distribution modelling to show that dietary niche breadth is related to hunting flexibility and broad-scale spatial patterns in species distribution.
- Antton Alberdi
- , Orly Razgour
- & M. Thomas P. Gilbert
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Article
| Open AccessNetwork-based diffusion analysis reveals context-specific dominance of dance communication in foraging honeybees
Honeybees have a sophisticated system to communicate foraging locations through a “dance”, but they also share food-related olfactory cues. Here, Hasenjager and colleagues use social network analysis to disentangle how foraging information is transmitted through these systems in different contexts.
- Matthew J. Hasenjager
- , William Hoppitt
- & Ellouise Leadbeater
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Article
| Open AccessPhysical and behavioral adaptations to prevent overheating of the living wings of butterflies
Butterfly wings have low thermal capacity and thus are vulnerable to damage by overheating. Here, Tsai et al. take an interdisciplinary approach to reveal the organs, nanostructures and behaviors that enable butterflies to sense and regulate their wing temperature.
- Cheng-Chia Tsai
- , Richard A. Childers
- & Nanfang Yu
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Article
| Open AccessNuthatches vary their alarm calls based upon the source of the eavesdropped signals
Animals can obtain information on predation risk directly from observing predators or indirectly from the alarm calls of others. Here, the authors show that red-breasted nuthatches encode information on risk in their own alarm calls differently depending on the source of the information.
- Nora V Carlson
- , Erick Greene
- & Christopher N Templeton
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Article
| Open AccessEarly-exposure to new sex pheromone blends alters mate preference in female butterflies and in their offspring
Pheromones are an essential cue for species recognition and mate selection in many insects including the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Here the authors show that females with a short social experience of a new male learn preferences for novel pheromone blends, a preference which also occurs in their daughters.
- Emilie Dion
- , Li Xian Pui
- & Antónia Monteiro
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Article
| Open AccessBehavioural plasticity and the transition to order in jackdaw flocks
Modelling collective behaviour in different circumstances remains a challenge because of uncertainty related to interaction rule changes. Here, the authors report plasticity in local interaction rules in flocks of wild jackdaws with implications for both natural and artificial collective systems.
- Hangjian Ling
- , Guillam E. Mclvor
- & Nicholas T. Ouellette
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Article
| Open AccessNeurogenomic insights into paternal care and its relation to territorial aggression
Compared to motherhood, the molecular changes associated with fatherhood are less understood. Here, the authors investigate gene expression changes associated with paternal care in male stickleback fish, and compare them with patterns in territorial aggression.
- Syed Abbas Bukhari
- , Michael C. Saul
- & Alison M. Bell
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Article
| Open AccessEvolution of acoustic communication in blind cavefish
The fish Astyanax mexicanus has divergent cave and river-dwelling eco-morphotypes. Here, Hyacinthe et al. show that cave and river fish communicate sonically, but that the sounds produced and the responses elicited in the two morphs depend differently on the social and behavioral context.
- Carole Hyacinthe
- , Joël Attia
- & Sylvie Rétaux
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Article
| Open AccessDisturbance modifies payoffs in the explore-exploit trade-off
The empirical consequences of human explorative strategies are not fully understood. Here the authors find that during undisturbed conditions, more-explorative vessels gained no performance advantage while during a major disturbance event, explorers benefited significantly from less-impacted revenues and were also more likely to continue fishing.
- Shay O’Farrell
- , James N. Sanchirico
- & Andrew Strelcheck
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Article
| Open AccessA Lévy expansion strategy optimizes early dune building by beach grasses
Random walk movement patterns with specific step size distributions are commonly associated with resource search optimization strategies in mobile organisms. Here, the authors show that clonal expansion of beach grasses follows a Lévy-type step size strategy that optimizes early dune building.
- Valérie C. Reijers
- , Koen Siteur
- & Tjisse van der Heide
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Article
| Open AccessFruit scent and observer colour vision shape food-selection strategies in wild capuchin monkeys
We know little about the relative contributions of visual and olfactory senses for wild, frugivorous mammals. Here, the authors show that in capuchin monkeys, frequency of olfactory evaluation of fruits is higher when scent production increases with ripening, and among monkeys with red-green colorblindness.
- Amanda D. Melin
- , Omer Nevo
- & Shoji Kawamura
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptive individual variation in phenological responses to perceived predation levels
For phenotypic plasticity to evolve to a changing world, there must be variation in plasticity. Here, the authors show that whether great tits advance or delay breeding in response to perceived predation risk depends on their personality, linking variation in plasticity with that in personality.
- Robin N. Abbey-Lee
- & Niels J. Dingemanse
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Article
| Open AccessFemale genitalia can evolve more rapidly and divergently than male genitalia
Although male genital shape is known to evolve rapidly in response to sexual selection, relatively little is known about the evolution of female genital shape. Here, the authors show that across onthophagine dung beetles, female genital shape has diverged much more rapidly than male genital shape.
- Leigh W. Simmons
- & John L. Fitzpatrick
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Article
| Open AccessBreeders that receive help age more slowly in a cooperatively breeding bird
Sociality explains substantial variation in ageing across species, but less is known about this relationship within species. Here, the authors show that female dominant Seychelles warblers with helpers at the nest have higher late-life survival and lower telomere attrition and the probability of having helpers increases with age.
- Martijn Hammers
- , Sjouke A. Kingma
- & David S. Richardson
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Article
| Open AccessInverse resource allocation between vision and olfaction across the genus Drosophila
Neural architecture may be shaped by selection, but is likely also constrained by development. Here, Keesey and colleagues find an inverse relationship between allocation towards visual and olfactory sensory systems across the genus Drosophila, which may reflect a developmental trade-off.
- Ian W. Keesey
- , Veit Grabe
- & Bill S. Hansson
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Article
| Open AccessThe coevolution of lifespan and reversible plasticity
Reversible phenotypic plasticity is expected to be favoured by long lifespan, as this increases the environmental variation individuals experience. Here, the authors develop a model showing how phenotypic plasticity can drive selection on lifespan, leading to coevolution of these traits.
- Irja I. Ratikainen
- & Hanna Kokko
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Article
| Open AccessAvian UV vision enhances leaf surface contrasts in forest environments
The utility of UV vision for visualizing habitat structure is poorly known. Here, the authors use optical models and multispectral imaging to show that UV vision reveals sharp visual contrasts between leaf surfaces, potentially an advantage in navigating forest environments.
- Cynthia Tedore
- & Dan-Eric Nilsson