bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Infrasound and the Avian Navigational Map
Authors: Hagstrum Jonathan T. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Birds can navigate accurately over hundreds to thousands of kilometres, and this ability of homing pigeons is the basis for a worldwide sport. Compass senses orient avian flight, but how birds determine their location in order to select the correct homeward bearing (map sense) remains a mystery. Also mysterious are rare disruptions of pigeon races in which most birds are substantially delayed and large numbers are lost. Here, it is shown that in four recent pigeon races in Europe and the northeastern USA the birds encountered infrasonic (low-frequency acoustic) shock waves from the Concorde supersonic transport. An acoustic avian map is proposed that consists of infrasonic cues radiated from steep-sided topographic features; the source of these signals is microseisms continuously generated by interfering oceanic waves. Atmospheric processes affecting these infrasonic map cues can explain perplexing experimental results from pigeon releases.
Genetic approaches to understanding human adaptation to altitude in the Andes
Authors: Rupert J. L. , Hochachka P. W. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYDespite the initial discomfort often experienced by visitors to high altitude, humans have occupied the Andean altiplano for more than 10000 years, and millions of people, indigenous and otherwise, currently live on these plains, high in the mountains of South America, at altitudes exceeding 3000m. While, to some extent, acclimatisation can accommodate the one-third decrease in oxygen availability, having been born and raised at altitude appears to confer a substantial advantage in high-altitude performance compared with having been born and raised at sea level. A number of characteristics have been postulated to contribute to a high-altitude Andean phenotype; however, the relative contributions of developmental adaptation (within the individual) and genetic adaptation (within the population of which the individual is part) to the acquisition of this phenotype have yet to be resolved.A complex trait is influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors and, in humans, it is inherently very difficult to determine what proportion of the trait is dictated by an individual’s genetic heritage and what proportion develops in response to the environment in which the person is born and raised. Looking for changes in putative adaptations in vertically migrant populations, determining the heritability of putative adaptive traits and genetic association analyses have all been used to evaluate the relative contributions of nurture and nature to the Andean phenotype. As the evidence for a genetic contribution to high-altitude adaptation in humans has been the subject of several recent reviews, this article instead focuses on the methodology that has been employed to isolate the effects of ‘nature’ from those of ‘nurture’ on the acquisition of the high-altitude phenotype in Andean natives (Quechua and Aymara). The principles and assumptions underlying the various approaches, as well as some of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each, are briefly discussed.
Dual ecdysteroid action on the epitracheal glands and central nervous system preceding ecdysis ofManduca sexta
Authors: Žitňanová Inka , Adams Michael E. , Žitňan Dušan 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYInitiation of the ecdysis behavioural sequence in insects requires activation of the central nervous system (CNS) by pre-ecdysis-triggering hormone (PETH) and ecdysis-triggering hormone (ETH), which are released from the Inka cells of the epitracheal glands. Here, we show that the developmental events preceding larval and pupal ecdysis of Manduca sexta involve a dual action of ecdysteroids on the epitracheal glands and CNS. The low steroid levels in freshly ecdysed and feeding larvae are associated with small-sized epitracheal glands, reduced peptide production in Inka cells and insensitivity of the CNS to ETH. The elevated ecdysteroid levels before each ecdysis lead to a dramatic enlargement of Inka cells and increased production of peptide hormones and their precursors. As blood ecdysteroids reach peak levels, the CNS becomes responsive to Inka cell peptides. These effects of natural ecdysteroid pulses can be experimentally induced by injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone or the ecdysteroid agonist tebufenozide (RH-5992) into ecdysed larvae, thus stimulating peptide production in Inka cells and inducing CNS sensitivity to ETH. A direct steroid action on the CNS is demonstrated by subsequent treatment of isolated nerve cords from ecdysed larvae with 20-hydroxyecdysone and ETH, which results in pre-ecdysis or ecdysis bursts. Our data show that ecdysteroid-induced transcriptional activity in both the epitracheal glands and the CNS are necessary events for the initiation of the ecdysis behavioural sequence.
Caudal differential pressure as a predictor of swimming speed of cod (Gadus morhua)
Authors: Webber D. M. , Boutilier R. G. , Kerr S. R. , Smale M. J. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARY
We report the results of an experiment designed to investigate the feasibility of using differential pressure to estimate the swimming speed and metabolic rate of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Seven cod were fitted with a miniature differential pressure sensor mounted on one side of the caudal peduncle immediately anterior to the base of the caudal fin rays. Relationships between differential pressure, tailbeat frequency, tailbeat amplitude, swimming speed and rate of oxygen consumption (ṀO2) were determined as a function of the swimming speed of cod swimming at 5°C in a recirculating ‘Brett-style’ respirometer. Tailbeat differential pressure, tailbeat amplitude and tailbeat frequency were highly correlated with swimming speed. The average or integrated pressure ranged from 0 to 150 Pa for speeds up to 0.8 m s–1 (1.1 L s–1, where L is total body length), while the ‘pressure difference’ (maximum minus minimum pressure) ranged from 0 to 900 Pa. Small changes in swimming speed of less than 0.05 m s–1 were readily detected as differences in tailbeat pressure. Burst swimming in the respirometer resulted in huge pressure ‘bursts’ of up to 5000 Pa ‘pressure difference’.
The rate of oxygen consumption increased exponentially and was highly correlated with swimming speed (r2=0.77). The rate of oxygen consumption was also correlated with tailbeat integrated pressure (r2=0.68) and with differential pressure (r2=0.43); regression correlations were always greater for individuals than for combined data from all cod.
The results detailed in this study indicate that an ultrasonic differential pressure transmitter would enable accurate estimates of the swimming speed, rates of oxygen consumption and activity patterns of free-ranging fish in nature.
Embryonic temperature and the relative timing of muscle-specific genes during development in herring (Clupea harengusL.)
Authors: Temple Genevieve K. , Cole Nicholas J. , Johnston Ian A. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYTemperature influences many aspects of muscle development in herring (Clupea harengus). In Clyde herring, myofibril synthesis occurred later with respect to somite stage in embryos reared at 5°C compared with 12°C. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the relative timing of expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) and myosin heavy chain (MyHC) transcripts changes with developmental temperature. Reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to clone partial coding regions of MyoD, myogenin and MyHC from juvenile Clyde herring. Embryos were reared at 5, 8 and 12°C, and the spatial and temporal expression patterns of transcripts were investigated using cRNA probes and in situ hybridisation. Antisense probes revealed a rostral–caudal progression of all three transcripts. MyoD transcription initially took place in the adaxial cells of the unsegmented, presomitic mesoderm, whereas myogenin transcription first occurred in newly formed somites. The MyHC gene transcript was not detected until approximately nine somites had formed. Since the somite stage at which the MRFs and MyHC were first expressed was independent of temperature, the hypothesis was rejected. We suggest that the effects of temperature on myofibril synthesis must occur downstream from MyHC transcription either at the level of translation or at the assembly stage.
Effects of stretch receptor ablation on the optomotor control of lift in the hawkmothManduca sexta
Authors: Frye Mark A. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYIn insects, fast sensory feedback from specialized mechanoreceptors is integrated with guidance cues descending from the visual system to control flight behavior. A proprioceptive sensory organ found in both locusts and moths, the wing hinge stretch receptor, has been extensively studied in locusts for its powerful influence on the activity of flight muscle motoneurons and interneurons. The stretch receptor fires a high-frequency burst of action potentials near the top of each wingstroke and encodes kinematic variables such as amplitude and timing. Here, I describe the effects of stretch receptor ablation on the visual control of lift during flight in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. Using a combination of extracellular muscle recordings, force and position measurements and high-speed video recording, I tracked power muscle activity, net vertical flight force (lift), abdomen deflection and wing kinematics in response to image motions of varying velocity during tethered flight in a wind tunnel. As a result of bilateral ablation of the wing hinge stretch receptors, visually evoked lift decreased to nearly one-third of that exhibited by intact animals. The phase and frequency of indirect power muscle action potentials and the patterns of abdominal deflection were unaffected; however, wingstroke amplitude was clearly reduced after ablation. Collectively, these results suggest that stretch receptor feedback is integrated with descending visual cues to control wing kinematics and the resultant aerodynamic force production during flight.
Encoding properties of the wing hinge stretch receptor in the hawkmothManduca sexta
Authors: Frye Mark A. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYTo characterize the in vivo responses of the wing hinge stretch receptor of Manduca sexta, I recorded its activity and simultaneously tracked the up-and-down motion of the wing while the hawkmoth flew tethered in a wind tunnel. The stretch receptor fires a high-frequency burst of spikes near each dorsal stroke reversal. The onset of the burst is tightly tuned to a set-point in wing elevation, and the number of spikes contained within the burst encodes the maximal degree of wing elevation during the stroke. In an effort to characterize its mechanical encoding properties, I constructed an actuator that delivered deformations to the wing hinge and simultaneously recorded the resultant stretch and tension and the activity of the stretch receptor. Stimuli included stepwise changes in length as well as more natural dynamic deformation that was measured in vivo. Step changes in length reveal that the stretch receptor encodes the static amplitude of stretch with both phasic and tonic firing dynamics. In vivo sinusoidal deformation revealed (i) that the timing of stretch receptor activity is tightly phase-locked within the oscillation cycle, (ii) that the number of spikes per burst is inversely related to oscillation frequency and (iii) that the instantaneous frequency of the burst increases with oscillation rate. At all oscillation rates tested, the instantaneous frequency of the burst increases with amplitude.
The femur–tibia control system in a proscopiid (Caelifera, Orthoptera): a test for assumptions on the functional basis and evolution of twig mimesis in stick insects
Authors: Wolf Harald , Bässler Ulrich , Spieß Roland , Kittmann Rolf 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYThe extremely slow return movements observed in stick insects (phasmids) after imposed changes in posture are termed catalepsy. In the literature, catalepsy is treated as a behavioural component of the twig mimesis observed in walking stick insects. It is produced by the high gain of the velocity-sensitive component of the relevant joint control systems and by the non-linear dependency of its time constant on movement velocity. The high gain, in turn, causes the system to work close to instability, and this may have driven the evolution of gain control mechanisms. Although these statements represent plausible assumptions, based on correlated occurrence, they remain largely hypothetical like many ideas concerning evolutionary tendencies. To test these hypotheses, we studied catalepsy and the relevant properties of the femur–tibia control system in the middle and hind legs of Prosarthria teretrirostris.cf. Prosarthria teretrirostris is a proscopiid closely related to grasshoppers and locusts. With its slender, green-to-brown body and legs, it shows clear morphological twig mimesis, which has evolved independently of the well-known twig mimesis in stick insects. The animals show clear catalepsy. The main properties of femur–tibia joint control are remarkably similar between proscopiids and stick insects (e.g. the marked sensitivity to movement velocity rather than to joint position and the non-linear dependency of the time constants of response decay on movement velocity), but there are also important differences (habituation and activity-related mechanisms of gain control are absent). Together, these results validate the main concepts that have been developed concerning the neural basis and evolution of catalepsy in stick insects and its relationship to twig mimesis, while demonstrating that ideas on the role of habituation and gain control should be refined.
Hearing and whistling in the deep sea: depth influences whistle spectra but does not attenuate hearing by white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) (Odontoceti, Cetacea)
Authors: Ridgway Sam H. , Carder Donald A. , Kamolnick Tricia , Smith Robert R. , Schlundt Carolyn E. , Elsberry Wesley R. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYHearing is attenuated in the aerial ear of humans and other land mammals tested in pressure chambers as a result of middle ear impedance changes that result from increased air density. We tested the hypothesis, based on recent middle ear models, that increasing the density of middle ear air at depth might attenuate whale hearing. Two white whales Delphinapterus leucas made dives to a platform at a depth of 5, 100, 200 or 300 m in the Pacific Ocean. During dives to station on the platform for up to 12 min, the whales whistled in response to 500 ms tones projected at random intervals to assess their hearing threshold at each depth. Analysis of response whistle spectra, whistle latency in response to tones and hearing thresholds showed that the increased hydrostatic pressure at depth changed each whale’s whistle response at depth, but did not attenuate hearing overall. The finding that whale hearing is not attenuated at depth suggests that sound is conducted through the head tissues of the whale to the ear without requiring the usual ear drum/ossicular chain amplification of the aerial middle ear. These first ever hearing tests in the open ocean demonstrate that zones of audibility for human-made sounds are just as great throughout the depths to which these whales dive, or at least down to 300 m.
Kinematic analysis of a novel feeding mechanism in the brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis (Teleostei: Salmonidae): behavioral modulation of a functional novelty
Authors: Sanford Christopher P. J. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARY
The tongue-bite apparatus (TBA) of salmonids represents an impressive novel feeding mechanism. The TBA consists of a set of well-developed teeth on the dorsal surface of the anterior hyoid (basihyal) and an opposing set of teeth on the roof of the mouth (vomer). A kinematic analysis of behaviors associated with the TBA in the brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis was performed using high-speed video (250 frames s–1). Two distinct behaviors were identified, raking and open-mouth chewing. Univariate analysis demonstrated that these behaviors were significantly different from one another. The power stroke of raking is characterized by significantly greater neurocranial elevation (raking, 36°; open-mouth chewing, 16°) and retraction of the pectoral girdle (raking, 0.85 cm or 21 % of head length; open-mouth chewing, 0.41 cm or 10 % of head length). Open-mouth chewing is characterized predominantly by dorso-ventral excursions of the anterior hyoid (open-mouth chewing, 0.26 cm; raking, 0.14 cm). Raking is significantly shorter in duration (mean 49 ms) than open-mouth chewing (mean 77 ms). When presented with three different types of prey (crickets, fish or worms), Salvelinus fontinalis showed no variation in raking behavior, indicating that raking is highly stereotyped. In contrast, when feeding on worms, Salvelinus fontinalis modulated open-mouth chewing behavior with shorter durations to maximum displacement (at least 20 ms shorter than for either fish or cricket), although the magnitude of displacements did not vary. The reasons for the shorter duration of displacement variables while feeding on worms remains unclear. During post-capture processing behaviors in Salvelinus fontinalis, the magnitude of displacement variables is highly variable between individuals, but temporal patterns are not. This study characterizes two novel post-capture feeding behaviors and modulation of those behaviors in salmonids.
Influence of rotational inertia on turning performance of theropod dinosaurs: clues from humans with increased rotational inertia
Authors: Carrier David R. , Walter Rebecca M. , Lee David V. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARY
The turning agility of theropod dinosaurs may have been severely limited by the large rotational inertia of their horizontal trunks and tails. Bodies with mass distributed far from the axis of rotation have much greater rotational inertia than bodies with the same mass distributed close to the axis of rotation. In this study, we increased the rotational inertia about the vertical axis of human subjects 9.2-fold, to match our estimate for theropods the size of humans, and measured the ability of the subjects to turn. To determine the effect of the increased rotational inertia on maximum turning capability, five subjects jumped vertically while attempting to rotate as far as possible about their vertical axis. This test resulted in a decrease in the average angle turned to 20 % of the control value. We also tested the ability of nine subjects to run as rapidly as possible through a tight slalom course of six 90° turns. When the subjects ran with the 9.2-fold greater rotational inertia, the average velocity through the course decreased to 77 % of the control velocity. When the subjects ran the same course but were constrained as to where they placed their feet, the average velocity through the course decreased to 65 % of the control velocity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that rotational inertia may have limited the turning performance of theropods. They also indicate that the effect of rotational inertia on turning performance is dependent on the type of turning behavior. Characters such as retroverted pubes, reduced tail length, decreased body size, pneumatic vertebrae and the absence of teeth reduced rotational inertia in derived theropods and probably, therefore, improved their turning agility. To reduce rotational inertia, theropods may have run with an arched back and tail, an S-curved neck and forelimbs held backwards against the body.
Influence of increased rotational inertia on the turning performance of humans
Authors: Lee David V. , Walter Rebecca M. , Deban Stephen M. , Carrier David R. 
Published: April 2021

SUMMARYThe rotational inertia of an animal can be expected to influence directly its ability to execute rapid turning maneuvers. We hypothesized that a ninefold increase in rotational inertia would reduce maximum turning performance to one-ninth of control values. To test this prediction, we increased rotational inertia about the vertical axis of six human subjects and measured their ability to turn during maximum-effort jump turns. We measured the free moment about a vertical (i.e. yaw) axis as the subjects performed maximum-effort jump turns under three conditions: (i) unencumbered, (ii) wearing a backpack with a control weight and (iii) wearing a backpack of the same mass that increased the rotational inertia of the subject to 9.2 times that with the control weight. Rotational inertia measurements allowed us to estimate the angle turned during the take-off period (i.e. from jump initiation until the feet leave the ground) and the angular power and work of the maximum-effort turns. Surprisingly, the angle turned during take-off in the increased inertia trials was 44.7 % of that of the control trials, rather than the 10.9 % (9.2-fold reduction) expected on the basis of the increase in rotational inertia. When the subjects turned with increased rotational inertia, the maximum and mean torques exerted were, on average, 142 % and 190 %, respectively, of the values recorded during the control trials. Maximum torques during increased rotational inertia trials actually approached isometric maxima. In the increased rotational inertia trials, the angular impulse was 252 % of that of the control trials and the take-off period was 130 % of that of the control trials. By exerting larger torques over longer take-off periods, the subjects were able partially to compensate for the excess rotational inertia. In contrast to the observed changes in torque, maximum and mean angular power were highest in the unencumbered trials and lowest in the increased inertia trials. On the basis of a decreased ability to generate vertical force when turning and of our estimates of angular power, we speculate that the greater than expected turning performance was due (i) to adjustments in the pattern of muscle recruitment and (ii) to a reduction in the velocity of muscle shortening that resulted in increased muscle forces.