bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Age and body size of Rana amurensis from northeastern China
Authors: Chen Wei , Lu Xin 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Age and body size are two important demographic traits that determine the life history strategies of populations and species. We measured these two parameters of Rana amurensis, at a 900 m and a 500 m altitude site in northeastern China. At the two sites, age at first reproduction was 2 years for males and 3 years for females. The maximum age of males and females at the high-altitude site was 6 and 7 years, and 5 and 7 years at the low-altitude population, respectively. Females were significantly larger than males in both populations, due to greater age in both the highand low-altitude sites. Body size of either males or females did not differ significantly between populations; only males showed increased body size at the high-altitude site when age effect was statistically controlled for. The increased cline of male body size may be attributable to delayed maturation of the sex due to a shorter growing season at high altitudes.
Phylogeny and species differentiation of Mollitrichosiphum spp. (Aphididae, Greenideinae) based on mitochondrial COI and Cyt b genes
Authors: Zhang Ruiling , Huang Xiaolei , Jiang Liyun , Qiao Gexia 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial genes were conducted to reconstruct species relationships within the aphid genus Mollitrichosiphum (Aphididae, Greenideinae). MP and Bayesian analysis results using COI and Cyt b datasets, and combined MP, ML and Bayesian analysis of both were consistent with a morphologically supported monophyly. Subdivision of the genus into two subgenera was strongly supported. Samples of each included species form monophyletic clade, respectively; and the result implied the valid status of related species in this genus. These results suggest some surprising hypotheses regarding the phylogeography of the genus: the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, reorganization of major river catchments and the isolation of Hainan Island were probably important factors contributing to the diversification of species in this genus.
A functional paradigm for evaluating culture: An example with cetaceans
Authors: Greggor Alison Linda 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Nonhuman culture was first considered in nonhuman primates because they are genetically similar to humans. However, evolution is not progressive and therefore many species may occupy niches that favor socially transmitted, group specific behavior. Not surprisingly, evidence for culture has accrued in several taxonomic groups, including cetaceans. If culture is an adaptation, it is imperative we understand the factors that favor its formation. Understanding the evolutionary origin of culture will allow for a wider range of species to be studied, including those that are difficult to test in the laboratory. I propose a broad-based functional paradigm for evaluating nonhuman culture; based on the idea that while not all cultural behaviors may garner fitness benefits to the individual, the ecological and social environments in which cultural behaviors evolved must have favored the physical attributes and social learning capabilities that allow for cultural formation. Specifically this framework emphasizes the relationships between social learning, ecology, social systems, and biology in relation to culture. I illustrate the utility of the functional paradigm with evidence from the ceteacean group, while setting the stage for a stringent species by species analysis. By means of contextualizing culture, the Functional Paradigm can evaluate a species’ potential to exhibit culture and can investigate potentially cultural behaviors [Current Zoology 58 (2): 271–286, 2012].
Ontogenetic shift in response to prey-derived chemical cues in prairie rattlesnakes Crotalus viridis viridis
Authors: Saviola Anthony J. , Chiszar David , Mackessy Stephen P. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Snakes often have specialized diets that undergo a shift from one prey type to another depending on the life stage of the snake. Crotalus viridis viridis (prairie rattlesnake) takes different prey at different life stages, and neonates typically prey on ectotherms, while adults feed almost entirely on small endotherms. We hypothesized that elevated rates of tongue flicking to chemical stimuli should correlate with particular prey consumed, and that this response shifts from one prey type to another as individuals age. To examine if an ontogenetic shift in response to chemical cues occurred, we recorded the rate of tongue flicking for 25 neonate, 20 subadult, and 20 adult (average SVL = 280.9, 552, 789.5 mm, respectively) wild-caught C. v. viridis to chemical stimuli presented on a cotton-tipped applicator; water-soluble cues from two ectotherms (prairie lizard, Sceloporus undulatus, and house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus), two endotherms (deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus and lab mouse, Mus musculus), and water controls were used. Neonates tongue flicked significantly more to chemical cues of their common prey, S. undulatus, than to all other chemical cues; however, the response to this lizard’s chemical cues decreased in adult rattlesnakes. Subadults tongue flicked with a higher rate of tongue flicking to both S. undulatus and P. maniculatus than to all other treatments, and adults tongue flicked significantly more to P. maniculatus than to all other chemical cues. In addition, all three sub-classes demonstrated a greater response for natural prey chemical cues over chemical stimuli of prey not encountered in the wild (M. musculus and H. frenatus). This shift in chemosensory response correlated with the previously described ontogenetic shifts in C. v. viridis diet. Because many vipers show a similar ontogenetic shift in diet and venom composition, we suggest that this shift in prey cue discrimination is likely a general phenomenon among viperid snakes.
Differentially-expressed opsin genes identified in Sinocyclocheilus cavefish endemic to China
Authors: Meng Fanwei , Zhao Yahui , Postlethwait John H. , Zhang Chunguang 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Eye degeneration is a common troglomorphic character of cave-dwelling organisms. Comparing the morphology and molecular biology of cave species and their close surface relatives is a powerful tool for studying regressive eye evolution and other adaptive phenotypes. We compared two co-occurring and closely-related species of the fish genus Sinocyclocheilus, which is endemic to China and includes both surfaceand cave-dwelling species. Sinocyclocheilus tileihornes, a cave species, had smaller eyes than Sinocyclocheilus angustiporus, a surface species. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that the cavefish had shorter cones and more disorderly rods than did the surface-dwelling species. Using quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization, we found that rhodopsin and a long-wavelength sensitive opsin had significantly lower expression levels in the cavefish. Furthermore, one of two short-wavelength-sensitive opsins was expressed at significantly higher levels in the cavefish. Changes in the expression of opsin genes may have played a role in the degeneration of cavefish eyes.
The significance of midsummer movements of Autographa gamma: Implications for a mechanistic understanding of orientation behavior in a migrant moth
Authors: Chapman Jason W. , Lim Ka S. , Reynolds Don R. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
The silver Y moth Autographa gamma undertakes windborne spring and fall migrations between winter breeding regions around the Mediterranean and summer breeding regions in northern Europe. Flight behaviors facilitating these migrations include: (i) selection of seasonally-favorable tailwinds; (ii) flying at the altitude of the fastest winds; (iii) adopting flight headings that partially counteract crosswind drift; and (iv) seasonal reversal of preferred directions between spring and fall. In the UK, radar measurements indicate that migratory activity is pronounced during the spring and fall, but is usually very low during midsummer (July). However, an atypically intense period of high-altitude flight was recorded during July 2006, and in this study we compare the flight behavior of A. gamma during these midsummer movements with the more typical spring and fall migrations. During July 2006, activity was most intense at significantly lower altitudes than occurred in spring or fall, and was not associated with the height of the fastest winds; consequently displacement speeds were significantly slower. The most striking difference was an absence of tailwind selectivity in July with windborne movements occurring on almost every night of the month and on tailwinds from all directions. Finally, orientation behavior was quantitatively different during July, with significantly greater dispersion of flight headings and displacements than observed in spring and fall. We discuss mechamsms which could have caused these differences, and conclude that a lack of appropriate photoperiod cues during development of the summer generation resulted in randomly-oriented ‘dispersive’ movements that were strikingly different from typical seasonal migrations.
Predicting ecological regime shift under climate change: New modelling techniques and potential of molecular-based approaches
Authors: Stafford Richard , Smith V. Anne , Husmeier Dirk , Grima Thomas , Guinn Barbara-ann 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Ecological regime shift is the rapid transition from one stable community structure to another, often ecologically inferior, stable community. Such regime shifts are especially common in shallow marine communities, such as the transition of kelp forests to algal turfs that harbour far lower biodiversity. Stable regimes in communities are a result of balanced interactions between species, and predicting new regimes therefore requires an evaluation of new species interactions, as well as the resilience of the ‘stable’ position. While computational optimisation techniques can predict new potential regimes, predicting the most likely community state of the various options produced is currently educated guess work. In this study we integrate a stable regime optimisation approach with a Bayesian network used to infer prior knowledge of the likely stress of climate change (or, in practice, any other disturbance) on each component species of a representative rocky shore community model. Combining the results, by calculating the product of the match between resilient computational predictions and the posterior probabilities of the Bayesian network, gives a refined set of model predictors, and demonstrates the use of the process in determining community changes, as might occur through processes such as climate change. To inform Bayesian priors, we conduct a review of molecular approaches applied to the analysis of the transcriptome of rocky shore organisms, and show how such an approach could be linked to meas-ureable stress variables in the field. Hence species-specific microarrays could be designed as biomarkers of in situ stress, and used to inform predictive modelling approaches such as those described here.
Daily shoaling patterns in the zebrafish Danio rerio
Authors: Paciorek Timothy , Mcrobert Scott 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Shoaling intensity in zebrafish Danio rerio is believed to vary throughout subjective day and night hours. This experiment examines long term variations in shoaling behavior. Adult zebrafish Danio rerio were maintained under a 12:12 LD cycle (with dim red light serving as reduced visibility during subjective dark hours), and their shoaling behavior was monitored every hour for a three-day period of time. Our results show that zebrafish perform shoaling behavior throughout subjective day and under reduced visibility conditions, although mean shoaling times during the light phase were significantly higher than mean shoaling times during the dark phase. However, on the 3rd day of the experiment, mean shoaling times during the subjective night had increased and mean shoaling times during the subjective day had decreased. This shift in intensity was not seen on the first two days of the study, and may represent the influence of experience on the behavior of the test fish. We believe this study shows that shoaling behavior changes with light/dark cycles and that fish shoal even during reduced visibility conditions.
Species diversification and phylogeographical patterns of birds in response to the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Quaternary glaciations
Authors: Lei Fumin , Qu Yanhua , Song Gang 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is well known for being of great importance in the evolution of montane species due to its unique geological history and landform configuration, climate complexity, and diversified habitats. The effect of environmental changes since the Quaternary on species diversification, population genetic structure, and demography under environmental change can be studied using phylogenetic and phylogeographical approaches. Birds are the most well-studied group of all terrestrial vertebrates with regard to their response to climatic changes over time. Herein, we briefly review the species diversification of birds in response to the uplift of the QTP, focusing on summarizing the different phylogeographical patterns of birds on the Plateau, its southeastern margin, and the Eastern Himalayas and the reasons underlying these patterns. Speciation was found to be closely related to the uplift of the QTP, with different patterns of intraspecific processes: (1) no divergence within a single refuge was identified in a restricted semi-continuous area of the eastern margin of the Plateau; (2) two divergent lineages with separated refugia were located at the south-eastern and north-eastern margins of the plateau; and (3) multiple divergent lineages within subregions were found in the Eastern Himalayas. Glacial movements and induced climate change are considered to be key factors in shaping these different patterns. The species distributed mainly in the heavily ice-covered platform regions of the Plateau experienced population expansion following the retreat of the extensive glaciations, whereas the species distributed on the ice-free edges of the plateau maintained their population size at a stable level. Demographic stresses on the edge species might have been mitigated by the milder climate in comparison to their platform-distributed counterparts. Various behavioral and ecological characteristics, including dispersal capacity, habitat preference, and elevation specificity, along with evolutionary history might have helped to shape these different phylogeographical patterns.
Phenology of high-arctic butterflies and their floral resources: Species-specific responses to climate change
Authors: Høye Toke T. , Eskildsen Anne , Hansen Rikke R. , Bowden Joseph J. , Schmidt Niels M. , Kissling W. Daniel 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Current global warming is particularly pronounced in the Arctic and arthropods are expected to respond rapidly to these changes. Long-term studies of individual arthropod species from the Arctic are, however, virtually absent. We examined butterfly specimens collected from yellow pitfall traps over 14 years (1996–2009) at Zackenberg in high-arctic, north-east Greenland. Specimens were previously sorted to the family level. We identified them to the species level and examined long-term species-specific phenological responses to recent summer warming. Two species were rare in the samples (Polaris fritillary Bolo-ria polaris and Arctic blue Plebejus glandon) and statistical analyses of phenological responses were therefore restricted to the two most abundant species (Arctic fritillary, B. chariclea and Northern clouded yellow Colias hecla). Our analyses demonstrated a trend towards earlier flight seasons in B. chariclea, but not in C. hecla. The timing of onset, peak and end of the flight season in B. chariclea were closely related to snowmelt, July temperature and their interaction, whereas onset, peak and end of the flight season in C. hecla were only related to timing of snowmelt. The duration of the butterfly flight season was significantly positively related to the temporal overlap with floral resources in both butterfly species. We further demonstrate that yellow pitfall traps are a useful alternative to transect walks for butterfly recording in tundra habitats. More phenological studies of Arctic arthropods should be carried out at the species level and ideally be analysed in context with interacting species to assess how ongoing climate change will affect Arctic biodiversity in the near future.
Rufous-and-white wrens Thryophilus rufalbus do not exhibit a dear enemy effects towards conspecific or heterospecific competitors
Authors: Battiston Matthew M. , Wilson David R. , Graham Brendan A. , Kovach Kristin A. , Mennill Daniel J. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Many territorial animals exhibit reduced aggression towards neighbours. Known as “the dear enemy effect”, this phenomenon has been documented among conspecific animals across a wide range of animal taxa. In theory, the dear enemy effect can also exist between individuals of different species, particularly when those species compete for shared resources. To date, a heterospecific dear enemy effects has only been documented in ants. In this study, we test for both a conspecific and heterospe-cific dear enemy effect in neotropical rufous-and-white wrens Thryophilus rufalbus. This species competes for resources with banded wrens Thryophilus pleurostictus, a closely related sympatric congener. We used acoustic playback to simulate ruf-ous-and-white wren and banded wren neighbours and non-neighbours at the edges of rufous-and-white wren territories. Ruf-ous-and-white wrens responded more strongly to signals from their own species, demonstrating that resident males discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific rivals. They did not, however, exhibit a conspecific dear enemy effect. Further, they did not exhibit a heterospecific dear enemy effect. This could be due to neighbours and non-neighbours posing similar levels of threat in this system, to the possibility that playback from the edges of the subjects’ large territories did not simulate a threatening signal, or to other factors. Our study provides the first test of a heterospecific dear enemy effect in vertebrates, and presents a valuable experimental approach for testing for a heterospecific dear enemy effect in other animals.
Natal dispersal in a social landscape: Considering individual behavioral phenotypes and social environment in dispersal ecology
Authors: Wey Tina W. , Spiegel Orr , Montiglio Pierre-Olivier , Mabry Karen E. 
Published: February 2016

Abstract
Natal dispersal, the movement of an organism from its birthplace to the site of first reproduction, is fundamental to many ecological and evolutionary processes. Mechanistically, individual dispersal decisions can depend on both individual phenotype and environmental cues. In particular, many established evolutionary theories of dispersal highlight the importance of the social environment. More recent research in behavioral ecology has focused on the importance of individual behavioral phenotypes. We reviewed the literature on individual behavioral phenotypes and dispersal and suggest that how individual behavioral phenotypes interact with the immediate social environment experienced by individuals in influencing dispersal is still poorly understood, despite growing interest. We found that very few studies had examined the interaction of individual behavioral phenotypes and social factors, and behavioral phenotypes related to social tendencies were less commonly measured than were behavioral phenotypes related to exploration or response to risk. Further, and unsurprisingly, studies on social behavioral phenotypes and dispersal behaviors during the transience stage of dispersal were underrepresented compared to the departure or settlement stages. Future studies in this area should aim to: a) make explicit links between behavioral traits and their proposed effects on dispersal decisions throughout multiple stages of dispersal, b) integrate more continuous dispersal variables, and c) consider the effects of the spatial distribution and phenotypes of conspecifics (i.e., the social landscape) encountered by individual dispersers.
Preinjury Aerobic Fitness Predicts Postoperative Outcome and Activity Level After Acetabular Fracture Fixation
Authors: Phruetthiphat Ong-art , Koehler Daniel M. , Karam Matthew D. , Rungprai Chamnanni , Gao Yubo , Marsh J. Lawrence 
Published: February 2016

Objectives:
To investigate whether aerobic fitness as determined by preoperative metabolic equivalents (METS) better predicts postoperative functional outcomes after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of acetabular fractures than chronologic age.

Design:
Retrospective review.

Setting:
Level 1 Trauma Center.

Patients/Participants:
A total of 157 patients underwent open surgical treatment for acetabular fracture between January 2005 and December 2013 with age ≥18 years and minimum 1-year follow-up inclusive of imaging, functional outcome scores, and complications.

Intervention:
ORIF of acetabular fracture.

Main Outcome Measurements:
Final postoperative functional outcomes as assessed with the University of California Los Angeles activity score and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.

Results:
Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated elevated preinjury METS, female gender, and lower injury severity score (<18) to be significant independent factors predictive of improved functional outcome per the University of California Los Angeles score. Similarly, preinjury METS were identified as significant predictors for improved Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores for both the stiffness and physical function components. Chronologic age was not a significant predictor for any functional outcome score. Furthermore, a Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated a weak relationship between preoperative METS and chronologic age (r = −0.346).

Conclusions:
Pre-operative aerobic fitness as determined by METS may prove to be a superior prognostic factor for predicting postoperative functional outcome after acetabular fracture fixation than chronologic age. Consideration of aerobic fitness, in addition to other established prognostic factors, may be useful to patients and surgeons for injury counseling purposes.

Level of Evidence:
Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.