nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Selective phonotaxis of female crickets under natural outdoor conditions
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Acoustic mate choice in insects has been extensively studied under laboratory conditions, using different behavioural paradigms. Ideally, however, mate choice designs should reflect natural conditions, including the physical properties of the transmission channel for the signal. Since little is known about the discrimination ability of females between male song variants under natural conditions, we performed phonotaxis experiments with female field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) outdoors, using two-choice decisions based on differences in carrier frequency, sound pressure level, and chirp rate. For all three song parameters, minimum differences necessary for a significant preference between two song models were considerably larger outdoors compared to laboratory conditions. A minimum amplitude difference of 5 dB was required for a significant choice in the field, compared to only 1–2 dB reported for lab-based experiments. Due to the tuned receiver system, differences in carrier frequency equal differences in perceived loudness, and the results on choice for differences in carrier frequency corroborate those in amplitude. Similarly, chirp rate differences of 50 chirps/min were required outdoors compared to only 20 chirps/min in the lab. For predictions about patterns of sexual selection, future studies need to consider the different outcomes of mate choice decisions in lab and field trials.
Intraspecific mass scaling of metabolic rates in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

We assessed the intraspecific mass scaling of standard metabolic rate (SMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR), excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), and erythrocyte size in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), with body masses ranging from 4.0 to 459 g. SMR and MMR scaled with body mass with similar exponents, but neither exponent matched the expected value of 0.75 or 1, respectively. Erythrocyte size scaled with body mass with a very low exponent (0.090), suggests that while both cell number and cell size contribute to the increase in body mass, cell size plays a smaller role. The similar slopes of MMR and SMR in grass carp suggest a constant factorial aerobic scope (FAS) as the body grows. 
SMR was negatively correlated with FAS, indicating a tradeoff between SMR and FAS. Smaller fish recovered faster from the exhaustive exercises, and the scaling exponent of EPOC was 1.075, suggesting a nearly isometric increase in anaerobic capacity. Our results provide support for the cell size model and suggest that variations of erythrocyte size may partly contribute to the intraspecific scaling of SMR. The scaling exponent of MMR was 0.863, suggesting that the metabolism of non-athletic fish species is less reliant on muscular energy expenditure, even during strenuous exercise.
Physiological and morphological responses to the first bout of refeeding in southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis)
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Many animals experience fasting because of the high temporal and spatial sporadicity of food availability. Once food is available, animals use external energy to restore their depressed functional performance. In the present study, the physiological and morphological responses to the first bout of refeeding in juvenile southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis) were characterized. Fish that had undergone long-term fasting (fasted for 32 days, the S32 group) exhibited a lower resting metabolic rate ($$ {\dot{\text{M}}} $$M˙O2rest decreased by 49 %), lower peak metabolic rate ($$ {\dot{\text{M}}} $$M˙O2peak decreased by 24 %), greater energy expenditure (increased by 15 %) during specific dynamic action (SDA) and longer duration SDA response (increased by 41 %) than those of a control group (S0 group, fasted for 0 days). The S32 group showed a significantly reduced peak gastric evacuation rate (0.131 g meal h−1) compared with the S0 group (0.315 g meal h−1). The S0 group also had a shorter gastric evacuation time (36 h) than either of the two fasting groups (both 64 h). The S32 group displayed a higher minimum gastric pH (3.1) than the S0 and S16 groups (2.6). Refeeding did not trigger an increase in the wet mass of the gastrointestinal tract, whereas the liver wet mass of the S0 and the two fasting groups increased significantly with refeeding. The trypsin and lipase of the S0 group showed higher mass-specific activities and organ capacities than either of the two fasting groups at certain specific time points. A similar result was found for aminopeptidase activity. Multiple loach meals equaling 6 % of the body weight of the fed fish completely restored the liver morphology within the S16 but not the S32 group. Our results suggest that the regulation of the digestive performance of the gastrointestinal tract in S. meridionalis that are finishing their first small meal after fasting is delayed compared with that of nonfasting fish and that it is similar to the characteristics (lower $$ {\dot{\text{M}}} $$M˙O2peak, greater SDA and a longer duration of the SDA response) of the refeeding SDA.
Auditory brainstem responses in Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis): effects of frequency, level, sex and size
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Our knowledge of the hearing abilities of frogs and toads is largely defined by work with a few well-studied species. One way to further advance comparative work on anuran hearing would be greater use of minimally invasive electrophysiological measures, such as the auditory brainstem response (ABR). This study used the ABR evoked by tones and clicks to investigate hearing in Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). The objectives were to characterize the effects of sound frequency, sound pressure level, and subject sex and body size on ABRs. The ABR in gray treefrogs bore striking resemblance to ABRs measured in other animals. As stimulus level increased, ABR amplitude increased and latency decreased, and for responses to tones, these effects depended on stimulus frequency. Frequency-dependent differences in ABRs were correlated with expected differences in the tuning of two sensory end organs in the anuran inner ear (the amphibian and basilar papillae). The ABR audiogram indicated two frequency regions of increased sensitivity corresponding to the expected tuning of the two papillae. Overall, there was no effect of subject size and only small effects related to subject sex. Together, these results indicate the ABR is an effective method to study audition in anurans.
Mitochondrial activity, hemocyte parameters and lipid composition modulation by dietary conditioning in the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Several parameters can affect membrane lipid composition in bivalves, including diet. Although two fatty acids (FA) 22:6n-3 and 20:5n-3 are essential membrane components, they are sparingly synthesized by bivalves and must be obtained from their diet. Here, effects of dietary modifications of membrane lipid composition were studied at both cellular and subcellular levels in the oyster Crassostrea gigas. To this end, we compared oysters fed two monoalgal diets that differed markedly in their FA composition and a mix of both. As expected, algae impacted phospholipids, in particular 22:6n-3 and 20:5n-3, reflecting differences of dietary microalgae FA composition. Meantime, total saturated FA, total monounsaturated FA, total polyunsaturated FA and total non-methylene-interrupted FA varied little and phospholipid class composition was only slightly affected by diets. Measures made in hemocytes indicated that only mitochondrial membrane potential was affected by diets. Total ROS production as well as mitochondrial superoxide production did not differ with diet. There was no difference in phosphorylating (state 3) and non-phosphorylating (state 4) rates of oxygen consumption rates or in cytochrome c oxidase activity of mitochondria isolated from gills between the three diets. Similarly, neither cytochromes a, b, c or c1 content nor citrate synthase activities were changed, suggesting that number and morphology of mitochondria were not affected by dietary treatment. These results suggest that oysters could possess high homeostatic capabilities, at both cellular and subcellular levels, to minimize the effect of dietary FA and related membrane lipid FA modifications on mitochondrial functions. These capabilities could be a means to face variations in diet composition in their natural environment and to preserve important oyster physiological functions such as growth and reproduction.
Substrate-specific changes in mitochondrial respiration in skeletal and cardiac muscle of hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrels
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

During torpor, the metabolic rate (MR) of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) is considerably lower relative to euthermia, resulting in part from temperature-independent mitochondrial metabolic suppression in liver and skeletal muscle, which together account for ~40 % of basal MR. Although heart accounts for very little (<0.5 %) of basal MR, in the present study, we showed that respiration rates were decreased up to 60 % during torpor in both subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IM) mitochondria from cardiac muscle. We further demonstrated pronounced seasonal (summer vs. winter [i.e., interbout] euthermia) changes in respiration rates in both mitochondrial subpopulations in this tissue, consistent with a shift in fuel use away from carbohydrates and proteins and towards fatty acids and ketones. By contrast, these seasonal changes in respiration rates were not observed in either SS or IM mitochondria isolated from hind limb skeletal muscle. Both populations of skeletal muscle mitochondria, however, did exhibit metabolic suppression during torpor, and this suppression was 2- to 3-fold greater in IM mitochondria, which provide ATP for Ca2+- and myosin ATPases, the activities of which are likely quite low in skeletal muscle during torpor because animals are immobile. Finally, these changes in mitochondrial respiration rates were still evident when standardized to citrate synthase activity rather than to total mitochondrial protein.
Performance of blue- and green-sensitive photoreceptors of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

The compound eye of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus contains a specialized dorsal rim area (DRA) populated by distinct blue-sensitive photoreceptors responsible for perception of polarized light. The rest of the eye is dominated by green-sensitive photoreceptors. Using patch clamp we studied dissociated ommatidia of nocturnal adults and diurnal eight-instar nymphs with the goals (1) of characterizing the biophysical properties of cricket photoreceptors in general and (2) describing the functionally dissimilar blue- and green-sensitive photoreceptors in terms of voltage-gated channel composition and signal coding. Despite different lifestyles, adult and nymph photoreceptors were indistinguishable. No significant circadian changes were observed in K+ currents. In contrast, prominent differences were seen between blue- and green-sensitive photoreceptors. The former were characterized by relatively low absolute sensitivity, high input resistance, slow quantum bumps with long latencies, small light-induced and K+ currents and low steady-state depolarization. Information rate, a measure of photoreceptor performance calculated from voltage responses to bandwidth-limited white noise-modulated light contrast, was 87 ± 8 bits s−1 in green-sensitive photoreceptors vs. 59 ± 14 bits s−1 in blue-sensitive photoreceptors, implying a limited role of DRA in the perception of visual contrasts. In addition, evidence of electrical coupling between photoreceptors is presented.
Seasonal variation in pectoralis muscle and heart myostatin and tolloid-like proteinases in small birds: a regulatory role for seasonal phenotypic flexibility?
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Seasonally variable environments produce seasonal phenotypes in small birds such that winter birds have higher thermogenic capacities and pectoralis and heart masses. One potential regulator of these seasonal phenotypes is myostatin, a muscle growth inhibitor, which may be downregulated under conditions promoting increased energy demand. We examined summer-to-winter variation in skeletal muscle and heart masses and used qPCR and Western blots to measure levels of myostatin and its metalloproteinase activators TLL-1 and TLL-2 for two small temperate-zone resident birds, American goldfinches (Spinus tristis) and black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). Winter pectoralis and heart masses were significantly greater than in summer for American goldfinches. Neither myostatin expression nor protein levels differed significantly between seasons for goldfinch pectoralis. However, myostatin levels in goldfinch heart were significantly greater in summer than in winter, although heart myostatin expression was seasonally stable. In addition, expression of both metalloproteinase activators was greater in summer than in winter goldfinches for both pectoralis and heart, significantly so except for heart TLL-2 (P = 0.083). Black-capped chickadees showed no significant seasonal variation in muscle or heart masses. Seasonal patterns of pectoralis and heart expression and/or protein levels for myostatin and its metalloproteinase activators in chickadees showed no consistent seasonal trends, which may help explain the absence of significant seasonal variation in muscle or heart masses for chickadees in this study. These data are partially consistent with a regulatory role for myostatin, and especially myostatin processing capacity, in mediating seasonal metabolic phenotypes of small birds.
Seasonal acclimatization of the cardiac action potential in the Arctic navaga cod (Eleginus navaga, Gadidae)
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Freshwater fishes of north-temperate latitudes adjust electrical excitability of the heart to seasonal temperature changes by changing expression levels of ion channel isoforms. However, little is known about thermal responses of action potential (AP) in the hearts of marine polar fishes. To this end, we examined cardiac AP in the atrial myocardium of the Arctic navaga cod (Eleginus navaga) from the White Sea (Russia) acclimatized to winter (March) and summer (September) seasons. Acute increases in temperature from 4 to 10 °C were associated with increases in heart rate, maximum velocity of AP upstroke and negative resting membrane potential, while duration of AP was shortened in both winter-acclimatized and summer-acclimatized navaga hearts. In winter, there was a compensatory shortening (41.1 %) of atrial AP duration and this was associated with a strong increase in transcript expression of Erg K+ channels, known to produce the rapid component of the delayed rectifier K+ current, IKr. Smaller increases were found in the expression of Kir2.1 channels that produce the inward rectifier K+ current, IK1. These findings indicate that the heart of navaga cod has a good acclimatory capacity in electrical excitation of cardiac myocytes, which enables cardiac function in the cold-eurythermal waters of the subarctic White Sea.
Pharmacological and genetic identification of serotonin receptor subtypes on Drosophila larval heart and aorta
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), plays various roles in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Previous studies have shown that 5-HT modulates the heart rate in third instar larvae. However, the receptor subtypes that mediate 5-HT action in larval cardiac tissue had yet to be determined. In this study, various 5-HT agonists and antagonists were employed to determine which 5-HT receptor subtypes are responsible for the positive chronotropic effect by 5-HT. The pharmacological results demonstrate that a 5-HT2B agonist significantly increases the heart rate; however, 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, and 5-HT7 agonists do not have a significant effect on the heart rate. Furthermore, 5-HT2 antagonist, ketanserin, markedly reduces the positive chronotropic effect of 5-HT in a dose–response manner. Furthermore, we employed genetic approaches to confirm the pharmacological results. For this purpose, we used RNA interference line to knock down 5-HT2ADro and also used 5-HT2ADro and 5-HT2BDro insertional mutation lines. The results show that 5-HT2ADro or 5-HT2BDro receptor mutations reduce the response of the heart to 5-HT. Given these results, we conclude that these 5-HT2 receptor subtypes are involved in the action of 5-HT on the heart rate in the larval stage.
The fur of mammals in exposed environments; do crypsis and thermal needs necessarily conflict? The polar bear and marsupial koala compared
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

The furs of mammals have varied and complex functions. Other than for thermoregulation, fur is involved in physical protection, sensory input, waterproofing and colouration, the latter being important for crypsis or camouflage. Some of these diverse functions potentially conflict. We have investigated how variation in cryptic colouration and thermal features may interact in the coats of mammals and influence potential heat inflows from solar radiation, much of which is outside the visible spectral range. The coats of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and the marsupial koala (Phascolarctus cinereus) have insulative similarities but, while they feature cryptic colouration, they are of contrasting colour, i.e. whitish and dark grey. The reflectance of solar radiation by coats was measured across the full solar spectrum using a spectroradiometer. The modulation of incident solar radiation and resultant heat flows in these coats were determined at a range of wind speeds by mounting them on a heat flux transducer/temperature-controlled plate apparatus in a wind tunnel. A lamp with a spectral distribution of radiation similar to the solar spectrum was used as a proxy for the sun. Crypsis by colour matching was apparent within the visible spectrum for the two species, U. maritimus being matched against snow and P. cinereus against Eucalyptus forest foliage. While reflectances across the full solar spectrum differed markedly, that of U. maritimus being 66 % as opposed to 10 % for P. cinereus, the heat influxes from solar radiation reaching the skin were similar. For both coats at low wind speed (1 m s−1), 19 % of incident solar radiation impacted as heat at the skin surface; at higher wind speed (10 m s−1) this decreased to approximately 10 %. Ursus maritimus and P. cinereus have high and comparable levels of fur insulation and although the patterns of reflectance and depths of penetrance of solar radiation differ for the coats, the considerable insulation limited the radiant heat reaching the skin. These data suggest that generally, if mammal coats have high insulation then heat flow from solar radiation into an animal is much restricted and the impact of coat colour is negligible. However, comparisons with published data from other species suggest that as fur insulation decreases, colour increasingly influences the heat inflow associated with solar radiation.
The contribution of single and double cones to spectral sensitivity in budgerigars during changing light conditions
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Bird colour vision is mediated by single cones, while double cones and rods mediate luminance vision in bright and dim light, respectively. In daylight conditions, birds use colour vision to discriminate large objects such as fruit and plumage patches, and luminance vision to detect fine spatial detail and motion. However, decreasing light intensity favours achromatic mechanisms and eventually, in dim light, luminance vision outperforms colour vision in all visual tasks. We have used behavioural tests in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) to investigate how single cones, double cones and rods contribute to spectral sensitivity for large (3.4°) static monochromatic stimuli at light intensities ranging from 0.08 to 63.5 cd/m2. We found no influences of rods at any intensity level. Single cones dominate the spectral sensitivity function at intensities above 1.1 cd/m2, as predicted by a receptor noise-limited colour discrimination model. Below 1.1 cd/m2, spectral sensitivity is lower than expected at all wavelengths except 575 nm, which corresponds to double cone function. We suggest that luminance vision mediated by double cones restores visual sensitivity when single cone sensitivity quickly decreases at light intensities close to the absolute threshold of colour vision.
Crowding stress inhibits serotonin 1A receptor-mediated increases in corticotropin-releasing factor mRNA expression and adrenocorticotropin hormone secretion in the Gulf toadfish
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology B

Stimulation of the serotonin 1A (5-HT1A) receptor subtype by 5-HT has been shown to result in an elevation in plasma corticosteroid levels in both mammals and several species of teleost fish, including the Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta); however, in the case of teleost fish, it is not clearly known at which level of the hypothalamic–pituitary–interrenal axis the 5-HT1A receptor is stimulated. Additionally, previous investigations have revealed that chronic elevations of plasma cortisol mediate changes in brain 5-HT1A receptor mRNA and protein levels via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR); thus, we hypothesized that the function of centrally activated 5-HT1A receptors is reduced or abolished as a result of chronically elevated plasma cortisol levels and that this response is GR mediated. Our results are the first to demonstrate that intravenous injection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, stimulates a significant increase in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) precursor mRNA expression in the hypothalamic region and the release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the pituitary of teleost fish compared to saline-injected controls. We also provide evidence that cortisol, acting via GRs, attenuates the 5-HT1A receptor-mediated secretion of both CRF and ACTH.
Effect of GABAergic inhibition on odorant concentration coding in mushroom body intrinsic neurons of the honeybee
Venue: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Kenyon cells, the intrinsic neurons of the insect mushroom body, have the intriguing property of responding in a sparse way to odorants. Sparse neuronal codes are often invariant to changes in stimulus intensity and duration, and sparse coding often depends on global inhibition. We tested if this is the case for honeybees’ Kenyon cells, too, and used in vivo Ca2+ imaging to record their responses to different odorant concentrations. Kenyon cells responded not only to the onset of odorant stimuli (ON responses), but also to their termination (OFF responses). Both, ON and OFF responses increased with increasing odorant concentration. ON responses were phasic and invariant to the duration of odorant stimuli, while OFF responses increased with increasing odorant duration. Pharmacological blocking of GABA receptors in the brain revealed that ionotropic GABAA and metabotropic GABAB receptors attenuate Kenyon cells’ ON responses without changing their OFF responses. Ionotropic GABAA receptors attenuated Kenyon cell ON responses more strongly than metabotropic GABAB receptors. However, the response dynamic, temporal resolution and paired-pulse depression did not depend on GABAA transmission. These data are discussed in the context of mechanisms leading to sparse coding in Kenyon cells.