Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Zoology

Brain morphology correlates of learning and cognitive flexibility in a fish species (Poecilia reticulata)

Zegni Triki, Maria Granell-Ruiz, Stephanie Fong, et al.

Published: 2022-05-02
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology

Determining how variation in brain morphology affects cognitive abilities is important to understand inter-individual variation in cognition and, ultimately, cognitive evolution. Yet, despite many decades of research in this area, there is surprisingly little experimental data available from assays that quantify cognitive abilities and brain morphology in the same individuals. Here, we tested [...]

Hematological and Biochemical Reference Intervals of the Visayan Warty Pig in Negros Occidental, Philippines

Jacqueline Rose Tuale Alipo-on, Francesca Isabelle Escobar, Jemima Loise Novia, et al.

Published: 2022-03-24
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Biology, Forest Biology, Forest Sciences, Laboratory and Basic Science Research Life Sciences, Life Sciences, Other Animal Sciences, Other Life Sciences, Physiology, Zoology

The Visayan warty pig is one of the endemic species of the Philippines that have been listed as "critically endangered." Conservation actions and efforts, such as health assessments, are being carried out to preserve the population. However, there is limited information about the normal hematological and biochemical profile of the species. The study presents reference intervals essential for [...]

Long-term trends in seasonality and abundance of three key zooplankters in the upper San Francisco Estuary

Samuel M Bashevkin, Christina E Burdi, Rosemary Hartman, et al.

Published: 2022-03-01
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology

Zooplankton provide critical food for threatened and endangered fish species in the San Francisco Estuary (estuary). Reduced food supply has been implicated in the Pelagic Organism Decline of the early 2000s and further changes in zooplankton abundance, seasonality, and distribution may continue to threaten declining fishes. While we have a wealth of monitoring data, we know little about the [...]

Latitudinal but not elevational variation in blood glucose level is linked to life history across passerine birds

Oldřich Tomášek, Lukáš Bobek, Tereza Kauzálová, et al.

Published: 2022-01-13
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Physiology, Zoology

Macrophysiological research is vital to our understanding of mechanisms underpinning global life history variation and adaptation under diverse environments. Birds represent an important model taxon in this regard, yet our knowledge is limited to only a few physiological traits, mostly studied in temperate and Neotropical species. Here, we examined latitudinal and elevational variation in an [...]

Temporal patterns in prey size between sexes in a raptor with extreme size dimorphism: testing the intersexual competition hypothesis using web-sourced photographs

Connor T. Panter, arjun amar

Published: 2021-11-27
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Ornithology, Zoology

In most vertebrates, males are larger than females. For raptors, sexual size dimorphism is reversed, with females being larger. Reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) in raptors is strongly linked to diet, with species feeding on the most agile prey, for example bird-eating raptors, showing the greatest size differences between the sexes. Hypotheses for reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) include the [...]

Notes on a tree: reframing the relevance of primate choruses, duets, and solo songs

Chiara De Gregorio, Filippo Carugati, Daria Valente, et al.

Published: 2021-11-23
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Life Sciences, Zoology

The complexity of primates’ singing behavior has long gathered the attention of researchers interested in understanding the selective pressures underpinning the evolution of language. Among these pressures, a link between territoriality, pair-living, and singing displays has been suggested. Historically, singing primates have been found in a few taxa that are not closely related to each other, [...]

Arboreal locomotion and trophic security at the dawn of Euprimate vision

David Schruth

Published: 2021-10-23
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Zoology

Primate vision is thought to have evolved in connection with life in the trees. However, several inter-related origins theories—those addressing possible co-evolution with size, predation, diet, daylight, locomotion, and groups—also provide reasonable explanations of their distinct cranial-visual morphology. We hypothesized that demand for high-speed landings in arboreal environments facilitated [...]

Predation impacts brain allometry and offspring production in female guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Regina Vega-Trejo, David Joseph Mitchell, Catarina Vila Pouca, et al.

Published: 2021-10-07
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology

Survivorship under predation exerts strong selection on reproductive traits as well as on brain anatomy of prey. However, how exactly predation and brain evolution are linked has not been resolved as current empirical evidence is inconclusive. This may be due to predation pressure having different effects across life stages and/or due to confounding factors in ecological comparisons of predation [...]

The potential for physiological performance curves to shape environmental effects on social behaviour

Shaun S Killen, Daphne Cortese, Lucy Cotgrove, et al.

Published: 2021-08-06
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology

As individual animals are exposed to varying environmental conditions, phenotypic plasticity will occur in a vast array of physiological traits. For example, shifts in factors such as temperature and oxygen availability can affect the energy demand, cardiovascular system, and neuromuscular function of animals that in turn impact individual behaviour. Here, we argue that non-linear changes in the [...]

Social capital: an independent dimension of healthy ageing

Cédric Sueur, Martin Quque, Alexandre Naud, et al.

Published: 2021-05-24
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences, Physiology, Public Health, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Zoology

Resources that are embedded in social relationships, such as shared knowledge, access to food, services, social support or cooperation, are all examples of social capital. Social capital is recognized as an important age-related mediator of health in humans and of fitness-related traits in animals. A rich social capital in humans can slow senescence and reverse age-related deficits. Animals have [...]

Deploying Ecological Countermeasures as a Biosecurity Imperative

Jamie Reaser, Gary M. Tabor, Rohit A. Chitale, et al.

Published: 2021-03-08
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology, Immunity, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Immunology of Infectious Disease, Immunopathology, International Public Health, Life Sciences, Maternal and Child Health, Medicine and Health Sciences, Other Immunology and Infectious Disease, Population Biology, Public Health, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology, Veterinary Pathology and Pathobiology, Zoology

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought biosecurity to the forefront of national security policy. Land use change is a fundamental driver of zoonotic disease outbreaks, yet substantial study is yet required to unravel the mechanisms by which land use-induced spillover operates. Ecological degradation may be the 21st Century’s most overlooked security threat. Within the biosecurity context, we introduce [...]

Ecological Countermeasures for Pandemic Prevention: When Ecological Restoration is a Human Health Imperative

Jamie Reaser, Arne Witt, Gary M. Tabor, et al.

Published: 2020-12-05
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Bacteriology, Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology, Immunity, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Immunology of Infectious Disease, Immunopathology, Integrative Biology, International Public Health, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Microbiology, Parasitology, Pathogenic Microbiology, Population Biology, Public Health, Systems Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology, Veterinary Pathology and Pathobiology, Zoology

Ecological restoration should be regarded as a public health service. Unfortunately, the lack of quantitative linkages between environmental and human health has limited recognition of these principle. Advent of COVID-19 pandemic provides the impetus for the further discussion. We propose ecological countermeasures as highly targeted, landscape-based interventions to arrest the drivers of land [...]

Wolf depredation hotspots in France: Clustering analyses accounting for livestock availability

Oksana Grente, Thibault Saubusse, Olivier Gimenez, et al.

Published: 2020-11-06
Subjects: Agriculture, Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology

Depredation hotspots are the main source of conflict between humans and large carnivores. When locating depredation hotspots, previous studies have not adjusted for livestock availability, making it impossible for managers to discriminate hotspots resulting from underlying livestock clustering from those due to other factors such as environmental factors. We studied hotspots of wolf depredation [...]

A methodological roadmap to quantify animal-vectored spatial ecosystem subsidies

Diego Ellis-Soto, Kristy M. Ferraro, Matteo Rizzuto, et al.

Published: 2020-07-28
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology

Ecosystems are open systems connected through spatial flows of energy, matter, and nutrients. Predicting and managing ecosystem interdependence requires a rigorous quantitative understanding of the drivers and vectors that connect ecosystems across spatio-temporal scales. Animals act as such vectors when they transport nutrients across landscapes in the form of excreta, egesta, and their own [...]

Desert Locust in India: The 2020 invasion and associated risks

Sayantan Ghosh, Arindam Roy

Published: 2020-06-01
Subjects: Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Science, Agriculture, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Life Sciences, Animal Sciences, Entomology, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning, Zoology

Wind direction, often used in forecasting locust migration, indicates a non-zero probability of desert locust invasion in eastern Indian states. Apart from present controlling measures, we are additionally suggesting to be cautious about the eggs of locust as the rainfall associated with Super Cyclone Amphan has created a favorable breeding ground for the gregarious locust. Also reverse migration [...]

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