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Exploratory behaviour is one of the best-investigated behavioural traits. However, little is known about how differences in familiarity, i.e. in the knowledge and previous experience with a companion can influ...
The MHC class I and II loci mediate the adaptive immune response and belong to the most polymorphic loci in vertebrate genomes. In fact, the number of different alleles in a given species is often so large tha...
In horses, the morphological changes induced by the process of domestication are reportedly less pronounced than in other species, such as dogs or pigs – although the horses’ disparity has rarely been empirica...
The social environment that mothers experience during pregnancy and lactation has a strong effect on the developing offspring. Whether offspring can be adaptively shaped to match an environment that is similar...
Upon publication of this article [1] it was noticed errors were introduced during the production process which resulted in the omission of decimal points from Tables 2 and 3. In addition Table 1 incorrectly us...
The original article was published in Frontiers in Zoology 2017 14:42
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is naturally recolonizing its former habitats in Europe where it was extirpated during the previous two centuries. The management of this protected species is often controversial and i...
Bivalves comprise a large, highly diverse taxon of invertebrate species. Developmental studies of neurogenesis among species of Bivalvia are limited. Due to a lack of neurogenesis information, it is difficult ...
Foraging strategies of seabird species often vary considerably between and within individuals. This variability is influenced by a multitude of factors including age, sex, stage of annual life cycle, reproduct...
Host-symbiont interactions are embedded in ecological communities and range from unspecific to highly specific relationships. Army ants and their arthropod guests represent a fascinating example of species-ric...
Sea spiders (Pycnogonida) are a widespread and phylogenetically important group of marine arthropods. However, their biology remains understudied, and detailed information about their feeding ecology is diffic...
Acoustic parameters of animal signals have been shown to correlate with various phenotypic characteristics of the sender. These acoustic characteristics can be learned and categorized and thus are a basis for ...
In rats, urine-borne male pheromones comprise organic volatile compounds and major urinary proteins (MUPs). A number of volatile pheromones have been reported, but no MUP pheromones have been identified in rat...
Communal nursing in house mice is an example of cooperation where females pool litters in the same nest and indiscriminately nurse own and other offspring despite potential exploitation. The direct fitness ben...
Unfortunately, upon publication of this article [1] it was noticed there was an error within the Discussion section. During proofing a request to edit the following paragraph was missed:
The original article was published in Frontiers in Zoology 2017 14:29
Upon publication of this article it [1] was noticed the figure placement was incorrect and figure citations were also numbered incorrectly.
The original article was published in Frontiers in Zoology 2016 13:43
Brittle stars (Ophiuroidea, Echinodermata) have been increasingly used in studies of animal behavior, locomotion, regeneration, physiology, and bioluminescence. The success of these studies directly depends on...
The need for the adaptation of species of annelids as “Evo-Devo” model organisms of the superphylum Lophotrochozoa to refine the understanding of the phylogenetic relationships between bilaterian organisms, ha...
Scavenger guilds are composed of a variety of species, co-existing in the same habitat and sharing the same niche in the food web. Niche partitioning among them can manifest in different feeding strategies, e....
Beak morphology exhibits considerable adaptive plasticity in birds, which results in highly varied or specialized forms in response to variations in ecology and life history. As the only parid species endemic ...
Acoustic properties of vocalizations can vary with the internal state of the caller, and may serve as reliable indicators for a caller’s emotional state, for example to prevent conflicts. Thus, individuals may...
Social learning allows animals to eavesdrop on ecologically relevant knowledge of competitors in their environment. This is especially important when selecting a habitat if individuals have relatively little p...
Climate is often considered as a key ecological factor limiting the capability of expansion of most species and the extent of suitable habitats. In this contribution, we implement Species Distribution Models (...
Many legged animals change gaits when increasing speed. In insects, only one gait change has been documented so far, from slow walking to fast running, which is characterised by an alternating tripod. Studies ...
Human populations and breeds of domestic animals are composed of individuals with a multiplicity of eye (= iris) colorations. Some wild birds and mammals may have intraspecific eye color variability, but this ...
Bone structure has a crucial role in the functional adaptations that allow vertebrates to conduct their diverse lifestyles. Much has been documented regarding the diaphyseal structure of long bones of tetrapod...
Insemination in scorpions is carried out by means of a partly sclerotized structure, the spermatophore, which is composed of two separate halves, the hemispermatophores. In most genera these reproductive struc...
Vocal sequences - utterances consisting of calls produced in close succession - are common phenomena in animal communication. While many studies have explored the adaptive benefits of producing such sequences,...
Exposure to future ocean acidification scenarios may alter the behaviour of marine teleosts through interference with neuroreceptor functioning. So far, most studies investigated effects of ocean acidification...
Unlike Drosophila but similar to other arthropod and vertebrate embryos, the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum develops everted limb buds during embryogenesis. However, the molecular processes directing the evagin...
The maintenance of species and the promotion of speciation are closely related to chromosomal rearrangements throughout evolution. Decapoda represents the most species-rich order among crustaceans and, despite...
Animal toxins can have medical and therapeutic applications. Principally, toxins produced by insects, arachnids, snakes and frogs have been characterized. Venomous mammals are rare, and their venoms have not b...
Reproduction is an energetically expensive process that supposedly impairs somatic integrity in the long term, because resources are limited and have to be allocated between reproduction and somatic maintenanc...
A central question in evolutionary parasitology is to what extent ecology impacts patterns of parasitism in wild host populations. In this study, we aim to disentangle factors influencing the risk of parasite ...
Over the past couple of decades, measuring immunological parameters has become widespread in studies of ecology and evolution. A combination of different immunological indices is useful for quantifying differe...
Fluorochrome staining is among the most widely used techniques to study growth dynamics of echinoderms. However, it fails to detect fine-scale increments because produced marks are commonly diffusely distribut...
The Correction to this article has been published in Frontiers in Zoology 2018 15:12
Diversity of hair in marine mammals was suggested as an evolutionary innovation to adapt aquatic environment, yet its genetic basis remained poorly explored. We scanned α-keratin genes, one major structural co...
In many regions, freshwater wetlands are increasing in salinity at rates exceeding historic levels. Some freshwater organisms, like amphibians, may be able to adapt and persist in salt-contaminated wetlands by...
Aedes albopictus (Diptera; Culicidae) is a highly invasive mosquito species and a competent vector of several arboviral diseases that have spread rapidly throughout the world. Prevalen...
In many animal species, interactions between individuals of different sex often occur in the context of courtship and mating. During these interactions, a specific mating partner can be chosen. By discriminati...
Birds have highly mobile necks, but neither the details of how they realize complex poses nor the evolution of this complex musculoskeletal system is well-understood. Most previous work on avian neck function ...
Trophic interactions are a fundamental aspect of ecosystem functioning, but often difficult to observe directly. Several indirect techniques, such as fatty acid analysis, were developed to assess these interac...
Animal colours and patterns commonly play a role in reducing detection by predators, social signalling or increasing survival in response to some other environmental pressure. Different colour morphs can evolv...
Acclimation to abiotic challenges, including decreases in O2 availability, requires physiological and anatomical phenotyping to accommodate the organism to the environmental conditions. The retention of a nucleus...
Foraging efficiency determines whether animals will be able to raise healthy broods, maintain their own condition, avoid predators and ultimately increase their fitness. Using accelerometers and GPS loggers, f...
Numerous historical descriptions of the Lesser Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus jaculus, a small bipedal mammal with elongate hindlimbs, make special note of their extraordinary leaping ability. We observed jerboa locomo...
The origin of jawed vertebrates was marked by profound reconfigurations of the skeleton and muscles of the head and by the acquisition of two sets of paired appendages. Extant cartilaginous fish retained numer...
A substantial period of life after reproduction ends, known as postreproductive lifespan (PRLS), is at odds with classical life history theory and its causes and mechanisms have puzzled evolutionary biologists...
Fat deposits enable a female mammal to bear the energy costs of offspring production and thus greatly influence her reproductive success. However, increasing locomotor costs and reduced agility counterbalance ...
The Correction to this article has been published in Frontiers in Zoology 2018 15:3
Variation in growth and immune function within and among populations is often associated with specific environmental conditions. We compared growth and immune function in nestlings of year-round breeding equat...
The structure and development of the nervous system in Lophotrochozoa has long been recognized as one of the most important subjects for phylogenetic and evolutionary discussion. Many recent papers have presen...
Frontiers in Zoology