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        <title>Frontiers in Ethology | Adaptation and Evolution section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ethology/sections/adaptation-and-evolution</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Adaptation and Evolution section in the Frontiers in Ethology journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-13T22:29:02.463+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1727875</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1727875</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Udder skin temperature is related to the ewes’ and lambs’ behaviors at birth in autumn lambing ewes]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-12-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rodolfo Ungerfeld</author><author>Ophélie  Menant</author><author>Raquel Pérez-Clariget</author><author>Aline Freitas-de-Melo</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The survival of lambs depends on various factors, including the behavioral traits of both mother and newborn lambs at birth, as well as the ewe’s colostrum production and quality. Colostrum consumption is essential for establishing the ewe-lamb bond and for increasing the lambs’ survival rate. The lambs’ survival rate is also related to the ewe’s udder and teat morphological characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine whether udder and teat characteristics before lambing are associated with the ewe-lamb behaviors at birth and during a separation-reunion test performed 24–36 h later. The udder’s volume and the length, width, and angle of the teats, and the udders’ skin surface temperatures were measured on ewes before lambing. At lambing, the duration of the second stage of parturition, the latency of the ewe to lick the lamb for the first time and its duration, and the latency of the lamb to suckle for the first time and the suckle duration were recorded. Twenty-four to 36 h postpartum, a separation-reunion test was performed during which the ewe’s and lamb’s vocalizations, the ewe-lamb distance, and the latency to reunite and suckle were recorded. Data were collected on 50 ewe-lamb dyads during an out-of-season lambing period (autumn). Spearman correlations were conducted between udder and teat characteristics and the behaviors of ewes and lambs after birth. The udder surface skin temperatures of the ewes’ were negatively related with the number of days before lambing (max: r=-0.57, P = 0.003, min: r= -0.50, P = 0.01), but were positively associated with the latency of the ewe to lick the lamb for the first time (min: r=0.46, P = 0.03), and the latency of the lambs to suckle for the first time (max: r=0.53, P = 0.007, min: r= 0.46, P = 0.02). In conclusion, a negative correlation was observed between the udder skin surface temperature and the time it took for the mothers to lick their lambs for the first time, as well as the time it took for the lambs to ingest colostrum for the first time. However, the morphological characteristics of the udder and teats recorded before birth were not found to be related to the behavioral development of the ewe-lamb bond.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1683770</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1683770</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Assessing cognitive performance in nature: brain size and personality correlates of novel object recognition in nest-guarding male pumpkinseed sunfish]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-11-10T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Keith McAllister</author><author>Maria Dolan</author><author>Caleb J. Axelrod</author><author>Beren W. Robinson</author><author>Frédéric Laberge</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Studying the factors that determine cognitive performance in animals is challenging under natural conditions but necessary to ensure that the laboratory test results are relevant to wild populations. We took advantage of nest fidelity in parental male pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus) to conduct a novel object recognition (NOR) assay in the field. We assessed consistent individual differences in behaviour across the object familiarisation and test phases of the NOR assay and collected anatomical measurements, including brain size, after assay completion. We hypothesised that brain size would influence pumpkinseed cognitive ability and predict NOR performance after accounting for individual behavioural differences. Parental males showed repeatable reactions to nest disturbance and to the presence of objects at the nest periphery between assay phases, as well as correlated object investigation behaviours. We found evidence of novel object recognition memory at the population level, although it varied widely among individuals. Individual differences in object interactivity did not influence NOR performance, but relative brain mass (corrected for body length) did. Parental male pumpkinseed with relatively larger brains performed more poorly than males with relatively smaller brains. We interpret this negative relationship between brain size and NOR performance in the context of severe energy limitations faced by parental males during reproduction. Specifically, males maintaining energetically costly larger brains are likely operating near their upper energetic limit, with little or no spare resources available for investment in demanding learning processes. If this is the case, our findings emphasise that relationships between brain size and cognitive test performance may depend on energy availability and expenditure rates.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1656211</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1656211</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Beef cattle welfare: the role of Integrated Systems in animal adaptation and productivity]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-10-07T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Daniela Maria Martin</author><author>Renata Franciéli Moraes</author><author>Barbara Elis Santos Ruthes</author><author>Leandro Bittencourt de Oliveira</author><author>Anibal de Moraes</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThe domestication of cattle has shaped their adaptation to livestock environments, although management conditions often limit their welfare and productivity. This study investigated whether integrated livestock–forestry (LF) systems improve the behavior, welfare, and productivity of beef cattle compared to conventional livestock (L) systems.MethodsEighteen Angus steers were monitored for ten consecutive months under continuous grazing. Welfare indicators were assessed according to the Welfare Quality® protocol, with adaptations for grazing conditions.ResultsBoth systems ensured adequate feeding, health, and rest conditions. However, animals in the LF system performed better in thermal comfort and human–animal interaction. Specifically, LF cattle had a 2.5 °C lower body surface temperature, a 63% smaller flight zone, and an 85% lower reactivity score than cattle in the L system. Average daily weight gain and body condition score did not differ between systems.DiscussionIntegrated livestock–forestry systems enhanced adaptive behaviors and animal comfort without compromising productivity. These findings highlight LF systems as a sustainable approach to balancing animal welfare with production efficiency.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1644812</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1644812</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Comparative neurobiology of vigilance and stress adaptation systems in wild and laboratory rodents (Rattus norvegicus)]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-09-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Molly Kent</author><author>Brendan Crockett</author><author>Aditya Narayanan</author><author>Isabel Dilandro</author><author>Ava Wagner</author><author>Andrés Mauco</author><author>Gabriella Handford</author><author>Paean Luby</author><author>Richard Hunter</author><author>Troy Richter</author><author>Jonathan Richardson</author><author>Olivia Harding</author><author>Joanna Jacob</author><author>Sarah Catherine Hartvigsen</author><author>Kelly Lambert</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Although chronic stress is typically associated with disease and negative outcomes, wild animals often survive—and even thrive—in environments marked by recurring threats. In this study, we investigated neurobiological differences in vigilance-associated and stress-coping systems, as well as resilience, in wild and laboratory-bred rats (Rattus norvegicus) to explore potential survival-related adaptations in wild populations. Consistent with previous findings, wild rats exposed to chronic environmental stressors exhibited heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, evidenced by enlarged adrenal glands and elevated fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids. Brains were processed using thionin staining for neural and glial cell counts and immunohistochemistry for immunoreactive targets. Wild rats exhibited neuronal and glial cell modifications in vigilance-related cortical regions, including the auditory and piriform cortices. Additional adaptations included increased glial cell density in the lateral habenula—a region implicated in coping appraisal—and enhanced microvascular density in the hippocampus. These findings underscore the value of incorporating wild animals exposed to naturalistic stressors into the study of adaptive and maladaptive stress responses. Integrating wild and laboratory models may yield translational insights for developing therapeutic strategies targeting stress- and anxiety-related disorders.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1616436</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1616436</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Trainability, persuasion, or coercion: a study of human–dog and human–wolf interactions in early life]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-08-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Gwendolyn Wirobski</author><author>Friederike Range</author><author>Laura Bonnet</author><author>Zsófia Virányi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Human–dog interactions are often ascribed to selection for increased cooperativeness during domestication, implying voluntary participation and mutual benefit. Alternatively, building on a possible selection for higher deference and submissive inclinations toward more dominant individuals (deferential behavior or super-dominance hypotheses), human–dog interactions might rather rely on following the human lead. Here, we compare three components of tractability, i.e., the willingness to comply with human directions, of young, hand-raised wolves and dogs using a set of behavioral tests to investigate their 1) trainability (coming when called with and without a distraction, following commands), 2) responsiveness to persuasion (fetch and retrieve a ball), and 3) readiness to accept coercion (brushing, muzzling, lying on the back while being petted). Based on the hypothesis that dogs show higher compliance with human directions than wolves, we predicted that dogs would respond to being called and follow learned commands faster than wolves. Dogs should also be more responsive to persuasion and accept coercion more readily than wolves. In contrast to our predictions, we found no difference between latencies of coming when called or when asked to sit, but wolves took longer to lie down on command than dogs. In the fetch and retrieve task, dogs retrieved the ball more often than wolves at 9 weeks of age, but not at 6 and 8 weeks, and it was more difficult to get the ball back from the wolves than from the dogs, at least when the partner was a stranger. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences between wolves and dogs in the brushing and the muzzling tests. In the final test, dogs accepted coercive handling when lying on their backs and remained lying down as long as without restraint, whereas the opposite was the case for wolves. In conclusion, the findings support the deferential behavior hypothesis whereby dogs more readily accept the leading role of the human partners, regardless of relationship strength and interaction style (persuasive vs. coercive), but wolves comply only if there is mutual trust and the interaction does not involve physical restrictions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1540458</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1540458</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Behavior and physiology of boars housed in three different environments]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-04-01T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Thiago Bernardino</author><author>Leandro Sabei</author><author>Marisol Parada Sarmiento</author><author>Denis Sato</author><author>Sharacely de Souza Farias</author><author>Tauana Maria Carlos Guimarães de Paula</author><author>Gabriela Rezende Marques</author><author>Adroaldo José Zanella</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Boars housed in commercial conditions are often housed in pens or in individual crates, and are subjected to low-stimulus environments, which may affect the expression of normal species-specific behaviors and compromise its health and welfare. Breeding boars’ behaviors has been poorly reported in the scientific literature, as well as their physiology and its circadian rhythm of cortisol. Moreover, an environmental enrichment for breeding boars, as far as we know, has not been studied or reported in literature, lacking its impact on how it can improve their welfare. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the behavior and salivary cortisol physiology of breeding boars housed in three different conditions: crates, pens and enriched pens. For the enriched pens the boars were brushed, they were showering and they received hay, twice daily. All animals were video recorded, and we collected saliva samples in the morning and afternoon to measure the circadian rhythm of cortisol. The boars housed in crates showed more (5.23 seconds) abnormal behaviors (head weaving, biting bars, licking floor, sham-chewing, drinker manipulation, and licking empty trough) than boars housed in pens (2.47 seconds) and in enriched pens (2.93 seconds). In addition, the boars housed in the enriched pens did have significant differences in salivary cortisol through the day (morning and afternoon assessment), different from boars from other treatments. We demonstrated that breeding boars that received environmental enrichment showed indicators of better welfare (behavior and salivary cortisol ratio), suggesting that this strategy should be considered as a protocol to improve their welfare.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1520935</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1520935</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Over or under: new phylogenetic insights in the evolution of head scratching in birds]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-03-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Cristián Gutiérrez-Ibáñez</author><author>Vivien C. Pellis</author><author>Andrew N. Iwaniuk</author><author>Sergio M. Pellis</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Some birds scratch their heads by moving their foot ventrally underneath their wing and others do so by moving their foot over their wing. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the distribution of these patterns. The phylogenetic hypothesis proposes that the underwing route is a novel pattern evolved in birds as the evolution of wings meant that the foot did not have to move over the front leg as is it does in quadrupeds. Consequently, the overwing route is an atavism reflecting the tetrapod ancestry of birds. The biomechanical hypothesis proposes that body morphology or environmental context determines which pattern is most effective and so explains variation across species. Earlier attempts to test these hypotheses were limited by relatively small, taxonomically biased samples of birds that did not take phylogenetic relationships into account and with few morphological traits explicitly compared. The present study includes data for 1157 species from 92% of avian families and expands the number of morphological traits compared. The most plausible ancestral state, at least for Neoaves, was overwing scratching, turning the original phylogenetic hypothesis on its head. It is also clear from the analyses that head scratching pattern is a highly labile evolutionary trait that, in some orders, repeatedly switches between over and under wing patterns. Moreover, while some morphological traits biased the likely scratching pattern used in some clades, the biomechanical hypothesis failed to predict the pattern of scratching across all birds. The most likely explanation is that the two forms of scratching are independently evolved behavior patterns and that a yet to be determined reason can switch between patterns in different lineages.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1473358</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1473358</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Chronobiology as compensation: can biological rhythms compensate for sexual signals?]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-01-07T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Mary L. Westwood</author><author>E. Dale Broder</author><author>Gabrielle T. Welsh</author><author>Robin M. Tinghitella</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Conspicuous sexual signals come with costs and benefits. Such signals increase reproductive success but may also reduce survival or viability. It has recently been suggested that non-signal traits may alleviate some of those costs (termed “compensatory traits”). In this perspective piece, we argue that biological rhythms should be considered in the milieu of compensatory traits, as they can reduce the natural selection burden of signaling. This may be particularly true for the many sexual signals that are ephemeral (i.e., only periodically present like a courtship dance). Biological rhythms (e.g., circadian and circannual rhythms) are ubiquitous in nature and help organisms perform the right activity at the right time—this includes the timing of many sexual signals and reproductive traits. Timing itself may, in fact, reduce the costs of such sexual signals. Here, we review sexual signals that are governed by biological rhythms and discuss how signal modality and type (ornament, weapon, dominance trait) account for differences in how chronobiology may act as a compensatory trait. We then consider how biologists might examine the untested role of chronobiology as a compensatory trait and set forth compelling questions for future work.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1484454</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1484454</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The development of compensatory ability for a sexually-selected ornament in stalk-eyed flies]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-11-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Brief Research Report</category>
        <author>Jason T. Vance</author><author>John G. Swallow</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Female preference for longer eyespan has driven exaggerated sexual dimorphism in several species of stalk-eyed flies. Longer eyespan increases a fly’s moment of inertia, and flies experience significant increase in body mass across age as they mature sexually. These costs may impact flight behavior and fitness through maneuverability and predator evasion, and appear ameliorated by co-selection for compensatory traits, as flies with longer eyespans tend to have larger thoraces and wings, allowing them to perform turns similar to flies with shorter eyespans. However, the capacity to compensate for a potentially costly ornament may not be limited to morphological traits which are fixed at the time of eclosion: as flies age, they also accumulate thorax mass and improve their flight performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the compensatory ability of two populations of stalk-eyed flies (Teleopsis dalmanni and Diasemopsis meigenii) through comparing morphology and flight performance relative to eyespan. ‘Over-compensators’ should exhibit greater morphological and/or performance traits relative to eyespan, whereas ‘under-compensators’ should exhibit relatively less across these metrics. Flight performance was assessed using high-speed videography and variable-density gas-mixtures to determine maximal flight capacity. Young adult flies eclosed as ‘under-compensators’, with less thorax mass, wing velocity and flight capacity relative to their eyespan as compared to older flies. As flies aged and accumulated thorax mass, they became ‘over-compensators’. Thus, compensation for long eye-stalks is not a fixed trait; instead, variation in compensatory ability appears to be associated with the development of thorax muscle and flight performance across age.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1461681</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1461681</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Stalk-eyed flies carrying a driving X chromosome compensate by increasing fight intensity]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-10-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Brief Research Report</category>
        <author>Kimberly A. Paczolt</author><author>Macy E. Pritchard</author><author>Gabrielle T. Welsh</author><author>Gerald S. Wilkinson</author><author>Josephine A. Reinhardt</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Exaggerated ornaments provide opportunities to understand how selection can operate at different levels to shape the evolution of a trait. While these features aid their bearer in attracting mates or fending off competitors, they can also be costly and influenced by the environment and genetic variation. The eyestalks of the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni, are of interest because eyestalk length is the target of both intra- and intersexual selection and is also reduced by loci on a highly-divergent sex ratio X chromosome (XSR), a meiotic driver accounting for up to 30% of wild X chromosomes. Male stalk-eyed flies fight to control access to females and over food using a combination of low-intensity displays and high-intensity physical fights. We staged, filmed, and scored contests between pairs of eyespan-matched males to evaluate whether X chromosome type impacts the behavior and outcome of aggressive interactions. While our results broadly match expectations from previous studies, we found that XSR males used more high-intensity behaviors than males carrying a non-driving, standard X chromosome (XST), particularly when their eyestalks were of similar size or smaller than their opponents. Additionally, we found that when XSR males use high-intensity behaviors, they win more bouts than when they use low-intensity behaviors. Taken together, these results suggest that XSR impacts male aggressive behavior to compensate for the shorter eyestalks of XSR males and may help to explain how this selfish chromosome is maintained.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1464308</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1464308</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Counting the costs of expensive tissues: mating system, brain size, and IGF-1 affect the ecological costs of transport in mammals]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-10-10T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jerry F. Husak</author><author>Mahaut V. Sorlin</author><author>Simon P. Lailvaux</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Although sexual selection can be a powerful evolutionary force in shaping the phenotype, sexually selected traits do not evolve in isolation of other traits or without influence from other selective pressures. Expensive tissues, such as brains, can constrain the evolution of sexually selected traits, such as testes, as can other energetically expensive processes, like the costs of locomotion. However, simple linear or binary analyses of specific traits of interest can prevent detection of important links within the integrated phenotype and obfuscate the importance of multiple selective forces. We used phylogenetically informed path analysis to determine causal links among mating system type, pace of life history, costs of locomotion, brain size, and testis size across 48 mammal species that exhibit a wide range of body sizes, life-history strategies, and types of locomotion. We found species with non-monogamous mating systems were associated with larger testes, faster life histories, and lower costs of locomotion compared to monogamous species. Having a larger brain was associated with a slower life history and, surprisingly, larger testes. In addition to highlighting the non-intuitive nature of certain causal relationships, our results also emphasize the utility of including multiple traits in studies of sexually selected traits, as well as considering the constraints imposed by linked traits and selection on those linked traits.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1447637</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1447637</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Heat-absorbing sexual coloration co-adapts with increased heat tolerance in dragonflies]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-10-10T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Brief Research Report</category>
        <author>Noah T. Leith</author><author>Michael P. Moore</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Producing and maintaining sexually selected ornaments often hinders survival. Because viability-related traits dictate the survival costs conferred by sexual ornaments, the evolution of viability-related traits can limit and/or compensate for ornament evolution. Here, we examine how the ornamental coloration of male dragonflies co-adapts with thermal physiology—a key suite of viability-related traits that influences nearly all reproductive and ecological interactions. Males of many dragonfly species produce dark color patches on their wings to attract potential mates and intimidate reproductive rivals. However, dark coloration also subjects male dragonflies to heat stress in warm climates by absorbing excess solar radiation. Our phylogenetic comparative analyses revealed that dragonfly species with dark sexual coloration have also evolved increased critical thermal maxima, which may allow them to compensate for ornament-induced heating. This pattern of correlated evolution was especially strong for species that inhabit tropical climates, where the heating costs of dark coloration are most severe. Given that darkened sexual coloration is taxonomically widespread and consistently elevates body temperatures, the pattern of co-adaptation between sexual ornaments and thermal physiology found here could represent a key process driving eco-physiological divergence in the past and influencing how populations respond to the changing climates of the future.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1460323</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2024.1460323</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Courtship performance, not ornamentation, predicts mating success in two sister-species of wolf spider with divergent phenotypes]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-08-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Eileen A. Hebets</author><author>Mariela Oviedo-Diego</author><author>Abdallah Abdallah</author><author>Seth Griger</author><author>Rowan McGinley</author><author>James Starrett</author><author>Jason E. Bond</author><author>Mitch Bern</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Mate choice is posited to explain the evolution and maintenance of numerous secondary sexual traits, including ornamentation. This study explores the role of ornamentation in the mating success of two sister-species of wolf spider with divergent ornamentation. Mature male Schizocosa crassipalpata lack ornamentation while males of its closest living relative, S. bilineata, express both dark pigmentation and foreleg brushes. Following phenotypic manipulations of foreleg ornamentation – i.e. adding ornamentation in the form of dark pigment to non-ornamented males (S. crassipalpata, Aim 1) and removing ornamentation in varying degrees from highly ornamented males (S. bilineata, Aim 2 – shaving brushes; Aim 3 – shaving brushes and painting over dark pigment in vibration present/absent environments) – we found no evidence that ornamentation alone improves male mating success in either species, regardless of the vibratory signaling environment. In both S. bilineata experiments, however, higher courtship rates resulted in higher mating success, suggesting selection for courtship performance. Furthermore, females were more likely to turn, a presumed receptivity display, in response to males that courted at a higher rate. Also, similar to findings in another relative (S. stridulans), we found indications that ornamentation may function to ease a male’s reliance on courtship performance – i.e., at low courtship rates, only ornamented males can secure a mating. Our phenotypic manipulations also influenced courtship behavior in S. bilineata. Shaved males began courting earlier and courted more often over a longer time than intact males, yet ultimately acquired similar matings. This increased courtship effort likely compensated for reduced ornamentation. Finally, the vibratory environment appears crucial for female–male dialogue in S. bilineata, as vibratory absent environments resulted in increased female attacks and decreased male courtship rates. Together, our data suggest that S. crassipalpata females do not possess a preference for ornamentation and that S. bilineata females do not use ornamentation alone in mating decisions. Instead, our results are consistent with a hypothesis that ornamentation in Schizocosa evolved, and is likely maintained, due to its interactions with dynamic movement displays (i.e. leg movements), which can themselves be plastically altered based on the signaler’s phenotype as well as the signaling environment.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1325273</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1325273</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Behavioral drive and morphological amplification of an aggressive display]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-12-18T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Philip A. Hastings</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The evolution of conspicuous morphology and related displays is often ascribed to their role in sexual selection. The context of displays together with the phylogenetic sequence of morphological and behavioral innovations provides insight into their evolution. Do conspicuous features function in mate attraction and/or aggression and does a behavioral display evolve before or after the morphological feature most evident in the display? These questions were explored for a unique display and dorsal fin feature in a clade of blenniiform fishes for which both courtship and aggressive displays are known. The anterior dorsal-fin spines of the Spikefin Blenny, Coralliozetus rosenblatti, are elongate. It has a unique courtship display but the fin is held statically erect similar to congeners. This and other species of Coralliozetus, perform a unique aggressive display, the “fin flag”, in which the anterior dorsal fin is waved laterally when encountering conspecifics. The spike-like dorsal fin of C. rosenblatti and its exaggerated lateral movements render this display especially conspicuous. In addition, it performs the fin flag more than twice as often as congeners. Thus, the dorsal fin of the Spikefin Blenny evolved to amplify an extant aggressive display consistent with the behavioral drive hypothesis that posits behavior leads to subsequent morphological evolution making displays more effective.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1246370</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1246370</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Uncertainty monitoring and information seeking in non-primate animals: Meta-analysis and systematic review]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-10-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Zhizhen Qu</author><author>Lei Shi</author><author>Billy Chun Lung So</author><author>Jia Yin</author><author>Sze Chai Kwok</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Metacognitive abilities, the capacity to think about one’s own thinking processes, offer a range of advantages that may drive their evolution in non-primate animals (NPAs). These advantages include enhancing adaptive decision-making in uncertain situations, efficient resource management, error detection and correction, and facilitating complex social interactions and problem-solving. In this comprehensive study, we have chosen two key paradigms — namely, uncertainty monitoring and information-seeking tasks — to study metacognitive phenomena in NPAs. The first paradigm involves an extensive meta-analysis of existing research, shedding light on how NPAs monitor and respond to uncertainty. We then transition to the second paradigm, which focuses on information-seeking behaviors, employing a different analytical approach. Our study aims to provide a holistic understanding of these cognitive processes in NPAs, contributing valuable insights into their cognitive complexity and ecological contexts. Through a coverage of 30 articles spanning 13 different NPA species, we bridge gaps in our understanding of metacognition beyond primates and explore potential divergent evolutionary paths, challenging assumptions about cognitive capability in NPAs.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1242198</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1242198</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Compensation for a costly ornament depends on the development of flight performance in stalk-eyed flies]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-10-03T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jason T. Vance</author><author>Kayla Pehl</author><author>Comonla J. Acakpo</author><author>John G. Swallow</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Several species of stalk-eyed flies exhibit exaggerated sexual dimorphism where females favor males with longer eyespans. Longer eyespan increases a fly’s moment of inertia, and may, therefore, impact flight behavior and fitness, specifically maneuverability and predator evasion. However, these putative costs may be ameliorated by co-selection for compensatory traits, as flies with longer eyespans tend to have larger thoraces and wings, which allows them to perform turns similar to flies with shorter eyespans. Furthermore, the capacity to compensate for a potentially costly ornament may not be fixed across the life-history of the adult stage, as stalk-eyed flies achieve sexual maturity at 3-4 weeks of age, accompanied by significant growth of reproductive tissues and organs. Thus, growth of the abdomen and body mass over time may impose constraints on flight performance that may affect whether an adult reaches the age of reproductive viability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the flight performance of stalk-eyed flies and its relationship to body morphology and development. The flight performance of 1-to-30 day old Teleopsis dalmanni (n=124) and Diasemopsis meigenii (n=83) were assessed by presenting normoxic, variable-density mixtures of heliox (O2, N2 and He) in 10% increments ranging from air to pure heliox; the least-dense gas allowing flight represented maximal performance. Flight kinematics were analyzed using high-speed (5930fps) videography. Immediately following flight assessment, flies were euthanized, photographed, dissected and weighed. In both species, total body mass, thorax and abdominal mass increased across age. Wing kinematics and maximal flight capacity were associated with thorax mass, and increased with age as flies became heavier. Although flies with longer eyespans were indeed heavier, they had larger wings and thoraces; however, maximal flight capacity and kinematics were generally independent of eyespan. Thus, bearing long eye-stalks did not impair flight performance, nor did the increase in mass attributable to reproductive maturation. Instead, variation in flight performance appears associated with the development of the flight motor, and improved ratio of thorax-to-total mass, across age.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1270913</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2023.1270913</link>
        <title><![CDATA[50 years of the Nobel Prize to Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch: integrating behavioral function into an ethology for the 21st century]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-09-28T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Enrique Font</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The 50th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and Karl von Frisch, arguably one of the most significant events in the history of ethology, has gone virtually unnoticed. Students and newcomers to the field may be wrongly led to believe that ethology has lost its prominent role as the leading discipline at the forefront of studies of animal behavior with a biological foundation. However, the decline of ethology is more apparent than real, in part a consequence of tying the discipline to a particular theoretical approach (i.e., that of classical ethology), but also due to the historical amnesia affecting many areas of science and the uneasy relationship of ethology with some of its own subdisciplines. Behavioral ecology emerged in the 1970s as an ethological subdiscipline devoted to the study of behavioral function, one of the four aims of ethology famously identified by Tinbergen. Behavioral ecology became extremely popular, but was criticized due to its narrow focus on behavioral function. With the new millennium came a return to a more balanced approach to the study of animal behavior, with frequent calls to recover the balance between the different areas of study and the integrative spirit that many consider one of the most distinctive features of ethology. Still, some behavioral ecologists contend that ethology disappeared shortly after Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch’s Nobel Prize award and has been replaced by behavioral ecology, and offer revisionist narratives of the aims and scope of both disciplines in support of this contention. Contrary to this view, modern ethology remains a necessary and coherent endeavor that encompasses and subsumes all four of Tinbergen’s aims, including those considered to be part of the agenda of behavioral ecology. The challenge for the next 50 years will be to preserve the ethological legacy of pursuing the four aims and their integration across levels of biological organization, taxa, methodologies, and interdisciplinary boundaries for a complete understanding of animal behavior.]]></description>
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