Sven Schenk, Stephanie C Bannister ... Kristin Tessmar-Raible
A molecular profiling approach to quantify transcripts and proteins from identical samples allows study of molecular effects of maturation, sexual differentiation and the endogenous circalunar clock in a marine worm.
Consideration of signal detection theory shows how decision ecology relates to optimal collective decisions, helping explain the prevalence of quorum-sensing in even the simplest collective systems, such as bacterial communities.
Paul M Berube, Anna Rasmussen ... Sallie W Chisholm
In the context of an organism's ecology, physiology, and macroevolutionary history, inheritance and gene loss can yield emergent patterns of trait variability that give the appearance of gene acquisition.
UV-reflective dragonfly wax is shown to consist of very long-chain methyl ketones and aldehydes, and a synthetic dragonfly wax spontaneously forms light-scattering fine structures with strong UV reflection.
The turquoise killifish from ephemeral pools in African savannah combines extremely short lifespan with a standard vertebrate body plan – ideal attributes for a laboratory animal.
Ursula Kwong-Brown, Martha L Tobias ... Darcy B Kelley
When ancestral Xenopus returned to water ~170mya, they evolved a new method for producing courtship calls underwater without airflow, using vibrations that also preserve essential acoustic information on species identity.
Empirical evidence shows that conserving local plant diversity is a robust strategy to maintain multiple valuable ecosystem services provided by soils in both present and future environmental conditions.
Adrian G Glover, Helena Wiklund ... Thomas G Dahlgren
High-throughput, integrative taxonomy has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the resources in our oceans are managed and developed in a sustainable manner.
