bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Toward a neurobiology of auditory object perception: What can we learn from the songbird forebrain?
Authors: Lu Kai , Vicario David S. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
In the acoustic world, no sounds occur entirely in isolation; they always reach the ears in combination with other sounds. How any given sound is discriminated and perceived as an independent auditory object is a challenging question in neuroscience. Although our knowledge of neural processing in the auditory pathway has expanded over the years, no good theory exists to explain how perception of auditory objects is achieved. A growing body of evidence suggests that the selectivity of neurons in the auditory forebrain is under dynamic modulation, and this plasticity may contribute to auditory object perception. We propose that stimulus-specific adaptation in the auditory forebrain of the songbird (and perhaps in other systems) may play an important role in modulating sensitivity in a way that aids discrimination, and thus can potentially contribute to auditory object perception.
Aversive and non-reward learning in the fire-bellied toad using familiar and unfamiliar prey stimuli
Authors: Dicke Ursula , Heidorn Antje , Roth Gerhard 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
The present study investigated how snapping behavior toward familiar and unfamiliar prey is modified by reward omission and aversive conditioning in the fire-bellied toad Bombina orientalis. Toads were trained to snap at cricket images by rewarding them with live crickets. The task was learned, and the learning criterion (10 snapping responses within 2 minutes) was reached in all individuals investigated. Subsequent reward omission did not alter the frequency of snapping to the familiar cricket stimulus. Snapping decreased only in some individuals, when a mild foot shock was applied at snapping. However, at presentation of images of hitherto unfamiliar meal worms and foot-shock application at snapping to the stimulus, the majority of toads diminished snapping significantly. Snapping responses decreased more rapidly, when snapping at meal worms was not rewarded or a footshock was applied uncorrelated to the presentation of or snapping at meal worms. These results demonstrate that in toads familiarity and unfamiliarity of prey stimuli are important factors in aversive learning, because well-trained responses to familiar stimuli become immune against reward omission. Furthermore, at presentation of unfamiliar stimuli, omission of reward and uncorrelated footshock had a stronger aversive effect than correlated footshock.
Competition for shelter between four invasive gobiids and two native benthic fish species
Authors: Kessel N. Van , Dorenbosch M. , Boer M.R.M. De , Leuven R.S.E.W. , Velde G. Van Der 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Recent invasions by non-native gobiid fish species that are ongoing in the Western European rivers Rhine and Meuse, will lead to interactions with native benthic fish species. Since both non-native gobiids and native benthic species are bottom dwelling species with a preference for shelter during at least part of their life cycle, it is likely that competition for shelter will occur between these non-native and native species when shelter is a limiting factor. To investigate the importance of this mechanism for species replacements, various habitat choice experiments were conducted between two common native benthic fish species (Cottus perifretum and Barbatula barbatula) and four invasive non-native gobiid species (Proterorhinus semilunaris, Neogobius melanostomus, N. kessleri and N. fluviatilis). The first series of single specimen experiments determined the habitat choice of each individual fish species. In a second series of competition experiments, shifts in habitat choice in comparison with the previously observed habitat choice, were determined when a native benthic fish species co-occurred with non-native gobiid species. Native C. perifretum displayed a significant shift in habitat choice in co-occurrence with the gobiids N. kessleri or P. semilunaris. C. perifretum was outcompeted and moved from the available shelter place to less preferred habitat types. During the competition experiments no change in habitat choice of B. barbatula was shown. Our study therefore suggests that competition for shelter is likely to occur in rivers invaded by N. kessleri and P. semilunaris at sites where shelter is limiting.
Potential effects of climate change on a marine invasion: The importance of current context
Authors: Côté Isabelle M. , Green Stephanie J. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Species invasions threaten marine biodiversity globally. There is a concern that climate change is exacerbating this problem. Here, we examined some of the potential effects of warming water temperatures on the invasion of Western Atlantic habitats by a marine predator, the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles). We focussed on two temperature-dependent aspects of lionfish life-history and behaviour: pelagic larval duration, because of its link to dispersal potential, and prey consumption rate, because it is an important determinant of the impacts of lionfish on native prey. Using models derived from fundamental metabolic theory, we predict that the length of time spent by lionfish in the plankton in early life should decrease with warming temperatures, with a concomitant reduction in potential dispersal distance. Although the uncertainty around change in dispersal distances is large, predicted reductions are, on average, more than an order of magnitude smaller than the current rate of range expansion of lionfish in the Caribbean. Nevertheless, because shorter pelagic larval duration has the potential to increase local retention of larvae, local lionfish management will become increasingly important under projected climate change. Increasing temperature is also expected to worsen the current imbalance between rates of prey consumption by lionfish and biomass production by their prey, leading to a heightened decline in native reef fish biomass. However, the magnitude of climate-induced decline is predicted to be minor compared to the effect of current rates of lionfish population increases (and hence overall prey consumption rates) on invaded reefs. Placing the predicted effects of climate change in the current context thus reveals that, at least for the lionfish invasion, the threat is clear and present, rather than future.
Hitchhiker’s guide to genetic diversity in socially structured populations
Authors: Premo L. S. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
When selection increases the frequency of a beneficial gene substitution it can also increase the frequencies of linked neutral alleles through a process called genetic hitchhiking. A model built to investigate reduced genetic diversity in Pleistocene hominins shows that genetic hitchhiking can have a strong effect on neutral diversity in the presence of culturally mediated migration. Under conditions in which genetic and cultural variants are transmitted symmetrically, neutral genes may also hitchhike to higher frequencies on the coattails of adaptive cultural traits through a process called cultural hitchhiking. Cultural hitchhiking has been proposed to explain why some species of matrilineal whales display relatively low levels of mitochondrial DNA diversity, and it may be applicable to humans as well. This paper provides a critical review of recent models of both types of hitchhiking in socially structured populations. The models’ assumptions and predictions are compared and discussed in the hope that studies of reduced genetic diversity in humans might improve our understanding of reduced genetic diversity in other species, and vice versa [Current Zoology 58 (1): 287–297, 2012].
Heterospecific interactions and the proliferation of sexually dimorphic traits
Authors: Pfennig Karin S. , Hurlbert Allen H. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Sexual selection is expected to promote speciation by fostering the evolution of sexual traits that minimize reproductive interactions among existing or incipient species. In species that compete for access to, or attention of, females, sexual selection fosters more elaborate traits in males compared to females. If these traits also minimize reproductive interactions with het-erospecifics, then species with enhanced risk of interactions between species might display greater numbers of these sexually dimorphic characters. We tested this prediction in eight families of North American birds. In particular, we evaluated whether the number of sexually dimorphic traits was positively associated with species richness at a given site or with degree of sympatry with congeners. We found no strong evidence of enhanced sexual dimorphism with increasing confamilial species richness at a given site. We also found no overall relationship between the number of sexually dimorphic traits and overlap with congeners across these eight families. However, we found patterns consistent with our prediction within Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans) and, to a lesser degree, Parulidae (New World warblers). Our results suggest that sexually selected plumage traits in these groups potentially play a role in reproductive isolation.
Sexual selection on color and behavior within and between cichlid populations: Implications for speciation
Authors: Pauers Michael J. , Mckinnon Jeffrey S. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Sexual selection is widely viewed as playing a central role in haplochromine cichlid speciation. Hypothetically, once divergent mate preferences evolve among populations of these fishes, reproductive isolation follows and the populations begin to behave as different species. Various studies have examined patterns of assortative mating among species and sometimes populations, but few have examined variation in directional preferences, especially among populations of the same species. We investigated mate choice behavior in two populations of Labeotropheus fuelleborni, a Lake Malawi endemic. We test whether mating preferences between populations are based on the same traits and in the same direction as preferences within populations. We examine the potential contributions of two classes of trait, color patterns and behaviors, to reproductive isolation. When females chose between either two males of their own population, or two from another, female preferences were generally similar (for the female population) across the two contexts. Mate choice patterns differed between (female) populations for a measure of color, but only modestly for male behavior. In a separate experiment we simultaneously offered females a male of their own population and a male from a different population. In these trials, females consistently preferred males from their own population, which were also the males that displayed more frequently than their opponents, but not necessarily those with color traits suggested to be most attractive in the previous experiment. Thus directional preferences for chroma and related aspects of color may be important when females are presented with males of otherwise similar phenotypes, but may play little role in mediating assortative mating among populations with substantially different color patterns. A preference for male behavior could play some role in speciation if males preferentially court same-population females, as we have observed for the populations studied herein.
Enough dogma: Seeking the middle ground on the role of dingoes
Authors: Glen A. S. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Numerous recent studies present evidence that Australian dingoes Canis lupus dingo can benefit native biodiversity by suppressing mesopredators and large herbivores. Allen and colleagues have challenged the reliability of this evidence. Although they make some valid criticisms, I question some of their assertions. While the existing evidence is inconclusive, I argue that to dismiss it completely would be just as dangerous as to embrace it uncritically. I aim to establish a middle ground.
Ontogenetic mechanisms underlying sexual size dimorphism in Urodele amphibians: An across-species approach
Authors: Zhang Lixia , Lu Xin 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Why do two sexes of the same species differ in body size holds a long-standing question of evolutionary biology. While many across-species comparisons have focused on ultimate causes behind sexual size dimorphism (SSD), only have a few been directed toward elucidating its ontogenetic basis. Urodeles are an amphibian group in which the direction and degree of SSD vary greatly among species. Using demographic data yielded by skeletochronology for 33 urodele species, the current study reveals a positive across-species correlation between SSD and the sex difference in mean age of adult animals, and the latter increases with the corresponding difference in age at maturity; annual growth rate does not differ between the sexes. We conclude that extended longevities in one sex, which is mediated by delayed maturation, would allow it to grow for longer and get larger, with growth rate making a weak contribution to body size. The sex-specific divergence in ontogenetic trajectory might be explained by potentially high growth costs of reproduction to females in association with stronger fecundity selection, and to males that are expected to experience stronger sexual selection.
A test of genetic association among male nuptial coloration, female mating preference, and male aggression bias within a polymorphic population of cichlid fish
Authors: Sluijs Inke van der , Dijkstra Peter D. , Lindeyer Charlotte M. , Visser Bertanne , Smith Alan M. , Groothuis Ton G. G. , Alphen Jacques J. M. van , Seehausen Ole 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Both interand intrasexual selection have been implicated in the origin and maintenance of species-rich taxa with diverse sexual traits. Simultaneous disruptive selection by female mate choice and male-male competition can, in theory, lead to speciation without geographical isolation if both act on the same male trait. Female mate choice can generate discontinuities in gene flow, while male-male competition can generate negative frequency-dependent selection stabilizing the male trait polymorphism. Speciation may be facilitated when mating preference and/or aggression bias are physically linked to the trait they operate on. We tested for genetic associations among female mating preference, male aggression bias and male coloration in the Lake Victoria cichlid Pundamilia. We crossed females from a phenotypically variable population with males from both extreme ends of the phenotype distribution in the same population (blue or red). Male offspring of a red sire were significantly redder than males of a blue sire, indicating that intra-population variation in male coloration is heritable. We tested mating preferences of female offspring and aggression biases of male offspring using binary choice tests. There was no evidence for associations at the family level between female mating preferences and coloration of sires, but dam identity had a significant effect on female mate preference. Sons of the red sire directed significantly more aggression to red than blue males, whereas sons of the blue sire did not show any bias. There was a positive correlation among individuals between male aggression bias and body coloration, possibly due to pleiotropy or physical linkage, which could facilitate the maintenance of color polymorphism.
Do females influence paternal responsiveness in male prairie voles Microtus ochrogaster by increasing the salience of infant odors?
Authors: Lang YAMOAH Damaris-Lois , Laryea Wilhemina , Fassil Fiker , Bamshad Maryam 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Male prairie voles become more responsive to infants following cohabitation with a female. Exposure to female sensory cues prior to offspring birth may influence male paternal tendencies by modifying his response to infant odors in particular or to odors in general. To test these hypotheses, males were housed with an unfamiliar female or a same-sex sibling for 13 days then examined for their response towards either live infants or infant-like inanimate objects covered with one of three odors: water, infant, sub-adult. We recorded the number of males that retrieved and manipulated the infants or odor-covered objects and measured the frequency and duration of time males spent attending to them or engaged in other non-social activities. Female-Cohabited males approached the container holding infant-odor covered objects faster than Male-Cohabited males, but showed no differences in time spent manipulating those objects. Males in both groups spent more time manipulating live infants than odor-covered objects. However, Female-Cohabited subjects were more likely to manipulate odor-covered objects as well as live infants than Male-Cohabited subjects. Additionally, the frequency of self-grooming in Female-Cohabited males was higher for water-covered objects compared to Male-Cohabited males. In presence of water and live infants, Female-Cohabited males groomed themselves with greater frequency than in presence of infant odor or sub-adult odor. The data suggest that female cues increase the male’s sensitivity to infant odors and enhance the salience of non-social odors.
Premigratory fat metabolism in hummingbirds: A Rumsfeldian approach
Authors: Suarez Raul K. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Hummingbird migration is a remarkable feat, given the small body sizes of migratory species, their high metabolic rates during flight and the long distances traveled using fat to fuel the effort. Equally remarkable is the ability of premigratory hummingbirds in the wild to accumulate fat, synthesized from sugar, at rates as high as 10% of body mass per day. This paper summarizes, using Rumsfeldian terminology, “known knowns” concerning the energetics of hummingbird migration and premigratory fattening. Energy metabolism during hover-feeding on floral nectar is fueled directly by dietary sugar through the pathway recently named the “sugar oxidation cascade”. However, flight without feeding for more than a few minutes requires shifting to fat as a fuel. It is proposed that behavior and metabolic fuel choice are coadapted to maximize the rate of fat deposition during premigratory fattening. The hummingbird liver appears to possess extraordinarily high capacities for fatty acid synthesis. The analysis of “known knowns” leads to identification of “known unknowns”, e.g., the fates of dietary glucose and fructose, the regulation of fat metabolism and metabolic interactions between liver and adipose tissue. The history of science behooves recognition of “unknown unknowns” that, when discovered serendipitously, might shed new light on fundamental mechanisms as well as human pathological conditions.
Short-term captivity influences maximal cold-induced metabolic rates and their repeatability in summer-acclimatized American goldfinches Spinus tristis
Authors: Swanson David L. , King Marisa O. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Studies of metabolic variation in birds have involved both wild and captive individuals, but few studies have investigated whether captivity directly influences metabolic rates, despite such variation potentially confounding conclusions regarding how metabolic rates respond to the conditions under study. In addition, whether short-term captivity influences metabolic rate repeatability in birds is currently uninvestigated. In this study, we measured Msum (maximal cold-induced metabolic rates) in summer acclimatized American goldfinches Spinus tristis directly after capture from wild populations, after approximately 2 weeks of indoor captivity (Captive 1), and again after an additional 1–2 weeks of captivity (Captive 2). Msum increased significantly (16.9%) following the initial captive period, but remained stable thereafter. Body mass (Mb) also increased significantly (9.2%) during the initial captive period but remained stable thereafter, suggesting that muscle growth and/or remodeling of body composition produced the observed metabolic variation. Mb and Msum were not significantly repeatable between wild and Captive 1 birds, but were significantly repeatable between Captive 1 and Captive 2 groups. These data suggest that caution must be exercised when extrapolating metabolic rates from short-term captive to wild populations. In addition, Msum was a repeatable trait for birds under conditions where mean metabolic rates remained stable, but Msum repeatability disappeared during acclimation to conditions promoting phenotypically flexible metabolic responses. This suggests that the capacity for phenotypic flexibility varies among individuals, and such variation could have fitness consequences.
Biotic element analysis of reptiles of China: A test of vicariance model
Authors: Chen Youhua 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
In this contribution, I identify possible biotic elements of reptiles of China using biotic element analysis. I test whether the vicariance model could significantly shape reptilian current distribution patterns. My results show that dispersal is prevailing for reptiles in China. There are four major biotic elements in reptilian distribution, which are East Xizang, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Taiwan and Hainan, respectively. The test of distributional areas is significantly more clustered than expected by chance, while in another test that closely related species are homogeneously distributed across biotic elements cannot be rejected. Therefore I argued that vicariance might be one of the key processes in patterning reptilian distribution in China. In addition, I develop an improved biotic element analysis in biogeographic studies, by performing biotic element analysis in an iterative manner in order to diagnose more geographically restricted elements until no noise components found. The importance of antecedent selection of distributional data for the subsequent analysis is also discussed. Besides, my study indicates that biodiversity hotspots are not fully overlapped with areas of endemism for reptilians in East Asia.
Does defensive posture increase mimetic fidelity of caterpillars with eyespots to their putative snake models?
Authors: Hossie Thomas John , Sherratt Thomas N. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Organisms often evolve behaviours that increase or reinforce the protection from predators afforded by their morphological defences. For example, mimetic animals may adopt postures or locomotory behaviours that emulate a characteristic feature of their model to increase predator deception. Caterpillars with eyespots are thought to mimic snakes, and when threatened many of these caterpillars adopt a posture that appears to enhance this resemblance. Herein we evaluate the quantitative strength of evidence of behavioural mimicry in the caterpillars of 14 species by comparing how closely a series of putative snake-mimicking caterpillars resemble snakes while at rest and when threatened. Specifically, we quantified the head morphology and eye position of a range of snake species, as well as the shape of the apparent head (i.e. anterior body segments) and position of eyespots in caterpillars resting or in their defensive posture. This allowed us to objectively examine evidence for an increased resemblance to either snakes generally, or to Viperidae snakes specifically, upon adopting the defensive posture. Widening the anterior body segments during the defensive posture typically made caterpillars appear more viper-like as opposed to more snake-like in general. Enhanced resemblance to vipers upon mounting the defensive posture was apparent only from the dorsal view. Laterally, caterpillars more closely resembled snakes in the resting posture and shifting to the defensive posture instead reduced mimetic fidelity. Overall we found evidence for behavioural mimicry in all 14 species examined. We highlight that objectively quantifying mimetic fidelity can help identify key features involved in deception.