Journal Of Biology Research Articles

ECR Spotlight – Lindsay Martin

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Lindsay Martin is an author on ‘ Senescence of humoral antimicrobial immunity occurs in infected mosquitoes when the temperature is higher’, published in JEB. Lindsay is a graduate student in the lab of Julián Hillyer at Vanderbilt University, USA, investigating how warming environmental temperature alters mosquito aging and immunity, and how warmer temperature and aging interact together to modify the mosquito's ability to fight an infection.

ECR Spotlight – Salvatore Lacava

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Salvatore Lacava is an author on ‘ The role of mouse tails in response to external and self-generated balance perturbations on the roll plane’, published in JEB. Salvatore is a PhD student in the lab of Marylka Yoe Uusisaari at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan, investigating how mice use their tails to help them balance during locomotion and in response to external perturbations.

ECR Spotlight – Amalie Hutchinson

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Amalie Hutchinson is an author on ‘ The mitochondrial physiology of torpor in ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris’, published in JEB. Amalie is a PhD candidate in the lab of Jim Staples and Chris Guglielmo at The University of Western Ontario, Canada, investigating the physiology of torpor in flying heterotherms: hummingbirds and bats.

ECR Spotlight – Matthew Gilbert

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Matthew Gilbert is an author on ‘ Measuring maximum heart rate to study cardiac thermal performance and heat tolerance in fishes’, published in JEB. Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Animal Physiology at the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA, investigating environmental drivers of cardiorespiratory and energetic plasticity, thermal physiology and exercise physiology.

The integrative biology of the heart: mechanisms enabling cardiac plasticity.

Cardiac phenotypic plasticity, the remodelling of heart structure and function, is a response to any sustained (or repeated) stimulus or stressor that results in a change in heart performance. Cardiac plasticity can be either adaptive (beneficial) or maladaptive (pathological), depending on the nature and intensity of the stimulus. Here, we draw on articles published in this Special Issue of Journal of Experimental Biology, and from the broader comparative physiology literature, to highlight the core components that enable cardiac plasticity, including structural remodelling, excitation-contraction coupling remodelling and metabolic rewiring. We discuss when and how these changes occur, with a focus on the underlying molecular mechanisms, from the regulation of gene transcription by epigenetic processes to post-translational modifications of cardiac proteins. Looking to the future, we anticipate that the growing use of -omics technologies in integration with traditional comparative physiology approaches will allow researchers to continue to uncover the vast scope for plasticity in cardiac function across animals.

ECR Spotlight – Miguel López-Unzu

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Miguel López-Unzu is an author on ‘ The myoarchitecture of the vertebrate cardiac ventricles: evolution and classification’, published in JEB. Miguel conducted the research described in this article while a Postdoctoral Researcher in Prof. Ana Carmen Durán and Prof. Borja Fernández's lab at Universidad de Málaga, Spain. Miguel is now a Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab of Prof. Jorge Alegre-Cebollada at Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Spain, investigating the heart muscle, the myocardium, in order to help improve cardiovascular health.

Current advances in physiological science. In commemoration of centennial anniversary of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology of Moscow State University

Hereby we briefly review the articles that comprise the special issue of “Lomonosov Biology Journal” (“Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seria 16. Biologia”), which commemorates the centennial anniversary of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, founded by prominent Russian physiologist Alexander F. Samoilov. The main stages of the Department’s history are briefly described. The published studies of the leading Russian researchers, including the scientific research group from Department of Human and Animal Physiology, are discussed within the scope of main current challenges of physiological science.

ECR Spotlight – Yanira Jiménez-Padilla

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Yanira Jiménez-Padilla is an author on ‘ Live yeasts accelerate Drosophila melanogaster larval development’, published in JEB. Yanira is a PhD student in the lab of Brent J. Sinclair at Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, Canada, investigating how gut microbes, especially yeasts, affect their host physiology.

ECR Spotlight – Haneal Pae

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Haneal Pae is an author on ‘ Drosophila require both green and UV wavelengths for sun orientation but lack a time-compensated sun compass’, published in JEB. Haneal is a PhD student in the lab of Ysabel Giraldo at University of California, Riverside, USA, investigating how sensory information is integrated and processed in the nervous system and influences Drosophila orientation during flight.

ECR Spotlight – Luis Kuchenmüller

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Luis Kuchenmüller is an author on ‘ Hyperoxia disproportionally benefits the aerobic performance of large fish at elevated temperature’, published in JEB. Luis is a PhD student in the lab of Timothy Clark at School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, investigating thermal effects on the cardiorespiratory oxygen supply in fish.

ECR Spotlight – Alec Wilken

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Alec Wilken is an author on ‘ A new biomechanical model of the mammal jaw based on load path analysis’, published in JEB. Alec is a PhD candidate in the lab of Callum Ross and Zhe-Xi Luo at The University of Chicago, USA, investigating the evolution of skull form and function.

ECR Spotlight – Grégoire Boulinguez-Ambroise

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Grégoire Boulinguez-Ambroise is an author on ‘ Biomechanical and morphological determinants of maximal jumping performance in callitrichine monkeys’, published in JEB. Grégoire conducted the research described in this article while a postdoc in Jesse W. Young's lab at the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Rootstown, OH, USA. He is now a postdoc in the lab of Daniel Schmitt at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, investigating the use of integrative approaches, combining morphology, behavior and performance, to further understand the origins of primate locomotion.

The urban in ecology: a quantitative textual analysis of the scientific literature over a century

Many authors have described ‘urban ecology’ as a subfield of ecology that emerged in the 1990s and has expanded exponentially. We propose to take a step further and analyse the expansion of the ‘urban’ in ecology with a novel quantitative approach, with the aim to better understand the relationship between ecology and the urban. Previous quantitative assessments of the urban in ecology have focused on short to medium time spans (5 to 40 years) and on research coined as ‘urban ecology’, and have rarely considered the content of publications (e.g., vocabulary and topics) using quantitative methods. In this paper, we conduct a bibliometric assessment and an in-depth quantitative textual data analysis of a corpus of 960 articles published from 1922 to 2018 in 10 leading English-language journals in ecology and conservation biology. We address the following questions: (1) When and how have urban environments been integrated into ecological research during the past century? (2) What urban research topics have been investigated in ecology during the same period? (3) How have these research topics changed through time? Our results show that the urban was never entirely absent from publications in ecology. The quantitative analyses highlight three turning points (1970s, 1990s and 2000s) in the relationship between ecology and the urban. Moreover, they help visualize the shift from particularly scattered publications at the beginning of the period to publications characterized by a more homogeneous vocabulary, reflecting the stabilization of a research field focused on the urban in ecology.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Biology and Life Science, Vol. 15, No. 2

Journal of Biology and Life Science (JBLS) would like to acknowledge the following reviewers for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Many authors, regardless of whether JBLS publishes their work, appreciate the helpful feedback provided by the reviewers. Their comments and suggestions were of great help to the authors in improving the quality of their papers. Each of the reviewers listed below returned at least one review for this issue.Reviewers for Volume 15, Number 2Bratko Filipic, CIETO, SloveniaDjallel Eddine Gherissi, Souk Ahars University, AlgeriaHoe Yin Chen, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, MalaysiaHomyra Tasnim, Louisiana State University, BangladeshLeila Ailane, University of Badji Mokhtar of Annaba, AlgeriaNatalia Tkachuk, T.H. Shevchenko National University “Chernihiv Colehium”, UkraineRagab A. El-Mergawi, National Research Centre, Egypt Kelvin LeeEditorial AssistantJournal of Biology and Life Science-------------------------------------------Macrothink Institute5348 Vegas Dr.#825Las Vegas, Nevada 89108United StatesTel: 1-702-953-1852 ext.510Fax: 1-702-420-2900E-mail 1: jbls@macrothink.orgE-mail 2: jbls@macrothink.comURL: http://jbls.macrothink.org

Extraordinary creatures: raptors

Raptors, otherwise known as birds of prey, are a diverse group of birds including 326 diurnal species and 247 owls. The largest species, the Andean condor, can have a mass of up to 15 kg with a wingspan up to 3.40 m, while the smallest raptor is the black-thighed falconet, which has a minimum mass of about 28 g and lives in Indonesia. Almost all raptors have large talons and a hooked beak for eating meat; however, vultures do not have talons and palm-nut vultures that live in Africa consume a diet of mainly palm-nut fruit (90% in some regions), with some meat. Raptors live on every continent, except for Antarctica. Simon Potier, a professional falconer who also studies raptor vision, tells Journal of Experimental Biology about these extraordinary creatures and how they are exquisitely adapted to their different lifestyles.

ECR Spotlight – Nicole Schwartz

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Nicole Schwartz is an author on ‘ A meta-analysis of whole-body and heart mass effect sizes from a long-term artificial selection experiment for high voluntary exercise’, published in JEB. Nicole conducted the research described in this article while a PhD student in Theodore Garland, Jr's lab at University of California, Riverside, USA. She is now a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Patricia C. Lopes at Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, USA, investigating how early-life effects can alter the development of offspring and modify the expression of complex behaviors (e.g. voluntary exercise) into adulthood.

ECR Spotlight – Jess MacPherson

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Jess MacPherson is an author on ‘ Absence of a functional gut microbiome impairs host amino acid metabolism in the Pacific spiny dogfish (Squalus suckleyi)’, published in JEB. Jess conducted the research described in this article while an undergraduate student in Dr Gary Anderson's lab at University of Manitoba, Canada. She is now a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr Carol Bucking at York University, Canada, investigating the role of host-associated microbiomes in the physiology of fish and invertebrates.

ECR Spotlight – Benjamin Negrete, Jr

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Benjamin Negrete is an author on ‘ Implications of chronic hypoxia during development in red drum’, published in JEB. Benjamin conducted the research described in this article while a PhD candidate in Dr Andrew Esbaugh's lab at University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute. He is now a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Dr Jeffrey Richards at University of British Columbia, Canada, investigating how fish respond to a changing world and the mechanisms and adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive.

ECR Spotlight – Soren Coulson

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Soren Coulson is an author on ‘ Regulation of muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and fuel use during exercise in high-altitude deer mice’, published in JEB. Soren conducted the research described in this article while an MSc student in Grant McClelland's lab at McMaster University. He is now a PhD student in the lab of James Staples and Christopher Guglielmo at Western University, London, Ontario, investigating comparative exercise energetics.

ECR Spotlight – Mario Martinez Groves-Raines

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Mario Martinez Groves-Raines is an author on ‘ Steady as they hover: kinematics of kestrel wing and tail morphing during hovering flights’, published in JEB. Mario is a PhD Student in the lab of Dr Shane Windsor (University of Bristol, UK), Dr Abdulghani Mohamed (RMIT, Australia) and Professor Simon Watkins (RMIT, Australia), investigating the flight of birds from an aerodynamics and flight control perspective, learning and inspiring new flight techniques for human-made aircraft.