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Conflict between background matching and social signalling in a colour-changing freshwater fish (2016)
Journal Article
Morrell, L. J., Kelley, J. L., & Rodgers, G. M. (2016). Conflict between background matching and social signalling in a colour-changing freshwater fish. Royal Society Open Science, 3(6), 160040. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160040

The ability to change coloration allows animals to modify their patterning to suit a specific function. Many freshwater fishes, for example, can appear cryptic by altering the dispersion of melanin pigment in the skin to match the visual background.... Read More about Conflict between background matching and social signalling in a colour-changing freshwater fish.

Merging DNA metabarcoding and ecological network analysis to understand and build resilient terrestrial ecosystems (2016)
Journal Article
Evans, D. M., Kitson, J. J. N., Lunt, D. H., Straw, N. A., & Pocock, M. J. O. (2016). Merging DNA metabarcoding and ecological network analysis to understand and build resilient terrestrial ecosystems. Functional ecology, 30(12), 1904-1916. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12659

Summary 1. Significant advances in both mathematical and molecular approaches in ecology offer unprecedented opportunities to describe and understand ecosystem functioning. Ecological networks describe interactions between species, the underlying str... Read More about Merging DNA metabarcoding and ecological network analysis to understand and build resilient terrestrial ecosystems.

'Fire hardening' spear wood does slightly harden it, but makes it much weaker and more brittle (2016)
Journal Article
Ennos, A. R., & Chan, T. L. (2016). 'Fire hardening' spear wood does slightly harden it, but makes it much weaker and more brittle. Biology Letters, 12(5), Article 20160174. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0174

It is usually assumed that 'fire hardening' the tips of spears, as practised by hunter-gatherers and early Homo spp., makes them harder and better suited for hunting. This suggestion was tested by subjecting coppiced poles of hazel to a fire-hardenin... Read More about 'Fire hardening' spear wood does slightly harden it, but makes it much weaker and more brittle.

The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors (2016)
Journal Article
Bright, J. A., Marugán-Lobón, J., Cobb, S. N., & Rayfield, E. J. (2016). The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(19), 5352-5357. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602683113

Bird beaks are textbook examples of ecological adaptation to diet, but their shapes are also controlled by genetic and developmental histories. To test the effects of these factors on the avian craniofacial skeleton, we conducted morphometric analyse... Read More about The shapes of bird beaks are highly controlled by nondietary factors.

Environmental DNA metabarcoding of lake fish communities reflects long-term data from established survey methods (2016)
Journal Article
Hänfling, B., Lawson Handley, L., Read, D. S., Hahn, C., Li, J., Nichols, P., Blackman, R. C., Oliver, A., & Winfield, I. J. (2016). Environmental DNA metabarcoding of lake fish communities reflects long-term data from established survey methods. Molecular ecology, 25(13), 3101-3119. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13660

Organisms continuously release DNA into their environments via shed cells, excreta, gametes and decaying material. Analysis of this ‘environmental DNA’ (eDNA) is revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring. eDNA outperforms many established survey method... Read More about Environmental DNA metabarcoding of lake fish communities reflects long-term data from established survey methods.

Environmental changes in a Mediterranean river: implications for the fish assemblage (2016)
Journal Article
Sánchez-Hernández, J., & Nunn, A. D. (2016). Environmental changes in a Mediterranean river: implications for the fish assemblage. Ecohydrology, 9(8), 1439-1451. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1737

This study examined the impacts of climate change on hydrology and fish population dynamics in a river in central Spain. The objectives were to: (i) contextualise long-term trends in the hydrology (1943–2012) and climate (1985–2011) of the study area... Read More about Environmental changes in a Mediterranean river: implications for the fish assemblage.

Fifteen species in one: deciphering the Brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera, Monogononta) through DNA taxonomy (2016)
Journal Article
Mills, S., Alcántara-Rodríguez, J. A., Ciros-Pérez, J., Gómez, A., Hagiwara, A., Galindo, K. H., Jersabek, C. D., Malekzadeh-Viayeh, R., Leasi, F., Lee, J.-S., Mark Welch, D. B., Papakostas, S., Riss, S., Segers, H., Serra, M., Shiel, R., Smolak, R., Snell, T. W., Stelzer, C. P., Tang, C. Q., …Walsh, E. J. (2017). Fifteen species in one: deciphering the Brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera, Monogononta) through DNA taxonomy. Hydrobiologia, 796(1), 39-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2725-7

Understanding patterns and processes in biological diversity is a critical task given current and rapid environmental change. Such knowledge is even more essential when the taxa under consideration are important ecological and evolutionary models. On... Read More about Fifteen species in one: deciphering the Brachionus plicatilis species complex (Rotifera, Monogononta) through DNA taxonomy.

Conformational photoswitching of a synthetic peptide foldamer bound within a phospholipid bilayer (2016)
Journal Article
De Poli, M., Zawodny, W., Quinonero, O., Lorch, M., Webb, S. J., & Clayden, J. (2016). Conformational photoswitching of a synthetic peptide foldamer bound within a phospholipid bilayer. Science, 352(6285), 575-580. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aad8352

The dynamic properties of foldamers, synthetic molecules that mimic folded biomolecules, have mainly been explored in free solution.We report on the design, synthesis, and conformational behavior of photoresponsive foldamers bound in a phospholipid b... Read More about Conformational photoswitching of a synthetic peptide foldamer bound within a phospholipid bilayer.

Opposing patterns of seasonal change in functional and phylogenetic diversity of tadpole assemblages (2016)
Journal Article
Strauß, A., Guilhaumon, F., Randrianiaina, R. D., Wollenberg Valero, K. C., Vences, M., & Glos, J. (2016). Opposing patterns of seasonal change in functional and phylogenetic diversity of tadpole assemblages. PLoS ONE, 11(3), Article e0151744. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151744

Assemblages that are exposed to recurring temporal environmental changes can show changes in their ecological properties. These can be expressed by differences in diversity and assembly rules. Both can be identified using two measures of diversity: f... Read More about Opposing patterns of seasonal change in functional and phylogenetic diversity of tadpole assemblages.

Link flexibility: Evidence for environment-dependent adaptive foraging in a food web time-series (2016)
Journal Article
Henri, D. C., & van Veen, F. J. F. (2016). Link flexibility: Evidence for environment-dependent adaptive foraging in a food web time-series. Ecology, 97(6), 1381-1387. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0827.1

Temporal variability in the distribution of feeding links in a food web can be an important stabilising factor for these complex systems. Adaptive foraging and prey choice have been hypothesised to cause this link flexibility as organisms adjust thei... Read More about Link flexibility: Evidence for environment-dependent adaptive foraging in a food web time-series.

Microfluidics : the fur-free way towards personalised medicine in cancer therapy (2016)
Journal Article
Dawson, A., Greenman, J., Bower, R., & Green, V. (in press). Microfluidics : the fur-free way towards personalised medicine in cancer therapy. Drug target review, 3(1), 12-17

Microfluidic technology has great potential for complementing and, in some instances, replacing the use of animal models in the testing of medicines and in developing personalised treatments for cancer patients. The maintenance of tissue in an in viv... Read More about Microfluidics : the fur-free way towards personalised medicine in cancer therapy.

Comparing RADseq and microsatellites to infer complex phylogeographic patterns, an empirical perspective in the Crucian carp, Carassius carassius, L. (2016)
Journal Article
Jeffries, D. L., Copp, G. H., Lawson Handley, L., Olsén, K. H., Sayer, C. D., & Hänfling, B. (2016). Comparing RADseq and microsatellites to infer complex phylogeographic patterns, an empirical perspective in the Crucian carp, Carassius carassius, L. Molecular ecology, 25(13), 2997-3018. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13613

The conservation of threatened species must be underpinned by phylogeographic knowledge. This need is epitomized by the freshwater fish Carassius carassius, which is in decline across much of its European range. Restriction site-associated DNA sequen... Read More about Comparing RADseq and microsatellites to infer complex phylogeographic patterns, an empirical perspective in the Crucian carp, Carassius carassius, L..

Diel variations in the assemblage structure and foraging ecology of larval and 0+ year juvenile fishes in a man-made floodplain waterbody (2016)
Journal Article
Tewson, L. H., Cowx, I. G., & Nunn, A. D. (2016). Diel variations in the assemblage structure and foraging ecology of larval and 0+ year juvenile fishes in a man-made floodplain waterbody. Journal of fish biology, 88(4), 1486-1500. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.12924

© 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles. This study investigated diel variations in zooplankton composition and abundance, and the species composition, density, size structure, feeding activity, diet composition and prey selection of larval... Read More about Diel variations in the assemblage structure and foraging ecology of larval and 0+ year juvenile fishes in a man-made floodplain waterbody.

Genomic analysis of companion rabbit Staphylococcus aureus (2016)
Journal Article
Holmes, M. A., Harrison, E. M., Fisher, E. A., Graham, E. M., Parkhill, J., Foster, G., & Paterson, G. K. (2016). Genomic analysis of companion rabbit Staphylococcus aureus. PLoS ONE, 11(3), e0151458. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151458

© 2016 Holmes et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are cre... Read More about Genomic analysis of companion rabbit Staphylococcus aureus.

Estimating the historical distribution, abundance and ecological contribution of Modiolus modiolus in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland (2016)
Journal Article
Strong, J. A., Service, M., & Moore, H. (2016). Estimating the historical distribution, abundance and ecological contribution of Modiolus modiolus in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. Biology and Environment, 116B(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3318/bioe.2016.1

Strangford Lough is a large sheltered marine inlet in Northern Ireland. It is also a designated Special Area of Conservation based partially on the presence of an extensive area of Modiolus modiolus (Linnaeus, 1758) biogenic reef. However, this featu... Read More about Estimating the historical distribution, abundance and ecological contribution of Modiolus modiolus in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland.

Sleep, evolution and brains : Commentary on Herculano-Houzel S (2015): Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution. Proc Biol Sci 282:20151853 (2016)
Journal Article
Barton, R. A., & Capellini, I. (2016). Sleep, evolution and brains : Commentary on Herculano-Houzel S (2015): Decreasing sleep requirement with increasing numbers of neurons as a driver for bigger brains and bodies in mammalian evolution. Proc Biol Sci 282:20151853. Brain, behavior and evolution, 87(2), 65-68. https://doi.org/10.1159/000443716

Commentary on Herculano-Houzel S (2015): Decreasing Sleep Requirement with Increasing Numbers of Neurons as a Driver for Bigger Brains and Bodies in Mammalian Evolution. Proc Biol Sci 282:20151853

Can the effects of anthropogenic pressures and environmental variability on nekton fauna be detected in fishery data? Insights from the monitoring of the artisanal fishery within the Venice lagoon (2016)
Journal Article
Zucchetta, M., Scapin, L., Cavraro, F., Pranovi, F., Franco, A., & Franzoi, P. (2016). Can the effects of anthropogenic pressures and environmental variability on nekton fauna be detected in fishery data? Insights from the monitoring of the artisanal fishery within the Venice lagoon. Estuaries and coasts : journal of the Estuarine Research Federation, 39(4), 1164-1182. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-0064-y

Nekton communities in transitional ecosystems are naturally adapted to stressful conditions associated with high environmental variability. Human activities in these systems are likely to determine additional stress with a possible effect on fish fau... Read More about Can the effects of anthropogenic pressures and environmental variability on nekton fauna be detected in fishery data? Insights from the monitoring of the artisanal fishery within the Venice lagoon.

The effect of temporally variable environmental stimuli and group size on emergence behavior (2016)
Journal Article
Hansen, M. J., Morrell, L., & Ward, A. J. (2016). The effect of temporally variable environmental stimuli and group size on emergence behavior. Behavioral ecology, 27(3), 939-945. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arv237

How animals trade-off food availability and predation threats is a strong determinant of animal activity and behavior; however, the majority of work on this topic has been on individual animals, despite the modulating effect the presence of conspecif... Read More about The effect of temporally variable environmental stimuli and group size on emergence behavior.

A newly identified population of Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a non-native invasive species, in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia: Implications for management (2015)
Journal Article
Walton, S. E., Ahmad, A. B., Gan, H. M., & Bolland, J. D. (2016). A newly identified population of Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a non-native invasive species, in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia: Implications for management. BioInvasions Records, 5(2), 107-114. https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2016.5.2.08

Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a notorious non-native invasive fish species, has negatively impacted aquatic ecosystems around the world. This species was recently identified in Lake Kenyir, one of the largest impoundments in SouTheast As... Read More about A newly identified population of Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a non-native invasive species, in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia: Implications for management.