Pub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00563-5
Mateusz Glenszczyk, Artur Lis, Weronika Porc, Magdalena Pacwa-Płociniczak, Agnieszka Babczyńska
The antimicrobial properties of spider silk have been a topic of scientific intrigue since ancient times. Despite extensive research, the question remains unresolved due to conflicting findings and methodological challenges. This work revisits and synthesizes current knowledge, proposing that spider cocoons, rather than other spider products, serve as a particularly promising focus for investigating antimicrobial factors. This emphasis arises from their critical role in parental investment and reproductive success, as the maternal care associated with spider egg sacs suggests the necessity for enhanced antimicrobial protection to safeguard offspring. By investigating existing research, we propose that the protective properties of spider egg sacs may derive not only from the silk itself, but also from the eggs contained within, as supported by previous hypotheses. Furthermore, drawing on the body of knowledge, we suggest that potential antimicrobial defense mechanisms may extend beyond intrinsic factors, encompassing interactions with microorganisms, plants, and other possible environmental elements that remain unexplored but may likely be interconnected. This review highlights that the potential interplay of these factors may be complex and possibly influenced by ecological and biological contexts. Unraveling these dynamics requires an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating diverse methodologies and perspectives to address the gaps in current knowledge. By refining the focus and embracing a broader conceptual framework, future research can provide definitive insights into the antimicrobial properties of spider cocoons. Resolving this long-standing question will not only clarify the scientific debate but also deepen our understanding of spider biology and the adaptive strategies that have evolved to ensure reproductive success.
{"title":"The apple of discord: can spider cocoons be equipped with antimicrobial factors?—a systematic review","authors":"Mateusz Glenszczyk, Artur Lis, Weronika Porc, Magdalena Pacwa-Płociniczak, Agnieszka Babczyńska","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00563-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00563-5","url":null,"abstract":"The antimicrobial properties of spider silk have been a topic of scientific intrigue since ancient times. Despite extensive research, the question remains unresolved due to conflicting findings and methodological challenges. This work revisits and synthesizes current knowledge, proposing that spider cocoons, rather than other spider products, serve as a particularly promising focus for investigating antimicrobial factors. This emphasis arises from their critical role in parental investment and reproductive success, as the maternal care associated with spider egg sacs suggests the necessity for enhanced antimicrobial protection to safeguard offspring. By investigating existing research, we propose that the protective properties of spider egg sacs may derive not only from the silk itself, but also from the eggs contained within, as supported by previous hypotheses. Furthermore, drawing on the body of knowledge, we suggest that potential antimicrobial defense mechanisms may extend beyond intrinsic factors, encompassing interactions with microorganisms, plants, and other possible environmental elements that remain unexplored but may likely be interconnected. This review highlights that the potential interplay of these factors may be complex and possibly influenced by ecological and biological contexts. Unraveling these dynamics requires an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating diverse methodologies and perspectives to address the gaps in current knowledge. By refining the focus and embracing a broader conceptual framework, future research can provide definitive insights into the antimicrobial properties of spider cocoons. Resolving this long-standing question will not only clarify the scientific debate but also deepen our understanding of spider biology and the adaptive strategies that have evolved to ensure reproductive success.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144153677","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}
Pub Date : 2025-05-26DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00562-6
Davide Serva, Ilaria Bernabò, Viviana Cittadino, Antonio Romano, Francesco Cerasoli, Maurizio Biondi, Mattia Iannella
Amphibians are the most globally threatened vertebrates, facing a particularly high risk of extinction in some regions, such as the Mediterranean basin. Within this region, the genus Salamandrina, comprising two species of notable conservation concerns, managed to persist throughout historical climate changes exclusively along the Italian peninsula. Among the main threats to this genus are habitat loss and climate change, as this salamander is adapted to humid forests and relies heavily on water sources, such as small streams, for reproduction. In this study, we employed fine-scale species distribution models (SDMs) to estimate areas projected to remain suitable for Salamandrina species in the future and areas expected to become unsuitable, incorporating bioclimatic, topographic, and habitat variables. We also evaluated landscape connectivity and identified ecological corridors that could facilitate movement through circuit-theory techniques, analyzing potential changes under different scenarios. Additionally, considering known hybridization events in a contact zone between the two species, we measured connectivity to assess whether this process might change in the future. We found several suitable areas that mostly align with the known ranges of both species. Future projections showed an overall decline in habitat suitability, with a northwestern shift. While strong in certain areas, landscape connectivity is expected to decrease overall. Specifically, our results revealed several corridors for S. perspicillata (the northern species), with higher connectivity values in the Central Apennines. For S. terdigitata (the southern species), a crucial corridor in the Catena Costiera Massifs, in the western southernmost region of the Italian peninsula, connects two key conservation areas. In the contact zone, we identified corridors that could favor hybridization between the species, with predictions suggesting an increase. Our findings inform the long-term conservation of a unique salamander genus. Strengthening conservation measures on Salamandrina species in areas predicted to become unsuitable or in areas that could become suitable and serve as ecological corridors will be critical. Furthermore, future monitoring efforts should focus on the corridors identified in the contact zone to assess whether the hybridization process is ongoing and at what rate.
{"title":"Modeling habitat suitability and connectivity for the sole endemic genus of Italian vertebrate: present and future perspectives","authors":"Davide Serva, Ilaria Bernabò, Viviana Cittadino, Antonio Romano, Francesco Cerasoli, Maurizio Biondi, Mattia Iannella","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00562-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00562-6","url":null,"abstract":"Amphibians are the most globally threatened vertebrates, facing a particularly high risk of extinction in some regions, such as the Mediterranean basin. Within this region, the genus Salamandrina, comprising two species of notable conservation concerns, managed to persist throughout historical climate changes exclusively along the Italian peninsula. Among the main threats to this genus are habitat loss and climate change, as this salamander is adapted to humid forests and relies heavily on water sources, such as small streams, for reproduction. In this study, we employed fine-scale species distribution models (SDMs) to estimate areas projected to remain suitable for Salamandrina species in the future and areas expected to become unsuitable, incorporating bioclimatic, topographic, and habitat variables. We also evaluated landscape connectivity and identified ecological corridors that could facilitate movement through circuit-theory techniques, analyzing potential changes under different scenarios. Additionally, considering known hybridization events in a contact zone between the two species, we measured connectivity to assess whether this process might change in the future. We found several suitable areas that mostly align with the known ranges of both species. Future projections showed an overall decline in habitat suitability, with a northwestern shift. While strong in certain areas, landscape connectivity is expected to decrease overall. Specifically, our results revealed several corridors for S. perspicillata (the northern species), with higher connectivity values in the Central Apennines. For S. terdigitata (the southern species), a crucial corridor in the Catena Costiera Massifs, in the western southernmost region of the Italian peninsula, connects two key conservation areas. In the contact zone, we identified corridors that could favor hybridization between the species, with predictions suggesting an increase. Our findings inform the long-term conservation of a unique salamander genus. Strengthening conservation measures on Salamandrina species in areas predicted to become unsuitable or in areas that could become suitable and serve as ecological corridors will be critical. Furthermore, future monitoring efforts should focus on the corridors identified in the contact zone to assess whether the hybridization process is ongoing and at what rate.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144137166","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}
Pub Date : 2025-04-17DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00561-7
Tilman Schell, Carola Greve, Lars Podsiadlowski
Reference genome assemblies are the basis for comprehensive genomic analyses and comparisons. Due to declining sequencing costs and growing computational power, genome projects are now feasible in smaller labs. De novo genome sequencing for non-model or emerging model organisms requires knowledge about genome size and techniques for extracting high molecular weight DNA. Next to quality, the amount of DNA obtained from single individuals is crucial, especially, when dealing with small organisms. While long-read sequencing technologies are the methods of choice for creating high quality genome assemblies, pure short-read assemblies might bear most of the coding parts of a genome but are usually much more fragmented and do not well resolve repeat elements or structural variants. Several genome initiatives produce more and more non-model organism genomes and provide rules for standards in genome sequencing and assembly. However, sometimes the organism of choice is not part of such an initiative or does not meet its standards. Therefore, if the scientific question can be answered with a genome of low contiguity in intergenic parts, missing the high standards of chromosome scale assembly should not prevent publication. This review describes how to set up an animal genome sequencing project in the lab, how to estimate costs and resources, and how to deal with suboptimal conditions. Thus, we aim to suggest optimal strategies for genome sequencing that fulfil the needs according to specific research questions, e.g. “How are species related to each other based on whole genomes?” (phylogenomics), “How do genomes of populations within a species differ?” (population genomics), “Are differences between populations relevant for conservation?” (conservation genomics), “Which selection pressure is acting on certain genes?” (identification of genes under selection), “Did repeats expand or contract recently?” (repeat dynamics).
{"title":"Establishing genome sequencing and assembly for non-model and emerging model organisms: a brief guide","authors":"Tilman Schell, Carola Greve, Lars Podsiadlowski","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00561-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00561-7","url":null,"abstract":"Reference genome assemblies are the basis for comprehensive genomic analyses and comparisons. Due to declining sequencing costs and growing computational power, genome projects are now feasible in smaller labs. De novo genome sequencing for non-model or emerging model organisms requires knowledge about genome size and techniques for extracting high molecular weight DNA. Next to quality, the amount of DNA obtained from single individuals is crucial, especially, when dealing with small organisms. While long-read sequencing technologies are the methods of choice for creating high quality genome assemblies, pure short-read assemblies might bear most of the coding parts of a genome but are usually much more fragmented and do not well resolve repeat elements or structural variants. Several genome initiatives produce more and more non-model organism genomes and provide rules for standards in genome sequencing and assembly. However, sometimes the organism of choice is not part of such an initiative or does not meet its standards. Therefore, if the scientific question can be answered with a genome of low contiguity in intergenic parts, missing the high standards of chromosome scale assembly should not prevent publication. This review describes how to set up an animal genome sequencing project in the lab, how to estimate costs and resources, and how to deal with suboptimal conditions. Thus, we aim to suggest optimal strategies for genome sequencing that fulfil the needs according to specific research questions, e.g. “How are species related to each other based on whole genomes?” (phylogenomics), “How do genomes of populations within a species differ?” (population genomics), “Are differences between populations relevant for conservation?” (conservation genomics), “Which selection pressure is acting on certain genes?” (identification of genes under selection), “Did repeats expand or contract recently?” (repeat dynamics).","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143841552","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}
Pub Date : 2025-04-02DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00560-8
Lenka Sentenská, Dante Poy, Maydianne C. B. Andrade, Gabriele B. Uhl
Male self-sacrifice during mating is one of the most extreme forms of male reproductive investment. In two species of widow spiders (genus Latrodectus), males trigger sexual cannibalism by “somersaulting” into the fangs of the female after copulatory coupling is achieved. In this position, sperm are transferred with the secondary sexual organs, the transformed pedipalps of the male, while the female starts feeding on his opisthosoma. In Latrodectus hasselti and L. geometricus, matings also occur with subadult females (i.e. females in their last moulting stage) but during these “immature” matings, males do not perform the somersault. Consequently, mating positions differ dramatically between matings with adult and subadult females. Here, we investigate the copulatory mechanism of adult and immature matings in the brown widow L. geometricus by shock-freezing copulating pairs and 3D X-ray microtomography. We hypothesize differences in the copulatory mechanism and depth of insertion of the sperm transfer structures between the two mating tactics. We found that the copulatory mechanism does not differ between adult and immature mating tactics and do not depend on whether a somersault occurs. Furthermore, the somersault does not improve intromission depth of the male sperm transfer organs into the female sperm storage organs. Our results suggest that the somersault has evolved solely due to the selective advantages of sexual cannibalism. The costs and benefits of both mating tactics need to be further explored using paternity studies in order to understand their relative adaptive value.
{"title":"Alternative mating tactics in brown widow spiders: mating with or without male self-sacrifice does not affect the copulatory mechanism","authors":"Lenka Sentenská, Dante Poy, Maydianne C. B. Andrade, Gabriele B. Uhl","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00560-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00560-8","url":null,"abstract":"Male self-sacrifice during mating is one of the most extreme forms of male reproductive investment. In two species of widow spiders (genus Latrodectus), males trigger sexual cannibalism by “somersaulting” into the fangs of the female after copulatory coupling is achieved. In this position, sperm are transferred with the secondary sexual organs, the transformed pedipalps of the male, while the female starts feeding on his opisthosoma. In Latrodectus hasselti and L. geometricus, matings also occur with subadult females (i.e. females in their last moulting stage) but during these “immature” matings, males do not perform the somersault. Consequently, mating positions differ dramatically between matings with adult and subadult females. Here, we investigate the copulatory mechanism of adult and immature matings in the brown widow L. geometricus by shock-freezing copulating pairs and 3D X-ray microtomography. We hypothesize differences in the copulatory mechanism and depth of insertion of the sperm transfer structures between the two mating tactics. We found that the copulatory mechanism does not differ between adult and immature mating tactics and do not depend on whether a somersault occurs. Furthermore, the somersault does not improve intromission depth of the male sperm transfer organs into the female sperm storage organs. Our results suggest that the somersault has evolved solely due to the selective advantages of sexual cannibalism. The costs and benefits of both mating tactics need to be further explored using paternity studies in order to understand their relative adaptive value.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"62 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143758696","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}
Pub Date : 2025-03-11DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00556-4
Álvaro Quesada, Manuel Hernández Fernández, Iris Menéndez
Species richness increases gradually as latitude decreases, however, the explanation for this phenomenon remains unclear. Ecological hypotheses suggest that greater niche diversity in tropical biomes may facilitate the coexistence of a larger number of species. The close relationship between species morphology and ecology can lead to a greater morphological disparity in tropical biomes. In this study, we used 2D geometric morphometric techniques on the ventral view of the cranium of flying squirrels (Pteromyini, Sciuridae) to determine the relationship between diet and cranial morphology and to evaluate if morphological disparity is higher in tropical biomes. The results show that diet has a significant impact on cranial shape and size, with large, wide and robust crania in folivorous and generalist species, while frugivorous species tend towards smaller and narrower crania, and nucivorous have a wide variability. This suggests that biomes with more available dietary niches would show greater morphological disparity. However, we found no statistical differences in shape and size disparity among biomes or between observed and simulated disparity based on species richness. Our results show that there are not disparity differences between tropical and temperate biomes, even when temperate biomes are less rich than tropical ones, suggesting that the quantity of available niches may not be the key factor in generating morphological disparity. Instead, it could be the presence of extreme niches that demand specialised adaptations for exploitation, which might be of greater significance. A greater importance of size-changing adaptations would decrease shape disparity in biomes with many niches.
{"title":"Cranial morphology in flying squirrels: diet, shape, and size disparity across tropical and temperate biomes","authors":"Álvaro Quesada, Manuel Hernández Fernández, Iris Menéndez","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00556-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00556-4","url":null,"abstract":"Species richness increases gradually as latitude decreases, however, the explanation for this phenomenon remains unclear. Ecological hypotheses suggest that greater niche diversity in tropical biomes may facilitate the coexistence of a larger number of species. The close relationship between species morphology and ecology can lead to a greater morphological disparity in tropical biomes. In this study, we used 2D geometric morphometric techniques on the ventral view of the cranium of flying squirrels (Pteromyini, Sciuridae) to determine the relationship between diet and cranial morphology and to evaluate if morphological disparity is higher in tropical biomes. The results show that diet has a significant impact on cranial shape and size, with large, wide and robust crania in folivorous and generalist species, while frugivorous species tend towards smaller and narrower crania, and nucivorous have a wide variability. This suggests that biomes with more available dietary niches would show greater morphological disparity. However, we found no statistical differences in shape and size disparity among biomes or between observed and simulated disparity based on species richness. Our results show that there are not disparity differences between tropical and temperate biomes, even when temperate biomes are less rich than tropical ones, suggesting that the quantity of available niches may not be the key factor in generating morphological disparity. Instead, it could be the presence of extreme niches that demand specialised adaptations for exploitation, which might be of greater significance. A greater importance of size-changing adaptations would decrease shape disparity in biomes with many niches.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143589639","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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-28DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00558-2
Ulrich Technau
<p>It is hard to imagine our journal <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> without Jürgen Heinze, who has been the Co-Editor in Chief since 2004, when he and Diethard Tautz founded the journal as the official journal of the German Zoological Society (DZG). The goal and mission was and is to establish a leading journal in the field of Zoology and indeed since the beginning, <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> has been mostly ranked among the top 10 journals in the category Zoology. To keep this high quality is to a large extent the merit of Jürgen Heinze. However, with his retirement, Jürgen decided to step down from his role as a Co-Editor in Chief for <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i>. Effective with January 1, 2025, he hands over the torch to Angelika Stollewerk, for many years herself a member of the Editorial Board of <i>Frontiers in Zoology.</i> Since 2014, when I took over the co-Editior in Chief position from Diethard Tautz, I have been working with Jürgen and got to know him a vigilant, careful and thoughtful Editor, who always kept an eye on the whole journal, somebody who was constantly looking after and promoting the journal. Therefore, also in the name of the board of the DZG, I would like to take this opportunity to express our enormous gratitude to Jürgen Heinze for serving as an Editor in Chief for more than 20 years.</p><p>As an Editor, one has to take many decisions about manuscripts and there is hardly any field that is more diverse than Zoology. His work as an Editor was always guided by fostering this breadth of topics in Zoology, yet foremost by applying high standards in scientific quality and ethics. He followed the same high standards in his own scientific work. Jürgen was trained as a behavioral and evolutionary entomologist at the TU Darmstadt, a topic he remained faithful to throughout his whole career. He did a postdoc with E.O Wilson, followed by a research fellow (“University assistant”) in the lab of Bert Hölldobler, two “giants” in the field of ant biology. In 1996 he became Professor at the University of Nürnberg-Erlangen and moved to a full professorship at the University of Regensburg in 2000. He has been a leader in the field of social insects, specializing on cooperation and conflict in ant populations. Besides his continuous work as Editor-in-Chief of <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> he was active in several boards of the German Science Foundation and the “Wissenschaftsrat”, the Science Council of the German government. He is elected member of several academies, including the National German Academy of Science, Leopoldina and was awarded the Karl von Frisch Medal of the DZG. All these activities and honors reflect the deep appreciation and recognition he has received from the scientific community. We cordially thank Jürgen for his tremendous work and the service to the Science community, for being an advocate for Zoology and for developing <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> as one of the top journals in the field of Zoology.</p><p>Angelika Stol
创作共用 "许可协议允许以任何媒介或格式使用、共享、改编、分发和复制文章，但必须注明原作者和出处，提供指向 "创作共用 "许可协议的链接，并说明是否进行了修改。本文中的图片或其他第三方材料均包含在文章的知识共享许可协议中，除非在材料的署名栏中另有说明。如果材料未包含在文章的知识共享许可协议中，且您打算使用的材料不符合法律规定或超出许可使用范围，您需要直接从版权所有者处获得许可。如需查看该许可的副本，请访问 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/。创意共享公共领域专用免责声明 (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) 适用于本文提供的数据，除非在数据的信用行中另有说明。转载与许可引用本文Technau, U. Time for a change, time to say thank you.Front Zool 22, 4 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00558-2Download citationPublished: 28 February 2025DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00558-2Share this articleAnyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable linkSorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
{"title":"Time for a change, time to say thank you","authors":"Ulrich Technau","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00558-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00558-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>It is hard to imagine our journal <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> without Jürgen Heinze, who has been the Co-Editor in Chief since 2004, when he and Diethard Tautz founded the journal as the official journal of the German Zoological Society (DZG). The goal and mission was and is to establish a leading journal in the field of Zoology and indeed since the beginning, <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> has been mostly ranked among the top 10 journals in the category Zoology. To keep this high quality is to a large extent the merit of Jürgen Heinze. However, with his retirement, Jürgen decided to step down from his role as a Co-Editor in Chief for <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i>. Effective with January 1, 2025, he hands over the torch to Angelika Stollewerk, for many years herself a member of the Editorial Board of <i>Frontiers in Zoology.</i> Since 2014, when I took over the co-Editior in Chief position from Diethard Tautz, I have been working with Jürgen and got to know him a vigilant, careful and thoughtful Editor, who always kept an eye on the whole journal, somebody who was constantly looking after and promoting the journal. Therefore, also in the name of the board of the DZG, I would like to take this opportunity to express our enormous gratitude to Jürgen Heinze for serving as an Editor in Chief for more than 20 years.</p><p>As an Editor, one has to take many decisions about manuscripts and there is hardly any field that is more diverse than Zoology. His work as an Editor was always guided by fostering this breadth of topics in Zoology, yet foremost by applying high standards in scientific quality and ethics. He followed the same high standards in his own scientific work. Jürgen was trained as a behavioral and evolutionary entomologist at the TU Darmstadt, a topic he remained faithful to throughout his whole career. He did a postdoc with E.O Wilson, followed by a research fellow (“University assistant”) in the lab of Bert Hölldobler, two “giants” in the field of ant biology. In 1996 he became Professor at the University of Nürnberg-Erlangen and moved to a full professorship at the University of Regensburg in 2000. He has been a leader in the field of social insects, specializing on cooperation and conflict in ant populations. Besides his continuous work as Editor-in-Chief of <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> he was active in several boards of the German Science Foundation and the “Wissenschaftsrat”, the Science Council of the German government. He is elected member of several academies, including the National German Academy of Science, Leopoldina and was awarded the Karl von Frisch Medal of the DZG. All these activities and honors reflect the deep appreciation and recognition he has received from the scientific community. We cordially thank Jürgen for his tremendous work and the service to the Science community, for being an advocate for Zoology and for developing <i>Frontiers in Zoology</i> as one of the top journals in the field of Zoology.</p><p>Angelika Stol","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143518667","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}
Pub Date : 2025-02-10DOI: 10.1186/s12983-025-00557-3
Chenxi Wang, Shaoxia Xia, Xiubo Yu, Li Wen
Climate change and anthropogenic activities are accelerating environmental changes, challenging wild animals’ survival. Behavioral plasticity, such as adjusting habitat selection and foraging activity, is a key mechanism for responding to rapid environmental changes in the Anthropocene era. However, this shift may expose animals to new challenges. Moreover, not all behavioral plasticity is adaptive, as evidenced by ecological traps. This study focuses on Poyang Lake, a Ramsar wetland and a critical wintering ground for waterbirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Historically, the migratory patterns of waterbirds were synchronized with the plant life cycle. However, recent hydrological regime changes have diminished suitable habitats and food resources, thereby posing significant conservation challenges for waterbirds. Utilizing multiyear satellite tracking data, we examined the variations in wintering home range and behaviors of four herbivorous waterbird species between natural and artificial wetlands in Poyang Lake under different hydrological conditions. Our results reveal significant differences in home range area and movement speed among species and across hydrological years. All species demonstrated a marked increase in their use of artificial wetlands under unfavorable conditions. Specifically, the Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) shifted its distribution to artificial wetlands during drought years while favoring natural wetlands under normal conditions, indicating a stress-induced adaptation. In contrast, the Bean Goose (A. fabalis) and Swan Goose (A. cygnoid) displayed greater behavioral plasticity. Notably, the Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) increasingly used artificial wetlands, likely due to human protection, raising concerns about potential ecological traps. Additionally, waterbirds foraging in artificial wetlands generally exhibited higher movement speeds during drought conditions. This behavior suggests maladaptation and a more dispersed distribution. Our study underscored the critical role of artificial wetlands in supporting migratory waterbirds during drought, though elevated movement speeds observed in these habitats suggest potential maladaptation. Species-specific responses raise concerns about ecological traps if these habitats fail to meet key ecological needs. To ensure long-term conservation, efforts should focus on preserving natural wetlands and enhancing the quality of artificial habitats. Future research should prioritize long-term monitoring to guide habitat management and address species-specific needs in the face of climate change and habitat degradation.
{"title":"Responses to extreme drought in wintering waterbirds: a multi-species approach","authors":"Chenxi Wang, Shaoxia Xia, Xiubo Yu, Li Wen","doi":"10.1186/s12983-025-00557-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-025-00557-3","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change and anthropogenic activities are accelerating environmental changes, challenging wild animals’ survival. Behavioral plasticity, such as adjusting habitat selection and foraging activity, is a key mechanism for responding to rapid environmental changes in the Anthropocene era. However, this shift may expose animals to new challenges. Moreover, not all behavioral plasticity is adaptive, as evidenced by ecological traps. This study focuses on Poyang Lake, a Ramsar wetland and a critical wintering ground for waterbirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Historically, the migratory patterns of waterbirds were synchronized with the plant life cycle. However, recent hydrological regime changes have diminished suitable habitats and food resources, thereby posing significant conservation challenges for waterbirds. Utilizing multiyear satellite tracking data, we examined the variations in wintering home range and behaviors of four herbivorous waterbird species between natural and artificial wetlands in Poyang Lake under different hydrological conditions. Our results reveal significant differences in home range area and movement speed among species and across hydrological years. All species demonstrated a marked increase in their use of artificial wetlands under unfavorable conditions. Specifically, the Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) shifted its distribution to artificial wetlands during drought years while favoring natural wetlands under normal conditions, indicating a stress-induced adaptation. In contrast, the Bean Goose (A. fabalis) and Swan Goose (A. cygnoid) displayed greater behavioral plasticity. Notably, the Siberian Crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) increasingly used artificial wetlands, likely due to human protection, raising concerns about potential ecological traps. Additionally, waterbirds foraging in artificial wetlands generally exhibited higher movement speeds during drought conditions. This behavior suggests maladaptation and a more dispersed distribution. Our study underscored the critical role of artificial wetlands in supporting migratory waterbirds during drought, though elevated movement speeds observed in these habitats suggest potential maladaptation. Species-specific responses raise concerns about ecological traps if these habitats fail to meet key ecological needs. To ensure long-term conservation, efforts should focus on preserving natural wetlands and enhancing the quality of artificial habitats. Future research should prioritize long-term monitoring to guide habitat management and address species-specific needs in the face of climate change and habitat degradation. ","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143375170","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}
Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) initiate the process of odorant perception. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that OBPs bind a broad variety of chemicals and are more likely to carry pheromones or odor molecules with high binding affinities. However, few studies have investigated its effects on insect behavior. Previously, we found that AmelOBP4 has a significantly higher expression in the heads of foragers than that of nurses regardless of their ages, revealing its importance in foraging behaviour of the honey bee. RNA interference (RNAi) is the induction of sequence specific gene silencing by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), it is a powerful tool that makes gene inactivation possible in organisms that were not amenable to genetic analysis before. In this study, we found that AmelOBP4 had high expression levels in the antennae of both nurses and foragers, and could be successfully inhibited by feeding double stranded RNA of AmelOBP4 (dsAmelOBP4). Foragers with inhibited AmelOBP4 showed significantly lower sugar responsiveness than control bees, and also significantly reduced EAG response to plant volatiles of nonanal, linalool and 1-Octen-3ol. On the other hand, nurses with inhibited AmelOBP4 showed significantly reduced EAG response to brood pheromone of ethyl oleate, methyl linoleate, methyl palmitate and β-ocimene. Finally, the Y-tube choice assay showed nurses only exhibited a significantly reduced preference to ethyl oleate, but foragers exhibited significantly reduced preference to all these three plant volatiles. The findings of our study suggested that AmelOBP4 plays an important role in the odorant binding process, especially in modulating olfactory behaviour in workers. Our results provide a foundation for exploring the olfactory mechanism of Apis mellifera.
{"title":"AmelOBP4: an antenna-specific odor-binding protein gene required for olfactory behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera)","authors":"Fang Liu, Yu Lai, Lixian Wu, Qiang Li, Linyue Lei, Wei Yin, Yuan Zhang, Zachary Y. Huang, Hongxia Zhao","doi":"10.1186/s12983-024-00554-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00554-y","url":null,"abstract":"Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) initiate the process of odorant perception. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that OBPs bind a broad variety of chemicals and are more likely to carry pheromones or odor molecules with high binding affinities. However, few studies have investigated its effects on insect behavior. Previously, we found that AmelOBP4 has a significantly higher expression in the heads of foragers than that of nurses regardless of their ages, revealing its importance in foraging behaviour of the honey bee. RNA interference (RNAi) is the induction of sequence specific gene silencing by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), it is a powerful tool that makes gene inactivation possible in organisms that were not amenable to genetic analysis before. In this study, we found that AmelOBP4 had high expression levels in the antennae of both nurses and foragers, and could be successfully inhibited by feeding double stranded RNA of AmelOBP4 (dsAmelOBP4). Foragers with inhibited AmelOBP4 showed significantly lower sugar responsiveness than control bees, and also significantly reduced EAG response to plant volatiles of nonanal, linalool and 1-Octen-3ol. On the other hand, nurses with inhibited AmelOBP4 showed significantly reduced EAG response to brood pheromone of ethyl oleate, methyl linoleate, methyl palmitate and β-ocimene. Finally, the Y-tube choice assay showed nurses only exhibited a significantly reduced preference to ethyl oleate, but foragers exhibited significantly reduced preference to all these three plant volatiles. The findings of our study suggested that AmelOBP4 plays an important role in the odorant binding process, especially in modulating olfactory behaviour in workers. Our results provide a foundation for exploring the olfactory mechanism of Apis mellifera.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"83 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142974594","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}
Pub Date : 2025-01-13DOI: 10.1186/s12983-024-00555-x
Peter Jägers, Stefan Herlitze
During their nighttime shoaling, the flashlight fish Anomalops katoptron produce fascinating, bioluminescent blink patterns, which have been related to the localization of food, determination of nearest neighbor distance, and initiation of the shoal’s movement direction. Information transfer e.g., via alarm signals is an important aspect in group living species especially when being under threat. In dark environments, bioluminescence has the potential to accurately transfer such information. Under threat A. katoptron show increased swimming speeds and a higher group cohesion accompanied by fast blink frequencies. In this study we used a two-choice paradigm to test the preferences for typical blink characteristics e.g., frequency and duration. Our data show that individuals decided within short periods (< 4 s) for faster blink frequencies of artificial light organs and the preference for the higher blink frequencies became more pronounced as the difference between the presented frequencies increased. The preference correlated with the frequency rather than the duration. Our study suggests that fast, bioluminescent blinks of light organs lead to aggregations of A. katoptron.
{"title":"Fast, bioluminescent blinks attract group members of the nocturnal flashlight fish Anomalops katoptron (Bleeker, 1856)","authors":"Peter Jägers, Stefan Herlitze","doi":"10.1186/s12983-024-00555-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00555-x","url":null,"abstract":"During their nighttime shoaling, the flashlight fish Anomalops katoptron produce fascinating, bioluminescent blink patterns, which have been related to the localization of food, determination of nearest neighbor distance, and initiation of the shoal’s movement direction. Information transfer e.g., via alarm signals is an important aspect in group living species especially when being under threat. In dark environments, bioluminescence has the potential to accurately transfer such information. Under threat A. katoptron show increased swimming speeds and a higher group cohesion accompanied by fast blink frequencies. In this study we used a two-choice paradigm to test the preferences for typical blink characteristics e.g., frequency and duration. Our data show that individuals decided within short periods (< 4 s) for faster blink frequencies of artificial light organs and the preference for the higher blink frequencies became more pronounced as the difference between the presented frequencies increased. The preference correlated with the frequency rather than the duration. Our study suggests that fast, bioluminescent blinks of light organs lead to aggregations of A. katoptron.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142968274","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}
Pub Date : 2024-12-19DOI: 10.1186/s12983-024-00553-z
Kaiyue Cui, Shengnan Yang, Junhua Hu
Climatic and geographic variations have profound effects on the resource utilization of individuals and populations. Evaluating resource use in different environments is crucial for understanding species ecological adaptation strategies and promoting biodiversity conservation. Stable isotopes are widely used to assess trophic niches, providing quantitative indicators of ecological interactions between organisms and resource use in ecosystems. This study assesses the trophic niche traits of spiny-bellied frogs (Quasipaa boulengeri) in the marginal mountains of the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China using stable isotopes. Trophic niche variation under different time periods and environmental conditions is explored. The spiny-bellied frogs experienced a significant reduction in trophic niche width during the past breeding season. The populations in the northwestern Sichuan Basin had a greater trophic niche width than the southeastern populations, and their δ15N values showed a positive correlation with temperature seasonality and a negative correlation with annual precipitation. Despite differences between the northwestern and southeastern populations, there was a consistent trend of increased individual specialization with latitude in both the northwestern and southeastern regions. Ontogenetic niche shifts and differences in trophic niche traits between the northwestern and southeastern populations indicate diverse adaptation strategies in mountain frogs. The findings underscore the impact of geographical and climate variations on the resource utilization of amphibians. In addition, patterns of individual specialization highlight the significance of considering intra- and interpopulational changes when studying ecological adaptation.
{"title":"Trophic niche adaptation of mountain frogs around the Sichuan Basin: individual specialization and response to climate variations","authors":"Kaiyue Cui, Shengnan Yang, Junhua Hu","doi":"10.1186/s12983-024-00553-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-024-00553-z","url":null,"abstract":"Climatic and geographic variations have profound effects on the resource utilization of individuals and populations. Evaluating resource use in different environments is crucial for understanding species ecological adaptation strategies and promoting biodiversity conservation. Stable isotopes are widely used to assess trophic niches, providing quantitative indicators of ecological interactions between organisms and resource use in ecosystems. This study assesses the trophic niche traits of spiny-bellied frogs (Quasipaa boulengeri) in the marginal mountains of the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China using stable isotopes. Trophic niche variation under different time periods and environmental conditions is explored. The spiny-bellied frogs experienced a significant reduction in trophic niche width during the past breeding season. The populations in the northwestern Sichuan Basin had a greater trophic niche width than the southeastern populations, and their δ15N values showed a positive correlation with temperature seasonality and a negative correlation with annual precipitation. Despite differences between the northwestern and southeastern populations, there was a consistent trend of increased individual specialization with latitude in both the northwestern and southeastern regions. Ontogenetic niche shifts and differences in trophic niche traits between the northwestern and southeastern populations indicate diverse adaptation strategies in mountain frogs. The findings underscore the impact of geographical and climate variations on the resource utilization of amphibians. In addition, patterns of individual specialization highlight the significance of considering intra- and interpopulational changes when studying ecological adaptation.","PeriodicalId":55142,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Zoology","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142849140","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}
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