We review the occurrence of biogenic amines and their potential role as neurotransmitters in the nervous system of three groups of invertebrate deuterostomes: tunicates, cephalochordates, and echinoderms. In addition to an overview of biogenic amines in each subphylum, we focus on a few species, including the sea squirts Ciona intestinalis, C. robusta, C. savignyi, and Phallusia mammillata (tunicates)

Almost all animal species are engaged in predator-prey interactions. These interactions, variable in time and space, favor the emergence and evolution of phenotypic plasticity, which allows prey to fine-tune their phenotype to the current risk of predation. A famous example is the induction of defensive neck-teeth, spines or helmets in some water fleas when they detect cues of predator presence. In

Selection on behavior, signaling, and morphology can be strongly affected by variation in habitat type. Consequently, populations inhabiting different environments can exhibit divergent phenotypes as a result of either habitat-specific selection or plasticity. Urban habitats in particular represent different challenges for organisms adapted for rural environments, including disparate complements of

Multiple paternity is a common phenomenon within the live-bearing fish family Poeciliidae. There is a great variety in brood sizes of at least two orders-of-magnitude across the family. However, little is known about the ramifications of this remarkable variation for the incidence and degree of multiple paternity and reproductive skew. Mollies (subgenus Mollienesia, genus Poecilia) produce some of

Diatoms are diverse and widespread freshwater Eukaryotes that make excellent microbial subjects for addressing questions in metacommunity ecology. In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the simple trophic structure of glacier-fed streams provides an ideal outdoor laboratory where well-described diatom assemblages are found within two cyanobacterial mat types, which occupy different habitats and

Some of the largest impacts of climate change are expected in the environmentally heterogeneous and species rich high mountain ecosystems. Among those, the Neotropical alpine grassland above the tree line (c. 2,800 m), known as Páramo, is the fastest evolving biodiversity hotspot on earth, and one of the most threatened. Yet, predicting climate responses of typically slow-growing, long-lived plant

We investigated the sexual dimorphism and reconstructed the body of Plesiaceratherium gracile based on the numerous new specimens from the Early Miocene Shanwang Basin, China. The sexual dimorphism of P. gracile is reflected by the size of both the lower incisor i2 [length male/female (M/F) ratio = 2.69, width M/F = 1.63] and the upper incisor I1 (length M/F = 1.63). Other mensural variations reveal

Fear of natural enemies in non-human animals is a concept dating back to the time of Darwin. Now recognized as a non-consumptive effect, the ecological and evolutionary impact of fear has been studied in a number of predator-prey systems within the last few decades. However, comparatively little consideration has been given to the non-consumptive effects that parasites have on their hosts, which have

The timing of breeding often has a profound influence on the reproductive success of birds living in seasonal environments with rapidly changing nestling food availability. Timing is typically investigated with reference to lay dates, but it is the time of hatching that determines the ambient conditions and food availability that nestlings experience. Thus, in addition to lay date, phenological studies

Examination of the mechanisms of the plant community assembly at a geographical scale is an interesting topic in ecology and biogeography, which are of great significance for the understanding of species coexistence and biodiversity conservation. But so far, only a few studies have simultaneously assessed the relative roles of multiple-scale factors in shaping the phylogenetic and functional structure

Early environment often has profound effects on phenotypic development that last throughout the lifetime. It has been suggested that unpredictable environments may favor cognitive abilities. However, cognitive challenges during development may result in life-history trade-offs, because complex neural reorganization required for coping with these challenges entails stress and energy costs. In this study

Parasites and hosts are in a complex evolutionary arm race where host compatibility represents a key obstacle for successful infections. The degree of parasite specialization on a host varies along a continuum: on one end, extreme specialist parasites may be restricted to a single host species, and on the other, generalist parasites are able to infect a diverse set of hosts. Multiple intrinsic factors

Just as organisms do not passively exist in their environment, developing sea turtle embryos affect their own incubation microclimate by producing metabolic heat and other waste products. This metabolic heat ultimately contributes to successful development, but it is unclear how it influences embryonic traits such as hatchling sex, and whether trends exist in the magnitude of metabolic heat produced

Although sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has been increasingly used to study paleoecological dynamics (Schulte et al., 2020), the approach has rarely been compared with the traditional method of pollen analysis for investigating past changes in the vegetation composition and diversity of Arctic treeline areas. Here, we provide a history of latitudinal floristic composition and species diversity based

The capital and income breeding concept links energy resources used during reproduction to the timing of their acquisition. During reproduction, capital breeders rely on resources gained previously and accumulated for reproductive investment. By contrast, income breeders use mainly resources collected during the period of reproductive activity. Most commonly, this concept is applied to females; relatively

Semiochemical-baited traps are commonly used to monitor moth pests and inform management decisions. Unfortunately, bee pollinators can be unintentionally captured, which reduces monitoring system efficiency and may negatively impact pollinator biodiversity and pollination services. We assessed the abundance and diversity of wild bees captured in semiochemical-baited traps designed to capture cutworm

Human activities are increasingly confronting animals with unfamiliar environmental conditions. For example, habitat change and loss often lead to habitat fragmentation, which can create barriers of unsuitable and unfamiliar habitat affecting animal movements and survival. When confronted with habitat changes, animals’ cognitive abilities play an important, but often neglected part in dealing with

Forensic practitioners, archeologists, and ecologists increasingly use hair isotope profiles and isotope databases and maps to reconstruct the life history of unidentified individuals. Relationships between hair isotope profiles with travel history have been primarily investigated through controlled laboratory experiments. However, those controlled studies do not reflect the complex life history of

Bisporic embryo sacs contain nuclei derived from two members of a megaspore tetrad whereas tetrasporic embryo sacs contain nuclei derived from all four members of a tetrad. Megaspores from the same tetrad are less genetically similar than are megaspores from different tetrads. Therefore, cells derived from different megaspores in bisporic and tetrasporic embryo sacs are expected to compete with each

Recovery of listed species requires that land managers and research biologists work together to address the factors affecting population stability and growth. In Florida, an essential factor affecting rare species habitat quality and restoration is fire management. Fire plays an essential role in restoring and maintaining almost every upland ecosystem in Florida, but fires also have negative effects

Natural history collections provide a critical temporal view of past biodiversity and are instrumental in the study of extinct populations. However, the value of historical specimens relies on correct species identification, collection date and collection locality. The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) holds an unusual artifact – an electric lamp made from a dried whale penis – with unknown

Traditional conservation scientists approach conservation conflict from a resource-management perspective, in which both wildlife and non-living natural resources are managed to balance the interests of competing human stakeholders. We instead explore conflict between the powerful and less powerful humans and wildlife alike. Applying tenets of social dominance theory to ecological networks, we propose

The aquatic habitat of marine “air-breathing” vertebrates provides a significant thermoregulatory challenge due to the high thermal conductivity of water. In addition to temperature changes across their range, air-breathing vertebrates experience temperature changes on the timescale of seconds to minutes as they perform dives to access two critical resources: air at the surface and food at depth. In

Urbanization has been recognized as one of the most widespread threats to biodiversity. However, the response of wildlife to urbanization differs among groups, with many species being able to persist, adapt, and even thrive in these novel ecosystems. With the aim of assessing the response of avian communities in a neotropical green city, we evaluated their species richness and composition across a

Sharp ecological boundaries often present animals with abrupt transitions in various resources, including the availability of food, potentially creating strong selective gradients. Yet little is known concerning how animals respond to abrupt shifts in resources, especially when gene flow may limit local adaptation. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding and untargeted metabolomics of fecal samples to begin

Interest in gut microbial community composition has exploded recently as a result of the increasing ability to characterize these organisms and a growing understanding of their role in host fitness. New technologies, such as next generation amplicon (16S rRNA) sequencing, have enabled identification of bacterial communities from samples of diverse origin (e.g., fecal, skin, genital, environmental,

A large diversity of parasites manipulates their hosts in various ways to complete their own life cycle. Enhancing the attractiveness of their host to vectors has been suggested as a strategy allowing vector-borne parasites to increase their transmission. Indeed, a higher attraction of hematophagous, arthropod vectors to infected vertebrates compared to uninfected individuals has been found in many

The seasonal occurrence of species and timing of key events in their life (phenology) affects the ecology and evolution of every species, population, and species community (SC) on Earth. Shifting phenologies and mismatches between species may affect range limits and lead to extinctions and biodiversity loss, which are especially concerning in ecologically and economically important SCs like coprophilous

We evaluated how climate change and variable rates of moose browsing intensity, as they relate to wolf predation, might affect the forests of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, United States by conducting a modeling experiment. The experiment consisted of contrasting three different scenarios of wolf management and with a static (current conditions) and changing climate (high emissions). Our results

Biological invasions are a major threat to global biodiversity with particularly strong implications for island biodiversity. Much research has been dedicated towards understanding historic and current changes in alien species distribution and impacts on islands and potential changes under future climate change. However, projections of how alien species richness and impacts on islands might develop

Microbial symbionts of marine sponges play important roles for the hosts and also for their ecosystems. The unique tolerance of marine sponges to a wide diversity of microbial symbionts allows them to acquire a wide variety of “evolutionary solutions” to environmental challenges. Ice scour is one of the main forces structuring Antarctic benthic communities, and its effect is expected to increase as

Melanin pigments color the integument of vertebrates with shades of rufous, gray, and black. In numerous wild species, melanin-based coloration associates to different behavioral, physiological, and morphological traits, yet the proximate basis of such associations remains largely unknown. The neural crest/domestication syndrome hypothesis (Wilkins et al., 2014) proposes that correlated changes in

Complex cell-to-cell interactions (including the production of antibiotics and the quorum sensing phenomenon) occur between benthic marine organisms and bacteria, leading to the establishment of synergistic interactions, especially in extreme and harsh environments, such as Antarctica. Despite this, current data concerning the composition, host- and site-relatedness, and biotechnological values of

High-elevation tropical lakes are excellent sentinels of global change impacts, such as climate warming, land-use change, and atmospheric deposition. These effects are often correlated with temporal and spatial beta diversity patterns, with some local communities contributing more than others, a phenomenon known as local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD) or ecological uniqueness. Microorganisms

The ability to properly identify species present in a landscape is foundational to ecology and essential for natural resource management and conservation. However, many species are often unaccounted for due to ineffective direct capture and visual surveys, especially in aquatic environments. Environmental DNA metabarcoding is an approach that overcomes low detection probabilities and should consequently

Assessments of organisms’ vulnerability to potential climatic shifts are increasingly common. Such assessments are often conducted at the species level and focused primarily on the magnitude of anticipated climate change (i.e., climate exposure). However, wildlife management would benefit from population-level assessments that also incorporate measures of local or regional potential for organismal

Vectorial capacity is an equation that integrates the major aspects of vector biology to predict the number of new mosquito-borne disease infections. Developed for studying transmission of malaria, vectorial capacity is rarely applied to zoonotic vector-borne diseases and is not often adjusted to account for seasonal changes in vector ecology. We used field data from Florida, United States, to expand

Many large herbivore populations are partially migratory, in which the population is comprised of both non-migratory (resident) and migratory individuals. Density-dependence contributes to regulating the dynamics of partially migratory populations by altering habitat selection, vital rates, or rates of behavioral switching between migratory tactics. Studies of mechanisms leading to these shifts have

In order to understand molecular and genetic mechanism of color pattern formation, not only adult phenotypes but also processes and mechanisms of color production and pattern formation during embryonic and postembryonic stages should be described. The pigment cell based color production and pattern formation during embryogenesis were reviewed for the recent studies on lizards and snakes, by focusing

Reproduction is a costly endeavor, and most large, long-lived, and iteroparous mammals exhibit conservative life-history tactics wherein an individual may forego or abandon a reproduction event for the sake of survival. Nevertheless, risks and benefits associated with reproduction are not equal across males and females, nor across their life. Whereas expenditure for females is associated with rearing

Fens and bogs are distinct in terms of their biogeochemistry, water table behavior, and net peat-accumulation regimes. While most peatlands start developing as fens, a large fraction of them eventually shift to bogs in a step-like ecosystem shift. This transition has traditionally been assumed to be primarily controlled by the ecosystem itself (autogenic control). Here we use 90 peat profiles from

Phenotypic plasticity, the property by which living organisms express different phenotypes depending on environmental conditions, can impact their response to environmental perturbation, including that resulting from climate change. When exposed to altered environmental conditions, phenotypic plasticity might help or might hinder both immediate survival and future adaptation. Because climate change

Social feedback plays an important role in human language development and in the vocal ontogeny of non-human animals. A special form of vocal feedback in humans, infant-directed speech – or motherese – facilitates language learning and is socially beneficial by increasing attention and arousal in the child. It is characterized by high pitch, expanded intonation contours and slower speech tempo. Furthermore

Developmental modularity has long been viewed as a hierarchical organization that facilitates evolution through modification or reuse of preexisting modules. More recently, developmental modularity has been proposed as a mechanism capable of driving rapid evolution of novel color pattern phenotypes between closely related taxa. In this scenario, recombination between modular cis-regulatory elements

The Fagaceae family is currently widespread throughout tropical and temperate regions of South America and the Northern Hemisphere, especially East Asia, and has likely been so since the Eocene, according to fossil records. In China, Fagaceae fossils are rare in the lowest latitudes of South China. Here, we describe 12 species in 5 genera of Fagaceae (i.e., Berryophyllum, Castaneophyllum, Quercus,

The Price equation partitions the change in the expected value of a population measure. The first component describes the partial change caused by altered frequencies. The second component describes the partial change caused by altered measurements. In biology, frequency changes often associate with the direct effect of natural selection. Measure changes reflect processes during transmission that alter

DNA barcoding and metabarcoding are techniques that focus on signature genomic regions that in theory provide species level resolution, but in practice this is not always possible. We place animal-focused COI metabarcoding in context with respect to the use of marker gene sequencing in microbial and fungal ecology. We focus on three specific aspects of metabarcodes: (1) the process of metabarcode sequence

Species are the cornerstone in many domains of biology research, which make accurate species delimitation critically important. In this study, the systematics and biogeography of the Hyla chinensis group were analyzed based on phylogeny, species delimitation, and ancestral area reconstruction methods. The phylogenetic results showed that six specific clusters existed in the H. chinensis group. Bayesian

The decline in the eastern North American population of the monarch butterfly population since the late 1990s has been attributed to the loss of milkweed during the summer breeding season and the consequent reduction in the size of the summer population that migrates to central Mexico to overwinter (milkweed limitation hypothesis). However, in some studies the size of the summer population was not

The presence of nestlings and other nest dwelling organisms in cavity nests alters the composition of gasses inside the cavity. Differential concentrations of gasses could be used by some parasites as a cue to localize their hosts. Here, we explored temporal variation in the concentration and isotopic signature of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) inside nest boxes of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Human activities have changed forest composition of northeastern North America since European settlement by increasing the importance of pioneer shade-intolerant species, at the expense of shade-tolerant and long-lived species. This study used tree taxa lists from land survey archives (1842–1935) to document the pre-settlement forest composition in a heavily transformed region at the temperate-boreal

Pelage luminance has been found in many mammalian systems to follow patterns predicted by Gloger’s rule where darker colored animals are associated with environments that are warmer and more moist. Sciurids have one of the greatest diversities of color patterns and hues among mammalian families. We have used comparative methods to investigate whether the luminance of dorsal pelage in 137 species across

For many squirrel species, their intense – arguably coevolutionary – interactions with seed and nut producing trees have significantly shaped their biology and diversity. Here we provide an overview of this relationship in a range of forest types worldwide. We first review the evidence for how forest composition (conifer, hardwood, mixed hardwood and overall diversity of tree species) influences interactions

Croton is a mega-diverse genus of more than 1,200 species with great morphological diversity and highly dimorphic flowers. Staminate flowers generally possess petals and a variable number of stamens and lack of an ovary. Pistillate flowers generally lack petals or have filamentous structures instead; stamens are lacking, and the ovary is generally tricarpellate with divided styles. However, well-developed

There is interest in linking outputs from land use simulators to bird species distribution models to project how boreal birds will respond to cumulative effects of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) conservation, harvest, fire, and energy-sector development in Alberta. Our hypotheses were: (1) species associated with older mixed-wood stands would decline more if harvest was shifted away from areas used by

In recent decades, great strides have been made using various kinds of data including molecular sequences to clarify the phylogenetic relationships of nematodes. Although SSU rDNA sequences are among the most widely used markers in nematode phylogeny, there are areas within Nematoda that do not seem amenable to resolution by this single nuclear gene. The use of the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome)

Many species of social Hymenoptera demonstrate behavioral flexibility, where older workers that typically forage can revert to younger worker tasks, such as nursing, when these are absent. This flexibility is typical of the sterile worker class, yet rare in queens. In the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), queens have been reported to perform only egg laying. We examined behavior of queens of

Evolutionary developmental biology focuses on understanding the origin and evolution of extant biological variation, and the genetic basis for this variation. The genetic toolkit appears largely finite across animals, such that a combination of regulatory evolution, gene recruitment (co-option) and genetic modularity often allow morphological and developmental diversity to arise. Here we summarize

Optimal mate choice based on the assessment of communication signals can be constrained by multiple sources of noise. One well-known impediment to acoustically guided mating decisions is the ambient noise created by multiple signaling individuals in large social groups, in which ambient noise can mask signals by impairing signal recognition and discrimination by receivers. Although studied far less

Environmental variation experienced by a single genotype can induce phenotypic plasticity in various traits, such as behavioural, physiological and developmental characteristics. It can occur within the lifetime of an individual through within-generation phenotypic plasticity (WGP) or vertically across generations through transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TGP). However, knowledge about TGP and