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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
No Evidence For Kin Protection In The Expression Of Sickness Behaviors In House Mice, Patricia C. Lopes, Per Block, Alice Pontiggia, Anna K. Lindholm, Barbara König
No Evidence For Kin Protection In The Expression Of Sickness Behaviors In House Mice, Patricia C. Lopes, Per Block, Alice Pontiggia, Anna K. Lindholm, Barbara König
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
When infected, animals change their behaviors in several ways, including by decreasing their activity, their food and water intake, and their interest in social interactions. These behavioral alterations are collectively called sickness behaviors and, for several decades, the main hypotheses put forward to explain this phenomenon were that engaging in sickness behaviors facilitated the fever response and improved the likelihood of host survival. However, a new hypothesis was recently proposed suggesting that engaging in sickness behaviors may serve to protect kin. We tested this kin protection hypothesis by combining a field and a laboratory experiment in house mice. In both …
Cellular Mechanisms Of Slime Gland Refilling In Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus Stoutii), Sarah Schorno, Todd E. Gillis, Douglas S. Fudge
Cellular Mechanisms Of Slime Gland Refilling In Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus Stoutii), Sarah Schorno, Todd E. Gillis, Douglas S. Fudge
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Hagfishes use their defensive slime to ward off gill-breathing predators. Slime gland refilling is a surprisingly slow process, and previous research has shown that the composition of the slime exudate changes significantly during refilling, which likely has consequences for the functionality of the slime. This study set out to expand our understanding of slime gland refilling by examining the cellular processes involved in refilling of the glands, as well as determining where in the gland the main slime cells – the gland thread cells and gland mucous cells – arise. Slime glands were electro-stimulated to exhaust their slime stores, left …
Common Loons Respond Adaptively To A Black Fly That Reduces Nesting Success, Walter H. Piper, Keren B. Tischler, Andrew Reinke
Common Loons Respond Adaptively To A Black Fly That Reduces Nesting Success, Walter H. Piper, Keren B. Tischler, Andrew Reinke
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Nesting birds must often cope with harassment from biting insects, but it is difficult to ascertain what effect such pests might have on breeding success and population dynamics. We tested the hypothesis that a black fly (Simulium annulus) that feeds on the blood of nesting Common Loons (Gavia immer) causes nest abandonment in this charismatic diving bird. In addition, we measured effects of fly-induced abandonment on a loon population, and examined potential predictors of fly abundance and nest abandonment. We also tested a second hypothesis, which holds that loon pairs that abandon a nest owing to …
Emptying And Refilling Of Slime Glands In Atlantic (Myxine Glutinosa) And Pacific (Eptatretus Stoutii) Hagfishes, Sarah Schorno, Todd E. Gillis, Douglas S. Fudge
Emptying And Refilling Of Slime Glands In Atlantic (Myxine Glutinosa) And Pacific (Eptatretus Stoutii) Hagfishes, Sarah Schorno, Todd E. Gillis, Douglas S. Fudge
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Hagfishes are known for their unique defensive slime, which they use toward off gill-breathing predators. Although much is known about the slime cells (gland thread cells and gland mucous cells), little is known about how long slime gland refilling takes, or how slime composition changes with refilling or repeated stimulation of the same gland. Slime glands can be individually electrostimulated to release slime, and this technique was used to measure slime gland refilling times for Atlantic and Pacific hagfish. The amount of exudate produced, the composition of the exudate and the morphometrics of slime cells were analyzed during refilling, and …