Animal Behavior and Reproduction

Dispersal syndromes allow understanding but not predicting dispersal ability across the tree of life.

The paper investigates dispersal syndromes in European birds, finding that body mass and life history traits predict dispersal, but syndromes are poor predictors for phylogenetically distant species.

Local mating competition, but not climate, drives male reproductive success across a latitudinal gradient in a nest-brooding marine fish

Irrational groups: decoy placement, not group size, shapes collective shoal-size preference in adult zebrafish

This study shows that decoy placement, not group size, influences collective shoal-size preference in zebrafish, with context-dependent biases shaping decision-making.

Extreme fatigue-resistance in a brood parasite parallels a war of attrition in begging competition with hosts

The paper examines muscle fatigue resistance in brood parasitic cowbirds and host warblers, finding cowbirds have greater fatigue resistance in begging displays.

Experimental population demography reveals sex specific density dependence as an outcome of sexual conflict

The paper experiments with Drosophila melanogaster to show that male density affects offspring recruitment, though less strongly than female density dependence.

Behavior and Physiology Outpace Form When Linking Traits to Ecological Responses Within Populations: A Meta-Analysis

This study meta-analyzes over a thousand effect sizes to show that trait variability within populations influences ecological responses more strongly for physiology and behavior than morphology.

The interplay of sexual selection and hybridization can drive sexual radiation

This paper uses evolutionary simulations to show that sexual selection and hybridization together can drive the formation of multiple species with diverse sexual displays.

Long-term consequences of fostering: Single egg fostering leads to decreased survival in zebra finch females, but not in males

This study found that single egg fostering in zebra finches reduces female lifespan but not male lifespan, suggesting sex-specific long-term effects of early developmental stress.

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN FIN SIZE AND SHAPE IN BLUEFIN KILLIFISH

This study quantifies sexual dimorphism in fin size and shape across all fin types in bluefin killifish, finding strong dimorphism in dorsal and anal fins and moderate dimorphism in others.

Specialization of male reproductive tactics correspond with large gonads and small brains

The paper examines the relationship between gonad size, brain size, and reproductive tactics in fish, finding that energetic trade-offs are not consistent across morphs, suggesting correlated selection rather than direct resource allocation.

Sex-specific Flexibility in Breeding and Helping Strategies in the Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius)

The paper examines sex-specific breeding and helping strategies in sociable weavers, finding males help more frequently and for longer periods than females, with notable role-switching behavior.

Directional heritability and the geometry of multivariate constraint

The paper analyzes directional heritability across trait directions and shows how matrix geometry influences evolutionary constraint using empirical G-P matrix data.

Warm waters undermine cryptic female choice

The paper examines how rising temperatures affect cryptic female choice in a marine fish, finding that warmer conditions reduce female control over fertilization.

Coexistence Maintained by Sexual Interactions

The paper investigates how sexual interactions, specifically traumatic mating and male competition, affect the coexistence of cryptic species.

Developmental evolution of social signals in the delayed plumage maturation of manakins (Aves: Pipridae)

The paper investigates the evolutionary history of delayed plumage maturation in manakins using phylogenetic analysis and developmental schedules of plumage patches, revealing multiple origins and sociosexual functions of prolonged maturation.

Mating suppresses sperm-dependent male avoidance in C. elegans hermaphrodites

This study shows that C. elegans hermaphrodites avoid males when they have self-sperm, but this avoidance decreases after mating or when self-sperm are depleted.

Maternal diet exerts sex-specific effects on offspring' personalities in predatory mites

This study shows that maternal diet affects offspring personality traits like activity and boldness in predatory mites, with pollen-fed mothers producing shier offspring and spider mite-fed mothers producing more active ones.

Recent breeding experience improves egg ejection behaviour

This study shows that recent breeding experience improves egg ejection behavior in barn swallows, suggesting awareness of own egg-laying is key, not a template image.

Embryonic environment impacts adult traits and phenotypic integration in the pea aphid

The paper examines how maternal environmental conditions affect phenotypic integration in pea aphid offspring, showing differential impacts on morphology and transcription.

Partner cues and individual variation underlie sex-reversed parental care in poison frogs

The paper investigates sex-reversed parental care in poison frogs, finding that female care propensity is influenced by partner cues and individual variation, with distinct gene expression patterns in non-caregiving females.

Dietary ethanol affects feeding behaviour, flight performance, and mating success in a fruit-feeding butterfly

This study shows that dietary ethanol affects feeding behavior, flight performance, and mating success in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana.

Early-life social instability affects aggression, but not response inhibition, in chickens

This study shows that social instability increases aggression but does not affect response inhibition in chickens.

Allonursing (Co-BreeD): Its prevalence, functions and hypotheses across mammals and human cultures

This study compiles the largest allonursing dataset from wild populations and analyzes its distribution, mechanisms, and functions across mammals and human cultures.

Coordinated Discordance: Strategic Nest Attendance for Chick Rearing in Monogamous Seabird

This study examines nest attendance coordination in Streaked Shearwaters, finding that higher coordination reduces extended nest absences but not chick growth rates, with provisioning frequency and meal size being more critical for chick development.

Sexual tail dimorphism explains speciation rate in swallows and martins

The paper examines if sexual tail dimorphism explains speciation rates in swallows and martins, finding a positive association between dimorphism and speciation.

Cannibalism as a mechanism to offset reproductive costs in three-spined sticklebacks

This study investigates cannibalism in three-spined sticklebacks, finding that males cannibalize embryos from both their own and other males' broods, with differences in cannibalism rates between populations.

Density-dependent expression of epitranscriptomic, stress, and appetite regulating genes in Atlantic salmon

The paper investigates density-dependent gene expression in Atlantic salmon hypothalamus, finding significant changes in stress, appetite, and epitranscriptomic genes, with unexpected paralogue patterns and genotype-environment interactions.

Distinct networks of expressed genes are associated with neophobia in the hippocampus of male and female Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus)

The paper identifies sex-specific gene expression modules in hippocampal subregions linked to neophobia in Eurasian tree sparrows.

Dynamic adjustment of feeding behavior depending on dominant-subordinate relationship in large-billed crows.

This study shows that subordinate crows adjust their feeding speed in response to dominant crows' movements, while dominants do not adjust their behavior.

Sex-dependent carry-over between winter associations and breeding proximity in a communally roosting parrot

The paper shows male sulphur-crested cockatoos breed closer to their winter social associates, while females do not, indicating sex-dependent carry-over of social relationships to breeding proximity.