Search

This study investigated the prevalence, morphology, molecular identification, and histopathological effects of larval tapeworms (plerocercoids) infecting the skeletal muscles of the Indian halibut (Psettodes erumei) collected from the coastal waters of the Arabian Gulf. Numerous oval or round blastocysts, measuring 13-26 mm, were found embedded within the muscular tissues of the Indian halibut, rendering the fish unsuitable for human consumption. Morphological and molecular analyses identified the plerocercoids as Dasyrhynchus giganteus (family Dasyrhynchidae), with an overall prevalence of 15.4%. The seasonal prevalence was the highest in summer (14.6%), followed by spring (10.6%), winter (4.4%), and autumn (3.5%). Infection rates increased with fish size. Histopathological examination revealed fibrous connective tissue capsules surrounding the larvae, causing muscular atrophy and degenerative changes, with few inflammatory eosinophilic cells. Molecular and phylogenetic analysis of the 28S rDNA gene sequences confirmed the specimens as D. giganteus, clustered closely with other sequences of D. giganteus with 100% bootstrap values. This study provided valuable insights into the parasitic infection dynamics, seasonal variation, molecular identification, and histopathological effects, highlighting the importance of monitoring fish for food safety and public health implications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Hepatozoon fitzsimonsi (Dias, 1953) is a frequently found haemogregarine of southern African tortoises. At the time of this species' reassignment from the genus Haemogregarina to Hepatozoon, developmental stages such as sporocysts and sporozoites were observed in ticks associated with H. fitzsimonsi parasitised and non-parasitised tortoises. It was thus suggested that ticks may act as the potential vectors for this parasite. However, this earlier research was unable to confirm the identity of these sporogonic stages using molecular markers. In a separate study aimed at identifying tick species parasitising South African reptiles and molecularly screening these for the presence of Hepatozoon, that study identified H. fitzsimonsi in tortoise-associated ticks. Thus, the present study aimed to revisit the potential of ticks to act as vectors for H. fitzsimonsi in tortoises using a combined microscopy and molecular approach., Methods: Specimens of Kinixys natalensis, Kinixys spekii, Kinixys zombensis and Stigmochelys pardalis were collected from Bonamanzi and Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa. Upon capture, animals were examined for ticks, and these were collected along with blood and other tissues. Adult ticks were dissected and visceral impression slides were prepared along with thin blood and tissue smears on clean microscope slides. Smears and impression slides were stained with Giemsa, screened and micrographs of parasites were captured. Two primer sets were employed to target fragments of the 18S rRNA gene of parasites found in both tortoises and ticks and the resulting sequences were then compared with other known H. fitzsimonsi and haemogregarine sequences from the GenBank database., Results: Peripheral blood gamont and liver merogonic stages were observed in S. pardalis, while the sporogonic stages were observed in the haemocoel of Amblyomma ticks. Gamont and sporocyst stages compared morphologically with previous descriptions of H. fitzsimonsi, identifying them as this species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the blood and tick sequences obtained in this study clustered in a monophyletic clade comprising known H. fitzsimonsi., Conclusions: The present study provides further support for ticks acting as the vectors of H. fitzsimonsi by molecularly identifying and linking observed developmental stages in tortoises (S. pardalis) with those in the invertebrate host (Amblyomma spp.)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The prevalent life-threatening microbial and cancer diseases and lack of effective pharmaceutical therapies created the need for new molecules with antimicrobial and anticancer potential. Bee venom (BV) was collected from honeybee workers, and melittin (NM) was extracted from BV and analyzed by urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (urea-PAGE). The isolated melittin was hydrolyzed with alcalase into new bioactive peptides and evaluated for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity. Gel filtration chromatography fractionated melittin hydrolysate (HM) into three significant fractions (F1, F2, and F3), that were characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and evaluated for their antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, antitumor, and anti-migration activities. All the tested peptides showed antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Melittin and its fractions significantly inhibited the proliferation of two types of cancer cells (Huh-7 and HCT 116). Yet, melittin and its fractions did not affect the viability of normal human lung Wi-38 cells. The IC 50 and selectivity index data evidenced the superiority of melittin peptide fractions over intact melittin. Melittin enzymatic hydrolysate is a promising novel product with high potential as an antibacterial and anticancer agent., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 El-Didamony, Kalaba, Sharaf, El-Fakharany, Osman, Sitohy and Sitohy.)

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a medical concern that is accompanied by the rapid deterioration of kidney function. It can be triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria as it activates a complicated immune response, resulting in widespread inflammation and potential organ dysfunction. Black seed oil (BSO) is rich in beneficial constituents and has been widely used owing to its nutritional advantages., Purpose: This research is aimed to investigate the potential protective effects of BSO and its nano-formulation on AKI induced by LPS. It also aimed to compare their anti-inflammatory activity with indomethacin, a known synthetic anti-inflammatory drug., Materials and Methods: Forty-eight mice were placed randomly into 8 groups. A single intraperitoneal ( i.p .) injection of 2.5 mg/kg B.W. of LPS was used to trigger inflammation, and pretreatment with BSO and its nano-formulation was at 0.2 mL/kg/day for 14 consecutive days. Indomethacin was used as a reference drug and its efficacy was tested alone or in combination with BSO at lower doses. Renal function was assessed using urea, creatinine, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1). Also, oxidative and inflammatory markers were assessed by measuring levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4). Histopathological examination of the kidney tissues was also performed., Results: The study showed that BSO and its nano-formulation had anti-inflammatory effects comparable to or better than those of indomethacin. They greatly decreased the oxidative stress and inflammatory markers induced by LPS. Their protective effect against pathological alterations in kidney tissues was significantly noticed., Conclusion: BSO and its nano-formulation could be used as nephroprotective and anti-inflammatory supplements., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 ALRashdi et al.)

In many parts of the world, domestic and wild animal populations interact at the interface between natural and agricultural ecosystems. Introduced with the first inhabitants arriving from eastern Africa, the bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) is the largest living terrestrial mammal in Madagascar. Bushpigs are regularly reported close to human settlements where they damage crops and gardens. As domestic pigs are often raised in free-ranging conditions around the villages, bushpigs and domestic pigs can interact leading to the transmission and circulation of shared swine pathogens that impact both animal and human health. In this study, we characterized the socio-ecological context of bushpig-domestic pig interactions in two different regions of western Madagascar. We conducted participatory mapping sessions and focus group interviews with 65 hunters, 80 pig farmers and 96 crop farmers in 20 fokontany, the smallest administrative unit in Madagascar. After discussing with participants, we gathered information about the spatialization of interactions and their potential geographical drivers. We explored data by performing multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering on principal components. Based on the reported occurrence or absence of bushpig-domestic pig interactions we were able to classify areas with high or intermediate levels of interactions or no interactions at all. Interactions between the two pig species were reported in only 25% of the fokontany assessed. Even though both suid species were attracted to fruit trees, crops, and water sources, only indirect interactions in those spots were reported. Direct interactions were reported in 10% of cases and referred to interspecific sexual and/or agonistic behavior. The participatory methods used to acquire local knowledge about natural events were confirmed as valuable, low-cost exploratory methods to characterize areas with wild-domestic animal interactions. The results of this study will help plan future studies to characterize the interface between the two species from an ecological or epidemiological perspective using more sensitive and sophisticated ecological approaches., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Edible insects are perceived as an incredible opportunity to mitigate the major challenge of sustainably producing healthy foods for a growing world population in the face of climate change uncertainties over the coming decade. In this study, we assessed the nutrient composition and sensory properties of Acheta domesticus, Apis mellifera, Gnathocera trivittata, Gryllotalpa africana, Imbrasia epimethea, Imbrasia oyemensis, Locusta migratoria, Macrotermes subhylanus, Nomadacris septemfasciata, Rhyncophorus phoenicis, Ruspolia differens and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus consumed in Eastern D. R. Congo. The investigated edible insects are highly appreciated and nutritious, with proteins (20.67-43.93 g/100 g) and fats (14.53-36.02 g/100 g) being the major macro-nutrients, proving their potential to improve diets through food enrichment. The high potassium (24-386.67 mg/100 g), sodium (152-257.82 mg/100 g), magnesium (32-64 mg/100 g), iron (5.3-16.13 mg/100 g), calcium (25-156.67 mg/100 g) and zinc (11-19.67 mg/100 g) content make the assessed edible insects a useful mineral-containing ingredient for preventing undernutrition in countries which are plagued by micronutrient deficiencies. A scatter plot of matrices and Pearson's correlations between sensory attributes and nutritional composition showed a negative correlation (r = - 0.45) between protein and appearance. While no strong correlation was observed between nutritional attributes and sensory acceptance, a positive correlation was observed between potassium and aroma (r = 0.50), after-taste (r = 0.50) and acceptability (r = 0.52). Principal component analysis results indicated that the two axes accounted for up to 97.4% of the observed variability in the nutrient composition and sensory attributes of commonly consumed edible insects in the Eastern D. R. Congo. Given the significant delicacy and nutritional potential of edible insects highlighted in this paper, households can rely on the latter to meet their nutritional needs rather than conventional livestock, thus contributing to environmental and financial security through local business opportunities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Over the last decade, extensive use of coccidiostats to treat and control Eimeria infection has developed drug resistance, prompting the search for new alternative therapies. Rhatany is proven to have various pharmacological properties., Objective: The present study aimed to in vitro and in vivo evaluate the effect of Rhatany roots extract (RRE) as an anti-eimerial and anti-apoptotic agent against murine eimeriosis induced by Eimeria papillata ., Methods: Phytochemical screening by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) was used to detect active compounds in RRE. In vitro anti-eimerial activity of RRE (200, 100, 50 mg/ml), amprolium, phenol, Dettol™, and formalin were studied after incubation with non-sporulated Eimeria oocysts. For the in vivo study, twenty-five male C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated into five groups. Animals in the first group were just given distilled H 2 O, while those in the second group were given 200 mg/kg RRE for 5 days. The Eimeria parasite's oocysts were infected into the third, fourth, and fifth groups. For treatment, RRE (200 mg/kg) and amprolium (120 mg/kg) were orally given to the 4 th and 5 th groups for five days, respectively. All mice were euthanized, on day 5 post-infection, to collect the jejunal tissues under study. Investigations were undertaken into the oocyst output in feces and goblet cells in mice jejuna. Assays for glutathione peroxidase (GPx), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were also performed. In jejunal tissue, cysteine aspartic acid protease-3 (Caspase-3) was counted using immunohistochemistry, while BCL2-associated X protein (Bax) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) were assayed using ELISA. In addition, mRNA expression of the goblet cell response gene (MUC2) was detected using real-time PCR., Results: Phytochemical screening by GC-MS demonstrated the presence of 22 compounds in the RRE. The in vitro study revealed that RRE significantly inhabited the oocyst sporulation in a dose-dependent manner. By day 5 after infection with the Eimeria parasite, the number of oocysts in mice feces was significantly reduced after RRE treatment (1.308 × 10 6 ± 1.36 × 10 5 oocysts/g feces) compared to the infected group (5.387 × 10 6 ± 4.29 × 10 5 oocysts/g feces). Moreover, the Eimeria infection reduced the number of goblet cells of mice jejuna and its specific gene, MUC2. The treatment with RRE increased the number of goblet cells/villus from 3.45 ± 0.17 to 6.04 ± 0.23, associated with upregulation for MUC2 from 0.26 to 2.39-fold. Also, the Eimeria experimental infection lowered the activity of the antioxidant enzyme represented by GPx (23.99 ± 3.68 mg/g tissue), while increasing the stress parameters of hydrogen peroxide (0.07 ± 0.01 mM/g) as well as the activity of MPO (66.30 ± 3.74 U/mg). The production of apoptotic markers including Caspase-3 (68.89 ± 2.67 U/g) and Bax (159.05 ± 6.50 pg/ml) was significantly elevated while decreasing the anti-apoptotic marker of BCL2 (0.42 ± 0.07 pg/ml). Our study proved that RRE significantly reduced oxidative stress, and apoptotic markers as well as the inflammatory activity of MPO. Also, antioxidant enzyme and anti-apoptotic activity in the jejunum of E. papillata -infected mice were enhanced after RRE treatment., Conclusion: Our study highlights the potential of RRE as a natural solution for coccidiosis management by modulating apoptosis in E. papillata host cells. However, further research is needed to fully understand the underlying mechanisms and enhance our understanding of its therapeutic efficacy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Al-Quraishy, Abdel-Gaber, Alamari, Meryk, El-Ashram, Al-Shaebi and Dkhil.)

Gut bacterial communities provide flexibility to hosts during dietary changes. Despite the increasing number of studies exploring the associations between broader dietary guilds of mammalian hosts and their gut bacteria, it is generally unclear how diversity and variability in consumed diets link to gut bacterial taxa in wild non-primate mammals, particularly in omnivores. Here, we contribute to filling this gap by exploring consumed diets and gut bacterial community compositions with metabarcoding of faecal samples for two African mammals, Civettictis civetta and Genetta spp., from the family Viverridae. For each individual sample, we characterised bacterial communities and identified dietary taxa by sequencing vertebrate, invertebrate and plant markers. This led us to establish diet compositions that diverged from what has previously been found from visual identification methods. Specifically, while the two genera have been categorised into the same dietary guild, we detected more animal dietary items than plant items in C. civetta , while in Genetta spp., we observed the opposite. We further found that individuals with similar diets have similar gut bacterial communities within both genera. This association tended to be driven by specific links between dietary items and gut bacterial genera, rather than communities as a whole, implying diet-driven selection for specific gut microbes in individual wild hosts. Our findings underline the importance of molecular tools for improving characterisations of omnivorous mammalian diets and highlight the opportunities for simultaneously disentangling links between diets and gut symbionts. Such insights can inform robustness and flexibility in host-microbe symbioses to dietary change associated with seasonal and habitat changes., Competing Interests: All the authors declare that there is no competing interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Biotic and abiotic factors influence how insects respond to stimuli. This can make it challenging to interpret captures in traps used to monitor pest abundance in management programmes. To address this, the lure response of three pest fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) was evaluated in a semi-field setting with respect to several physiological and environmental factors. Using standardised methods with known fly numbers in field cages, the response to Biolure (food-based lure) was evaluated for Ceratitis capitata, Ceratitis cosyra and Bactrocera dorsalis. Response to the male lures was tested: E.G.O PheroLure for C. capitata and C. cosyra, Trimedlure for C. capitata, and methyl eugenol for B. dorsalis. The physiological variables evaluated were fly age, sex, weight, and total body nutritional composition. The environmental effects of temperature, relative humidity and light intensity were also assessed. Protein-deprived adults responded more strongly to Biolure. The response to Biolure was not sex-specific. Fly age influenced the response of all species to all tested lures. However, this effect was species and lure specific. Temperature was the most influential environmental factor, with response generally increasing with temperature. Lower thresholds for lure response, despite the proximity of responsive flies, range from 12.21 to 22.95 °C depending on the species and lure tested. These results indicate that trapping systems and management activity thresholds must take physiological and environmental variation into account to increase their accuracy., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Tsetse flies are vectors of the parasite trypanosoma that cause the neglected tropical diseases human and animal African trypanosomosis. Semiochemicals play important roles in the biology and ecology of tsetse flies. Previous reviews have focused on olfactory-based attractants of tsetse flies. Here, we present an overview of the identification of repellents and their development into control tools for tsetse flies. Both natural and synthetic repellents have been successfully tested in laboratory and field assays against specific tsetse fly species. Thus, these repellents presented as innovative mobile tools offer opportunities for their use in integrated disease management strategies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Genetic adaptation is the change of a population toward a phenotype that best fits the present ecological conditions of the environment it inhabits. As environmental conditions change, allele frequencies shift, resulting in different populations of the same species possessing genetic variation and divergent phenotypes. Cooperatively breeding common mole-rats (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) inhabit environments along an aridity gradient in South Africa, which provides an opportunity for local genetic adaptations to occur. Using one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome b) and 3,540 SNP loci across the whole genome, we determined the phylogenetic relationship, population structure and genetic diversity of five populations of C. h. hottentotus located along an aridity gradient. Mitochondrial data identified population-specific clades that were less distinct in the two mesic populations, potentially indicating historical or recent gene flow, or the retention of ancestral haplotypes. Arid and semi-arid populations formed a distinct cluster from the non-arid populations. Genetic diversity and gene flow were higher in arid-dwelling individuals, suggesting greater connectivity and interactions between colonies in arid regions in comparison to mesic ones. Using an Aridity Index, we determined that isolation by environment, rather than isolation by geographical distance, best explains the genetic distance between the populations. Further analyses using target loci may determine if there are differing underlying genetic adaptations among populations of C. h. hottentotus. These analyses could help unravel population differences in response to environmental factors within a subspecies of bathyergid mole-rat and determine the adaptive capacity of this small nonmigratory subterranean rodent species in response to aridification in the face of climate change., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

The Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) is one of the most colonial mammals, with colonies of up to hundreds of thousands of individuals during the breeding season. During the lactation period, mothers and pups are regularly separated as females undertake multi-day foraging trips at sea. Mothers and pups use a mutual vocal recognition system to reunite after separation. Such communication is highly constrained by both high background noise and risk of individual confusion owing to the density of seals. This study aimed to experimentally assess the acoustic features relevant for mother-pup vocal identification and the propagation properties of their calls. Playback experiments revealed that mother and pup individual vocal signatures rely on both temporal and frequency parameters: amplitude and frequency modulations, timbre and fundamental frequency (f0). This is more parameters than in any colonial species studied so far. The combinational use of acoustic features reinforces the concept that both environmental and social constraints may have acted as selective pressures on the individual vocal recognition systems. Theoretical propagation distances of mother and pup vocalisations were estimated to be below the range of distances at which mother-pup reunions can occur. This suggests that Cape fur seals may have strong abilities to extract vocal signals from the background noise, as previously demonstrated in the highly colonial king penguin. Investigating the transmission of information throughout the propagation of the signal as well as the ability of the receiving individual to decipher vocal signatures is crucial to understanding vocal recognition systems in the wild., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)

Although invasive alien species have long been recognized as a major threat to nature and people, until now there has been no comprehensive global review of the status, trends, drivers, impacts, management and governance challenges of biological invasions. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and Their Control (hereafter 'IPBES invasive alien species assessment') drew on more than 13,000 scientific publications and reports in 15 languages as well as Indigenous and local knowledge on all taxa, ecosystems and regions across the globe. Therefore, it provides unequivocal evidence of the major and growing threat of invasive alien species alongside ambitious but realistic approaches to manage biological invasions. The extent of the threat and impacts has been recognized by the 143 member states of IPBES who approved the summary for policymakers of this assessment. Here, the authors of the IPBES assessment outline the main findings of the IPBES invasive alien species assessment and highlight the urgency to act now., (© 2024. Springer Nature Limited.)

Hypometabolism arising from active metabolic suppression occurs in several contexts among endotherms, particularly during heterothermic states such as torpor. However, observed Q 10  ≈ 1 for avian resting metabolic rate within the thermoneutral zone, values far below the Q 10  = 2-3 expected on the basis of Arrhenius effects, suggests hypometabolism also plays a role in birds' thermoregulation at environmental temperatures approaching or exceeding normothermic body temperature (T b ). We evaluated the occurrence of hypometabolism during heat exposure among birds by re-analysing literature data to quantify changes in T b and resting metabolic rate (RMR) near the upper boundary of the thermoneutral zone, at air temperatures (T air ) between the inflection above which T b increases above normothermic levels (T b.inf ) and the upper critical limit of thermoneutrality (T uc ). Among the ∼55 % of species in which T uc - T b.inf > 0, Q 10  < 2-3 occurred in nine of 10 orders for which suitable data exist, indicating that hypometabolism during heat exposure is widespread across the avian phylogeny. Values of Q 10  < 2-3 were not restricted to small body mass, as previously proposed. Our findings support the idea that metabolic suppression reduces avian metabolic heat production and hence evaporative cooling requirements during heat exposure, with reductions of 20-30 % in RMR in some species. Moreover, these findings add to evidence that hypometabolism is an important component of heat tolerance among endotherms such as birds and tropical arboreal mammals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are an important component in sediment ecology. However, most research is highly skewed towards the northern hemisphere and in more permanent systems. This paper investigates EPS (i.e., carbohydrates and proteins) dynamics in arid Austral zone temporary pans sediments. Colorimetric methods and sequence-based metagenomics techniques were employed in a series of small temporary pan ecosystems characterised by alternating wet and dry hydroperiods. Microbial community patterns of distribution were evaluated between seasons (hot-wet and cool-dry) and across depths (and inferred inundation period) based on estimated elevation. Carbohydrates generally occurred in relatively higher proportions than proteins; the carbohydrate:protein ratio was 2.8:1 and 1.6:1 for the dry and wet season respectively, suggesting that EPS found in these systems was largely diatom produced. The wet- hydroperiods (Carbohydrate mean 102 μg g -1 ; Protein mean 65 μg g -1 ) supported more EPS production as compared to the dry- hydroperiods (Carbohydrate mean 73 μg g -1 ; Protein mean 26 μg g -1 ). A total of 15,042 Unique Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) were allocated to 51 bacterial phyla and 1127 genera. The most abundant genera had commonality in high temperature tolerance, with Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in high abundances. Microbial communities were more distinct between seasons compared to within seasons which further suggested that the observed metagenome functions could be seasonally driven. This study's findings implied that there were high levels of denitrification by mostly nitric oxide reductase and nitrite reductase enzymes. EPS production was high in the hot-wet season as compared to relatively lower rates of nitrification in the cool-dry season by ammonia monooxygenases. Both EPS quantities and metagenome functions were highly associated with availability of water, with high rates being mainly associated with wet- hydroperiods compared to dry- hydroperiods. These data suggest that extended dry periods threaten microbially mediated processes in temporary wetlands, with implications to loss of biodiversity by desiccation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no known competing financial interest or personal inter–relationships that could have an influence on the work hereby conducted for this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Heatwaves are increasingly severe and frequent, posing significant threats to ecosystems and human well-being. Characterised by high thermal variability, intertidal communities are particularly vulnerable to heat stress. Microbial endolithic communities that are found in marine calcifying organisms have been shown to induce shell erosion that alters shell surface colour, lowering body temperatures and increasing survival rates. Here, we investigate how the symbiotic relationship between endolithic microbes and the blue intertidal mussel Mytilus edulis mitigates thermal stress during the unprecedented 2022 atmospheric heatwave in the English Channel. Microbial infestation of the shell significantly enhanced mussel survival, particularly higher on the shore where thermal stress was greater. Using data from biomimetic temperature loggers, we predicted the expected thermal buffer and observed differences up to 3.2 °C between individuals with and without symbionts under the known conditions of the heat wave-induced mortality event. The ecological implications extend beyond individual mussels, affecting the reef-building capacity of mussels, with potential cascading effects for local biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and coastal defence. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding small-scale biotic interactions during extreme climate events and provide insights into the dynamic nature of the endolith-mussel symbiosis along a parasitic-mutualistic continuum influenced by abiotic factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems 1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity 2,3 , so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value 4 . Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (<29% biomass removal) retain high conservation value and a largely intact functional composition, and are therefore likely to recover their pre-logging values if allowed to undergo natural regeneration. Second, the most extreme impacts occur in heavily degraded forests with more than two-thirds (>68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable 5 , but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aquatic plants (macrophytes) are important for ecosystem structure and function. Macrophyte mass developments are, however, often perceived as a nuisance and are commonly managed by mechanical removal. This is costly and often ineffective due to macrophyte regrowth. There is insufficient understanding about what causes macrophyte mass development, what people who use water bodies consider to be a nuisance, or the potential negative effects of macrophyte removal on the structure and function of ecosystems. To address these gaps, we performed a standardized set of in situ experiments and questionnaires at six sites (lakes, reservoirs, and rivers) on three continents where macrophyte mass developments occur. We then derived monetary values of ecosystem services for different scenarios of macrophyte management ("do nothing", "current practice", "maximum removal"), and developed a decision support system for the management of water courses experiencing macrophyte mass developments. We found that (a) macrophyte mass developments often occur in ecosystems which (unintentionally) became perfect habitats for aquatic plants, that (b) reduced ecosystem disturbance can cause macrophyte mass developments even if nutrient concentrations are low, that (c) macrophyte mass developments are indeed perceived negatively, but visitors tend to regard them as less of a nuisance than residents do, that (d) macrophyte removal lowers the water level of streams and adjacent groundwater, but this may have positive or negative overall societal effects, and that (e) the effects of macrophyte removal on water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity vary, and likely depend on ecosystem characteristics and macrophyte life form. Overall, we found that aquatic plant management often does not greatly affect the overall societal value of the ecosystem, and we suggest that the "do nothing" option should not be easily discarded in the management of perceived nuisance mass developments of aquatic plants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Susanne Schneider reports financial support was provided by Research Council of Norway. Jan Koehler reports financial support was provided by German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Gabrielle Thiebaut reports financial support was provided by French National Research Agency. Julie Coetzee reports financial support was provided by Water Research Commission. Andre Padial reports financial support was provided by Araucaria Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hepatozoon spp. are the most common haemoparasites reported from reptiles around the world, however, only six species have been described infecting crocodilians. In Brazil, Hepatozoon caimani Carini, 1909 is currently the only recognized species from the caiman hosts. This study provides new data on the diversity of species of Hepatozoon infecting Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus) using molecular data and phylogenetic analysis, with additional support of morphological data of developmental stages from host blood and tissue. Forty-four individuals were collected and screened for haemogregarines, and blood and tissue samples were analysed by light microscopy with 31 (70.45%) infected. Hepatozoon spp. blood developmental stages included immature and mature gamonts with or without cytoplasmic vacuoles and free gamonts. Additionally, merogonic developmental stages were found in the liver and spleen of infected hosts. Based on the morphological and molecular data, this study identified two possible different species of Hepatozoon, being one of them the H. caimani with intragenotypic divergence.

Intensification of staple crops through conventional agricultural practices with chemical synthetic inputs has yielded positive outcomes in food security but with negative environmental impacts. Ecological intensification using cropping systems such as maize edible-legume intercropping (MLI) systems has the potential to enhance soil health, agrobiodiversity and significantly influence crop productivity. However, mechanisms underlying enhancement of biological soil health have not been well studied. This study investigated the shifts in rhizospheric soil and maize-root microbiomes and associated soil physico-chemical parameters in MLI systems of smallholder farms in comparison to maize-monoculture cropping systems (MMC). Maize-root and rhizospheric soil samples were collected from twenty-five farms each conditioned by MLI and MMC systems in eastern Kenya. Soil characteristics were assessed using Black oxidation and Walkley methods. High-throughput amplicon sequencing was employed to analyze fungal and bacterial communities, predicting their functional roles and diversity. The different MLI systems significantly impacted soil and maize-root microbial communities, resulting in distinct microbe sets. Specific fungal and bacterial genera and species were mainly influenced and enriched in the MLI systems (e.g., Bionectria solani, Sarocladium zeae, Fusarium algeriense, and Acremonium persicinum for fungi, and Bradyrhizobium elkanii, Enterobacter roggenkampii, Pantoea dispersa and Mitsuaria chitosanitabida for bacteria), which contribute to nutrient solubilization, decomposition, carbon utilization, plant protection, bio-insecticides/fertilizer production, and nitrogen fixation. Conversely, the MMC systems enriched phytopathogenic microbial species like Sphingomonas leidyi and Alternaria argroxiphii. Each MLI system exhibited a unique composition of fungal and bacterial communities that shape belowground biodiversity, notably affecting soil attributes, plant well-being, disease control, and agroecological services. Indeed, soil physico-chemical properties, including pH, nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorus, and potassium were enriched in MLI compared to MMC cropping systems. Thus, diversification of agroecosystems with MLI systems enhances soil properties and shifts rhizosphere and maize-root microbiome in favor of ecologically important microbial communities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Desmodium species used as intercrops in push-pull cropping systems are known to repel insect-pests, suppress Striga species weeds, and shift soil microbiome. However, the mechanisms through which Desmodium species impact the soil microbiome, either through its root exudates, changes in soil nutrition, or shading microbes from its nodules into the rhizosphere, are less understood. Here, we investigated the diversity of root-nodule microbial communities of three Desmodium species- Desmodium uncinatum (SLD), Desmodium intortum (GLD), and Desmodium incanum (AID) which are currently used in smallholder maize push-pull technology (PPT)., Methods: Desmodium species root-nodule samples were collected from selected smallholder farms in western Kenya, and genomic DNA was extracted from the root-nodules. The amplicons underwent paired-end Illumina sequencing to assess bacterial and fungal populations., Results: We found no significant differences in composition and relative abundance of bacterial and fungal species within the root-nodules of the three Desmodium species. While a more pronounced shift was observed for fungal community compositions compared to bacteria, no significant differences were observed in the general diversity (evenness and richness) of fungal and bacterial populations among the three Desmodium species. Similarly, beta diversity was not significantly different among the three Desmodium species. The root-nodule microbiome of the three Desmodium species was dominated by Bradyrhizobium and Fusarium species. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in the proportion of marker gene sequences responsible for energy and amino acid biosynthesis among the three Desmodium species, with higher sequence proportions observed in SLD., Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the microbial community of the three Desmodium species used in PPT. However, root-nodule microbiome of SLD had significantly higher marker gene sequences responsible for energy and amino acid biosynthesis. Therefore, it is likely that the root-nodules of the three Desmodium species host similar microbiomes and influence soil health, consequently impacting plant growth and agroecosystem functioning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Adan, Asudi, Niassy, Jalloh, Mutua, Chidawanyika, Khamis, Khan, Subramanian, Dubois and Mutyambai.)

The genus Amblyomma contains the highest percentage of reptile-associated ticks, and comprises approximately nine subgenera. One of these subgenera is Adenopleura, which also encompasses Amblyomma javanense, and its type species Amblyomma compressum. This study describes a new Amblyomma species associated with Bengal monitor lizards (Varanus bengalensis) based on morphology and its mitogenome in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Reptiles belonging to different genera were examined for Amblyomma ticks and only the monitor lizard was infested with ticks in the District Bajaur. Collected Amblyomma cf. javanense ticks were analyzed and formally described as a new species. Overall, 57 A. cf. javanense ticks were collected on monitor lizards (4/27) with a 15% prevalence of infestation, 2.1 mean abundance, and 14.3 mean intensity. Ticks comprised males (n = 23, 40%), females (n = 14, 25%) and nymphs (n = 20, 35%), while no larvae were found. BLAST analysis of A. cf. javanense sequences showed the following maximum identities; 98.25% with undetermined Amblyomma species based on 12S rRNA, 96.07% with A. javanense based on 16S rRNA, 99.56% and 90.95% with an Amblyomma sp. and A. javanense, respectively, based on ITS2. Moreover, the mitochondrial genome of A. cf. javanense showed maximum identities of 80.75%, 80.48% and 79.42% with Amblyomma testudinarium, A. javanense, and Amblyomma sp., respectively. The phylogenetic analysis of A. cf. javanense revealed that its 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA are closely related to an Amblyomma sp. and A. javanense, respectively, from Sri Lanka, its ITS2 is closely related to A. javanense from China and an Amblyomma sp. from Sri Lanka, and its mitogenome is closely related to A. javanense and Amblyomma sp. from China. The pairwise distance analysis resulted in divergence of 0-1.71% (12S rRNA), 0-17.5% (16S rRNA), 0-9.1% (ITS2) and 0-20.5% (mitochondrial genome). We also contributed the full-length mitochondrial genome sequence of A. compressum and showed that this species does not share a most recent common ancestor with A. javanense. As the subgenus Adenopleura is paraphyletic, this study could help to understand the systematics and phylogeny of this taxon., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Among the factors affecting the effectiveness of malaria control is poor knowledge of the entomologic drivers of the disease. We investigated anopheline populations as part of a baseline study to implement house screening of windows and doors as a supplementary malaria control tool towards elimination in Jabi Tehnan district, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The samples were surveyed monthly using CDC light traps between June 2020 and May 2021. Mosquito trap density (< 3 mosquitoes/trap) was low, however, with a high overall Plasmodium sporozoite rate (9%; indoor = 4.3%, outdoor = 13.1%) comprising P. falciparum (88.9%) and P. vivax (11.1%). Anopheles gambiae s.l., mostly An. arabiensis, comprised > 80% of total anopheline captures and contributed ~ 42% of Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes. On the other hand, morphologically scored Anopheles funestus s.l., constituting about 6% of anopheline collections, accounted for 50% of sporozoite-infected mosquitoes. Most of the infected An. funestus s.l. specimens (86.7%) were grouped with previously unknown or undescribed Anopheles species previously implicated as a cryptic malaria vector in the western Kenyan highlands, confirming its wider geographic distribution in eastern Africa. Other species with Plasmodium infection included An. longipalpis C, An. theileri, An. demillioni, and An. nili. Cumulatively, 77.8% of the infected mosquitoes occurred outdoors. These results suggest efficient malaria parasite transmission despite the low vector densities, which has implications for effective endpoint indicators to monitor malaria control progress. Additionally, the largely outdoor infection and discovery of previously unknown and cryptic vectors suggest an increased risk of residual malaria transmission and, thus, a constraint on effective malaria prevention and control., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Arthropod vectors are responsible for a multitude of human and animal diseases affecting poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Their control still relies on chemical agents, despite growing evidence of insecticide resistance and environmental health concerns. Biorational agents, such as the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae , might be an alternative for vector control. Recently, the M. anisopliae isolate ICIPE 7 has been developed into a commercial product in Kenya for control of ticks on cattle. We were interested in assessing the potential of controlling not only ticks but also disease-transmitting mosquitoes and tsetse flies using cattle as blood hosts, with the aim of developing a product for integrated vector management. Laboratory bioassays were carried out with M. anisopliae , isolate ICIPE 7 and isolate ICIPE 30, to compare efficacy against laboratory-reared Anopheles arabiensis . ICIPE 7 was further tested against wild Glossina fuscipes and Rhipicephalus spp. Dose-response tests were implemented, period of mosquito exposure was evaluated for effects on time to death, and the number of spores attached to exposed vectors was assessed. Exposure to 10 9 spores/mL of ICIPE 7 for 10 min resulted in a similar mortality of An. arabiensis as exposure to ICIPE 30, albeit at a slower rate (12 vs. 8 days). The same ICIPE 7 concentration also resulted in mortalities of tsetse flies (LT 50 : 16 days), tick nymphs (LT 50 : 11 days), and adult ticks (LT 50 : 20 days). Mosquito mortality was dose-dependent, with decreasing LT 50 of 8 days at a concentration of 10 6 spores/mL to 6 days at 10 10 spores/mL. Exposure period did not modulate the outcome, 1 min of exposure still resulted in mortality, and spore attachment to vectors was dose-dependent. The laboratory bioassays confirmed that ICIPE 7 has the potential to infect and cause mortality to the three exposed arthropods, though at slower rate, thus requiring further validation under field conditions.

We inferred the patterns of co-occurrence of flea species in compound (across all host species) and component (across conspecific hosts) communities from six regions of the world (Mongolia, Northwest Argentina, Argentinian Patagonia, West Siberia, Slovakia, and South Africa) using the novel eigenvector ellipsoid method. This method allows us to infer structural community patterns by comparing species' environmental requirements with the pattern of their co-occurrences. We asked whether: (a) communities are characterized by species segregation, nestedness, or modularity; (b) patterns detected by the novel method conform to the patterns identified by traditional methods that search for non-randomness in community structure; and (c) the pattern of flea species co-occurrences in component communities is associated with host species traits. The results of the application of the eigenvector ellipsoid method suggested that the co-occurrence of flea species was random in all compound communities except in South Africa, where this community demonstrated a tendency to be nested. Flea species co-occurrences were random in many component communities. Species segregation was detected in the flea community of one host, whereas the flea communities of 14 hosts from different regions appeared to be nested. No indication of a modular structure in any community was found. The nestedness of flea component communities was mainly characteristic of hosts with a low relative brain mass. We concluded that the application of this novel method that combines data on species distribution and their environmental requirements allows better identification of the community structural patterns and produces more reliable results as compared with traditional methods., (© 2024 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

The present study reports the results of an electrophysiological analysis of sleep in the East African root rat, Tachyoryctes splendens, belonging to the rodent subfamily Spalacinae. Telemetric electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic recordings, with associated video recording, on three root rats over a continuous 72 h period (12 h light/12 h dark cycle) were analyzed. The analysis revealed that the East African root rat has a total sleep time (TST) of 8.9 h per day. Despite this relatively short total sleep time in comparison to fossorial rodents, nonrapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep states showed similar physiological signatures to that observed in other rodents and no unusual sleep states were observed. REM occupied 19.7% of TST, which is within the range observed in other rodents. The root rats were extremely active during the dark period, and appeared to spend much of the light period in quiet wake while maintaining vigilance (as determined from both EEG recordings and behavioral observation). These recordings were made under normocapnic environmental conditions, which contrasts with the hypercapnic environment of their natural burrows., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Koinobiont endoparasitoids regulate the physiology of their hosts through altering host immuno-metabolic responses, processes which function in tandem to shape the composition of the microbiota of these hosts. Here, we employed 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing to investigate whether parasitization by the parasitoid wasps, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmaed) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Psyttalia cosyrae (Wilkinson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), induces gut dysbiosis and differentially alter the gut microbial (bacteria and fungi) communities of an important horticultural pest, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). We further investigated the composition of bacterial communities of adult D. longicaudata and P. cosyrae to ascertain whether the adult parasitoids and parasitized host larvae share microbial taxa through transmission. We demonstrated that parasitism by D. longicaudata induced significant gut perturbations, resulting in the colonization and increased relative abundance of pathogenic gut bacteria. Some pathogenic bacteria like Stenotrophomonas and Morganella were detected in both the guts of D. longicaudata-parasitized B. dorsalis larvae and adult D. longicaudata wasps, suggesting a horizontal transfer of microbes from the parasitoid to the host. The bacterial community of P. cosyrae adult wasps was dominated by Arsenophonus nasoniae, whereas that of D. longicaudata adults was dominated by Paucibater spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Parasitization by either parasitoid wasp was associated with an overall reduction in fungal diversity and evenness. These findings indicate that unlike P. cosyrae which is avirulent to B. dorsalis, parasitization by D. longicaudata induces shifts in the gut bacteriome of B. dorsalis larvae to a pathobiont-dominated community. This mechanism possibly enhances its virulence against the pest, further supporting its candidacy as an effective biocontrol agent of this frugivorous tephritid fruit fly pest., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The genus Phytophthora contains many destructive and globally important plant pathogens. In the last decade, targeted sampling efforts have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of known species, as well as a better understanding of their global distribution. Routine activities undertaken in botanical gardens, combined with great numbers of local and international visitors, place botanical gardens at risk to the accidental introduction and establishment of pathogens such as Phytophthora spp. In this study, the occurrence of Phytophthora was investigated in two botanical gardens in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Symptomatic collar and stem tissues were collected, and root and rhizosphere soil samples were taken from trees exhibiting symptoms of decline. Standard baiting techniques and direct plating of symptomatic tissues revealed the presence of seven species of Phytophthora residing in four phylogenetic clades. Five of these species, P. cinnamomi, P. citrophthora, P. multivora, P. parvispora and the informally designated taxon Phytophthora sp. stellaris were known to be present in South Africa and P. aquimorbida was recorded for the first time. Of these, P. citrophthora represented a novel host-pathogen association causing bleeding cankers on indigenous Celtis africana . A multilocus phylogenetic analysis based on ITS, βtub, cox1 and hsp90 sequences showed the presence of an undescribed species belonging to the Phytophthora ITS Clade 5. This species is described here as Phytophthora mammiformis sp. nov . This study highlights the importance of monitoring botanical gardens for the detection and discovery of pathogens and emphasises their value as sites for the discovery of novel host-pathogen associations. Citation: Paap T, Balocchi F, Burgess TI, Bose T, Wingfield MJ (2024). A diverse range of Phytophthora species from botanical gardens in South Africa, including the novel Clade 5 species, Phytophthora mammiformis sp. nov . Fungal Systematics and Evolution 13 : 111-122. doi: 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.05., (© 2024 Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute.)

Particle passage from the reticulorumen (RR) depends on particle density and size. A classic way of assessing these effects is the use of plastic markers of varying density and size that are recovered in the faeces. Here, we report results of an experiment where four fistulated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus, 96 ± 12 kg) were fed two different diets (browse, voluntary dry matter intake [DMI] 70 ± 10 g/kg 0.75 /d; or a pelleted diet, DMI 124 ± 52 g/kg 0.75 /d) and dosed via fistula with 8 different particle types combining densities of 1.03, 1.22 and 1.44 g/ml and sizes of 1, 10 and 20 mm. Generally, particles that passed the digestive tract intact (not ruminated) did so relatively early after marker dosing, and therefore had shorter mean retention times (MRT) than ruminated particles. On the higher intake, the overall mean retention time (MRT) of particles was shorter, but this was not an effect of shorter MRT for either intact or ruminated particles, but due to a higher proportion of intact particles at the higher intake. This supports the concept that ruminants do not adjust chewing behaviour depending on intake, but that a lower proportion of digesta is submitted to rumination due to pressure-driven escape from the forestomach at higher gut fills. Compared to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and moose (Alces alces) that had received the same markers, reindeer had a lower proportion of 1 mm particles that passed intact. Our results support the concept that the critical size threshold for particles leaving the ruminant forestomach is dependent on body size. While the results likely do not represent findings peculiar for reindeer, they indicate fundamental mechanisms operating in the forestomach of ruminants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adult workers of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) acquire sterols from their pollen diet. These food sterols are transported by the hemolymph to peripheral tissues such as the mandibular and the hypopharyngeal glands in the worker bees' heads that secrete food jelly which is fed to developing larvae. As sterols are obligatory components of biological membranes and essential precursors for molting hormone synthesis in insects, they are indispensable to normal larval development. Thus, the study of sterol delivery to larvae is important for a full understanding of honey bee larval nutrition and development. Whereas hypopharyngeal glands only require sterols for their membrane integrity, mandibular glands add sterols, primarily 24-methylenecholesterol, to its secretion. For this, sterols must be transported through the glandular epithelial cells. We have analyzed for the first time in A. mellifera the expression of genes which are involved in intracellular movement of sterols. Mandibular and hypopharyngeal glands were dissected from newly emerged bees, 6-day-old nurse bees that feed larvae and 26-day-old forager bees. The expression of seven genes involved in intracellular sterol metabolism was measured with quantitative real-time PCR. Relative transcript abundance of sterol metabolism genes was significantly influenced by the age of workers and specific genes but not by gland type. Newly emerged bees had significantly more transcripts for six out of seven genes than older bees indicating that the bulk of the proteins needed for sterol metabolism are produced directly after emergence., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The bee louse Braula spp. had until recently a distribution coincident with its host the honey bee. The adult fly usually attaches to a worker honey bee and steals food from its mouth. However, not all worker bees carry Braula spp. and the mechanism used by Braula spp. to select hosts is not well understood. Using choice remounting bioassays and chemical analyses, we determined host selection and the cues used by B. coeca, a species associated with the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata. Braula coeca successfully remounted bees from which they were initially removed and preferred their mandibular gland pheromones (MDG) over those of bees not carrying them. The bee lice did not show any preference for the cuticular hydrocarbons of both types of workers. Chemical analyses of the MDG extracts, revealed quantitative differences between the two categories of workers, with workers carrying B. coeca having more of the queen substance (9-oxo-2(E)-decenoic acid) and worker substance (10-hydroxy-2(E)-decenoic). Braula coeca showed a dose response to the queen substance, indicating its ability to use host derived kairomones as cues that allowed it to benefit from trophallactic dominance by individuals that have a higher probability of being fed by other workers., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays ('elasmobranchs'), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species. Here we use a dedicated global survey of coral reef elasmobranchs to assess 66 fully protected areas embedded within a range of fisheries management regimes across 36 countries. We show that conservation benefits were primarily for reef-associated sharks, which were twice as abundant in fully protected areas compared with areas open to fishing. Conservation benefits were greatest in large protected areas that incorporate distinct reefs. However, the same benefits were not evident for rays or wide-ranging sharks that are both economically and ecologically important while also threatened with extinction. We show that conservation benefits from fully protected areas are close to doubled when embedded within areas of effective fisheries management, highlighting the importance of a mixed management approach of both effective fisheries management and well-designed fully protected areas to conserve tropical elasmobranch assemblages globally., (© 2024. Crown.)

Sociality underpins major evolutionary transitions and significantly influences the structure and function of complex ecosystems. Social insects, seen as the pinnacle of sociality, have traits like obligate sterility that are considered 'master traits', used as single phenotypic measures of this complexity. However, evidence is mounting that completely aligning both phenotypic and evolutionary social complexity, and having obligate sterility central to both, is erroneous. We hypothesize that obligate and functional sterility are insufficient in explaining the diversity of phenotypic social complexity in social insects. To test this, we explore the relative importance of these sterility traits in an understudied but diverse taxon: the termites. We compile the largest termite social complexity dataset to date, using specimen and literature data. We find that although functional and obligate sterility explain a significant proportion of variance, neither trait is an adequate singular proxy for the phenotypic social complexity of termites. Further, we show both traits have only a weak association with the other social complexity traits within termites. These findings have ramifications for our general comprehension of the frameworks of phenotypic and evolutionary social complexity, and their relationship with sterility.

We herein provide a supplemental description of Nomasanguinicola dentata (Paperna, 1964) Warren and Bullard, 2023 (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) and provide a revised 28S phylogeny to test relationships among freshwater fish blood flukes. We examined the heart of three African sharptooth catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Teugles, 1982 from the Kavango River (northeastern Namibia) that was infected with adults of N. dentata. This blood fluke differs from N. canthoensis by having a body 5.3-6.7 longer than wide (vs. 3.5-4.6), an anterior esophageal swelling 7-8% (vs. 14-24%) of total esophageal length, a posterior esophageal swelling 3-5% (vs. 8-10%) of total esophageal length, a pre-cecal (vs. wholly post-cecal) testis, and an ovary that does not extend laterally beyond the nerve cords. The 28S sequence for N. dentata differed from that of N. canthoensis by 144 bp (9% difference). The phylogenetic analysis recovered these species as sister taxa and Sanguinicolidae as monophyletic. This is the first report of a fish blood fluke from sub-Saharan Africa, and the first report of a species of Nomasanguinicola from Africa in ∼40 yrs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No author has a competing interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Rest is a state of adaptive inactivity that increases the efficiency of activity by regulating its timing and reducing energy use when activity is not beneficial. Thus, animals can go without rest when specific demands, such as mating, favour being awake. Sexually active male blue wildebeest (bulls) are typically territorial, and it has been reported that when a bull is protecting a harem during the mating season (rut), he neither eats nor rests. We examined the daily activity and inactivity patterns of dominant bulls by means of actigraphy for 3 months, which included the rut. We also measured faecal androgen metabolite (fAM) levels and subcutaneous temperature, both of which have variances known to delineate the rut. During the rut, wildebeest bulls experienced higher levels of activity, fAM, and a greater daily range of subcutaneous temperature. Despite previous reports, the male blue wildebeest rested daily during the rut, and while the amount of rest was low, it was not substantially lower than prior to the rut. The amount of time spent inactive increased substantially after the rut. The timing of daily activity and inactivity patterns did not vary substantially across the recording period. Across the recording period, the average daily ambient temperatures decreased (seasonality), and the subcutaneous temperature followed this pattern, although it was not as marked. It appears that in the post-rut period a substantive increase in time spent at rest occurs, potentially allowing the wildebeest bulls time to recover following a period of intense activity., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Predation is an important ecological process that can significantly impact the maintenance of ecosystem services. In arctic environments, the relative ecological importance of predation is thought to be increasing due to climate change, partly because of increased productivity with rising temperatures. Therefore, understanding predator-prey interactions in arctic ecosystems is vital for the sustainable management of these northern regions. Network theory provides a framework for quantifying the structures of ecological interactions. In this study, we use dietary observations on mammalian and avian predators in a high arctic region, including isolated peninsulas on Ellesmere Island and north Greenland, to construct bipartite trophic networks. We quantify the complexity, specialization, and nested as well as modular structures of these networks and also determine if these properties varied among the peninsulas. Mammal prey remains were the dominant diet item for all predators, but there was spatial variation in diet composition among peninsulas. The predator-prey networks were less complex, had more specialized interactions, and were more nested and more modular than random expectations. However, the networks displayed only moderate levels of modularity. Predator species had less specialized interactions with prey than prey had with predators. All network properties differed among the peninsulas, which highlights that ecosystems often show complex responses to environmental characteristics. We suggest that gaining knowledge about spatial variation in the characteristics of predator-prey interactions can enhance our ability to manage ecosystems exposed to environmental perturbations, particularly in high arctic environments subject to rapid environmental change., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interests., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Asiatic acid (AA) is a polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities that make it a potential choice to attenuate inflammation and oxidative insults associated with ulcerative colitis (UC). Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate if AA can attenuate molecular, biochemical, and histological alterations in the acetic acid-induced UC model in rats. To perform the study, five groups were applied, including the control, acetic acid-induced UC, UC-treated with 40 mg/kg aminosalicylate (5-ASA), UC-treated with 20 mg/kg AA, and UC-treated with 40 mg/kg AA. Levels of different markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis were studied along with histological approaches. The induction of UC increased the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO). Additionally, the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream antioxidant proteins [catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR)] were down-regulated in the colon tissue. Moreover, the inflammatory mediators [myeloperoxidase (MPO), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP1), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)] were increased in the colon tissue after the induction of UC. Notably, an apoptotic response was developed, as demonstrated by the increased caspase-3 and Bax and decreased Bcl2. Interestingly, AA administration at both doses lessened the molecular, biochemical, and histopathological changes following the induction in the colon tissue of UC. In conclusion, AA could improve the antioxidative status and attenuate the inflammatory and apoptotic challenges associated with UC., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

The existence of adult sexual dimorphism is typically explained as a consequence of sexual selection, yet coevolutionary drivers of sexual dimorphism frequently remain untested. Here, I investigate the role of sexual dimorphism in host-parasite interactions of the brood parasitic diederik cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius . Female diederik cuckoos are more cryptic in appearance and pose a threat to the clutch, while male diederik cuckoos are conspicuous and not a direct threat. Specifically, I examine whether sexual dimorphism in diederik cuckoos provokes threat-level sensitive responses in Southern red bishop, Euplectes orix , hosts. I use experimentally simulated nest intrusions to test whether hosts have the capacity to differentially (i) detect, and/or (ii) discriminate between, male and female diederik cuckoos, relative to harmless controls. Overall, I found no evidence that diederik cuckoos differ in detectability, since both sexes are comparable to controls in the probability and speed of host detection. Furthermore, neither male nor female hosts discriminate between sexually dimorphic diederik cuckoos when engaging in frontline nest defences. However, hosts that witnessed a male diederik cuckoo during the trial were more likely to reject odd eggs. Moreover, experimental eggs were significantly more likely to be rejected when female bishops observed a male compared to a female diederik cuckoo. While the cryptic appearance of female diederik cuckoos does not reduce detection by hosts, it does provide the benefit of anonymity given the egg rejection costs of conspicuous male-like appearance in the nest vicinity. These findings have implications for the evolution and maintenance of sexual dimorphism across the Cuculidae, and highlight the value of testing assumptions about the ecological drivers of sexual dimorphism., Competing Interests: None., (© 2024 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of Anopheles mosquito larval habitats and the environmental factors associated with them, as a prerequisite for the implementation of larviciding., Methods: The study was conducted in December 2021, during the transition period between the end of the short rainy season (September-November) and the short dry season (December-February). Physical, biological, and land cover data were integrated with entomological observations to collect Anopheles larvae in three major towns: Mitzic, Oyem, and Bitam, using the "dipping" method during the transition from rainy to dry season. The collected larvae were then reared in a field laboratory established for the study period. After the Anopheles mosquitoes had emerged, their species were identified using appropriate morphological taxonomic keys. To determine the influence of environmental factors on the breeding of Anopheles mosquitoes, multiple-factor analysis (MFA) and a binomial generalized linear model were used., Results: According to the study, only 33.1% out of the 284 larval habitats examined were found to be positive for Anopheles larvae, which were primarily identified as belonging to the Anopheles gambiae complex. The findings of the research suggested that the presence of An. gambiae complex larvae in larval habitats was associated with various significant factors such as higher urbanization, the size and type of the larval habitats (pools and puddles), co-occurrence with Culex and Aedes larvae, hot spots in ambient temperature, moderate rainfall, and land use patterns., Conclusions: The results of this research mark the initiation of a focused vector control plan that aims to eradicate or lessen the larval habitats of An. gambiae mosquitoes in Gabon's Woleu Ntem province. This approach deals with the root causes of malaria transmission through larvae and is consistent with the World Health Organization's (WHO) worldwide objective to decrease malaria prevalence in regions where it is endemic., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The zoophytophagous mirid predator Nesidiocoris tenuis and the ectoparasitoid Stenomesius japonicus are important biological control agents for several agricultural pests including the invasive leafminer, Phthorimaea absoluta, a destructive pest of Solanaceous crops especially tomato in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known about how feeding by N. tenuis can influence the tritrophic interactions in the tomato plant. Here, we tested the hypothesis that N. tenuis phytophagy would influence the tritrophic olfactory interactions between the host plant tomato and pest, predator, and parasitoid. In olfactometer assays, P. absoluta females and N. tenuis adults were both attracted to constitutive volatiles released by the tomato plant. Whereas females of P. absoluta avoided volatiles released by N. tenuis-infested plants, S. japonicus females and N. tenuis adults were attracted to the induced volatiles. In coupled gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) recordings of intact and N. tenuis-infested plant volatiles, antennae of P. absoluta and S. japonicus females both detected eight components, whereas N. tenuis adults detected seven components which were identified by GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as terpenes and green leaf volatiles (GLVs). Dose-response olfactometer bioassays revealed that the responses of P. absoluta, N. tenuis, and S. japonicus varied with the composition and concentration of blends and individual compounds tested from N tenuis-induced volatiles. Females of P. absoluta showed no preference for an eight-component blend formulated from the individual repellents including hexanal, (Z)-3-hexenyl butanoate, and δ-elemene identified in the volatiles. On the other hand, S. japonicus females were attracted to an eight-component blend including the attractants (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenol, methyl salicylate, β-phellandrene, and (E)-caryophyllene. Likewise, N. tenuis adults were attracted to a seven-component blend including the attractants β-phellandrene, δ-elemene, and (E)-caryophyllene identified in the volatiles. Our findings suggest that there is potential for the use of terpenes and GLVs to manage the insects in the tritrophic interaction., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rewilding is a restoration approach that aims to promote self-regulating complex ecosystems by restoring non-human ecological processes while reducing human control and pressures. Rewilding is forward-looking in that it aims to enhance functionality for biodiversity, accepting and indeed promoting the dynamic nature of ecosystems, rather than fixating on static composition or structure. Rewilding is thus especially relevant in our epoch of increasingly novel biosphere conditions, driven by strong human-induced global change. Here, we explore this hypothesis in the context of trophic rewilding - the restoration of trophic complexity mediated by wild, large-bodied animals, known as 'megafauna'. This focus reflects the strong ecological impacts of large-bodied animals, their widespread loss during the last 50,000 years and their high diversity and ubiquity in the preceding 50 million years. Restoring abundant, diverse, wild-living megafauna is expected to promote vegetation heterogeneity, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling and biotic microhabitats. These are fundamental drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem function and are likely to gain importance for maintaining a biodiverse biosphere under increasingly novel ecological conditions. Non-native megafauna species may contribute to these effects as ecological surrogates of extinct species or by promoting ecological functionality within novel assemblages. Trophic rewilding has strong upscaling potential via population growth and expansion of wild fauna. It is likely to facilitate biotic adaptation to changing climatic conditions and resilience to ecosystem collapse, and to curb some negative impacts of globalization, notably the dominance of invasive alien plants. Finally, we discuss the complexities of realizing the biodiversity benefits that trophic rewilding offers under novel biosphere conditions in a heavily populated world., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Functional signal in an interaction network is a phenomenon in which species resembling each other in their traits interact with similar partners. We tested the functional signal concept in realm-specific and regional flea-host networks from four biogeographic realms and asked whether the species composition of (a) host spectra and (b) flea assemblages is similar between functionally similar flea and host species, respectively. Analogously to testing for phylogenetic signal, we applied Mantel tests to investigate the correlation between flea or host functional distances calculated from functional dendrograms and dissimilarities in sets of interacting partners. In all realm-specific networks, functionally similar fleas tended to exploit similar hosts often belonging to the same genus, whereas functionally similar hosts tended to harbour similar fleas, again often belonging to the same genus. The strength of realm-specific functional signals and the frequency of detecting a significant functional signal in the regional networks differed between realms. The frequency of detecting a significant functional signal in the regional networks correlated positively with the network size for fleas and with the number of hosts in a network for hosts. A functional signal in the regional networks was more frequently found for hosts than for fleas. We discuss the mechanisms behind the functional signal in both fleas and their hosts, relate geographic functional signal patterns to the historic biogeography of fleas and conclude that functional signals in the species composition of host spectra for fleas and of flea assemblages for hosts result from the interplay of evolutionary and ecological processes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: In sub-Saharan Africa, the invasive South American leafminer Phthorimaea absoluta is the most damaging tomato pest. Females of the pest can reproduce both sexually and through parthenogenesis and lay their eggs on all tomato plant parts. The mirid predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, a biological control agent for the pest, is also a tomato pest when prey population is low. To date, however, no study has developed an eco-friendly solution that targets both the predator and its host in a tomato farming system., Objective: To develop a bio-based management system for both pest and predator based on the combined use of sexual communication in the predator and visual cues., Methods: We collected volatiles from both sexes of the Kenyan population of the predator N. tenuis and identified candidate sex pheromone components by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We used electrophysiological assays to identify antennally-active odorants in the volatiles, followed by field trials with different pheromone-baited colored traps to validate the responses of both predator and prey. Thereafter, we compared the reflectance spectra of the colored traps with those of different tomato plant tissues., Results: Our results reveal an interplay between different sensory cues which in the predator-prey interaction may favor the predator. Antennae of both sexes of predator and prey detect the predator sex pheromone identified as 1-octanol and hexyl hexanoate. Unexpectedly, our field experiments led to the discovery of a lure for P. absoluta females, which were lured distinctly into a pheromone-baited trap whose reflectance spectrum mimicked that of ripe tomato fruit (long wavelength), an egg-laying site for females. Contrastingly, N. tenuis males were lured into baited white trap (short wavelength) when the predator is actively searching for prey., Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the novel use of a predator sex pheromone and different visual cues to assess complex trophic interactions on tomatoes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

Identifying important demographic drivers of population dynamics is fundamental for understanding life-history evolution and implementing effective conservation measures. Integrated population models (IPMs) coupled with transient life table response experiments (tLTREs) allow ecologists to quantify the contributions of demographic parameters to observed population change. While IPMs can estimate parameters that are not estimable using any data source alone, for example, immigration, the estimated contribution of such parameters to population change is prone to bias. Currently, it is unclear when robust conclusions can be drawn from them. We sought to understand the drivers of a rebounding southern elephant seal population on Marion Island using the IPM-tLTRE framework, applied to count and mark-recapture data on 9500 female seals over nearly 40 years. Given the uncertainty around IPM-tLTRE estimates of immigration, we also aimed to investigate the utility of simulation and sensitivity analyses as general tools for evaluating the robustness of conclusions obtained in this framework. Using a Bayesian IPM and tLTRE analysis, we quantified the contributions of survival, immigration and population structure to population growth. We assessed the sensitivity of our estimates to choice of multivariate priors on immigration and other vital rates. To do so we make a novel application of Gaussian process priors, in comparison with commonly used shrinkage priors. Using simulation, we assessed our model's ability to estimate the demographic contribution of immigration under different levels of temporal variance in immigration. The tLTRE analysis suggested that adult survival and immigration were the most important drivers of recent population growth. While the contribution of immigration was sensitive to prior choices, the estimate was consistently large. Furthermore, our simulation study validated the importance of immigration by showing that our estimate of its demographic contribution is unlikely to result as a biased overestimate. Our results highlight the connectivity between distant populations of southern elephant seals, illustrating that female dispersal can be important in regulating the abundance of local populations even when natal site fidelity is high. More generally, we demonstrate how robust ecological conclusions may be obtained about immigration from the IPM-tLTRE framework, by combining sensitivity analysis and simulation., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.)

Foams are a ubiquitous feature of marine environments. They can have major economic, societal and ecological consequences through their accumulation on the shore. Despite their pervasive nature and evidence that stable foam deposits play a pivotal role in the ecology of soft shore and estuaries, very limited amounts of information are available on their contribution to the structure and function at play in rocky intertidal ecosystems. This study shows that the metabolic rate of the high-shore gastropod Littorina saxatilis is significantly higher in individuals exposed to foams. Behavioural assays conducted under laboratory-controlled conditions further show that this species detects foam-born infochemicals both indirectly or directly, hence rely on both airborne and contact chemosensory cues. L. saxatilis also actively avoid areas covered in foam, and increase their activity in the presence of foam. These observations are interpreted in terms of foam-induced increased metabolic stress and increases behavioural anxiety and vigilance. They are further discussed in relation to the occurrence of two phytoplankton species known to produce repellent and/or toxic compounds such as domoic acid and dimethylsulfoniopropionate, the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia multistriata and the haptophyte Phaeocystis globosa, with the latter occurring at unusually high density. Taken together, these results suggest that the accumulation of foams on intertidal rocky shores may have major implications on taxa relying on both airborne and contact chemosensory cues to navigate, find food and mating partners. Specifically, the observed increased behavioural activity coupled with increased metabolic demands may impact species fitness and highlight potentially large ecological consequences in rocky intertidal ecosystems characterized by strong hydrodynamism and elevated organic matter content leading to the presence of long-lived foam., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The role of atmospheric humidity in the evolution of endotherms' thermoregulatory performance remains largely unexplored, despite the fact that elevated humidity is known to impede evaporative cooling capacity. Using a phylogenetically informed comparative framework, we tested the hypothesis that pronounced hyperthermia tolerance among birds occupying humid lowlands evolved to reduce the impact of humidity-impeded scope for evaporative heat dissipation by comparing heat tolerance limits (HTLs; maximum tolerable air temperature), maximum body temperatures (T b max), and associated thermoregulatory variables in humid (19.2 g H 2 O m -3 ) versus dry (1.1 g H 2 O m -3 ) air among 30 species from three climatically distinct sites (arid, mesic montane, and humid lowland). Humidity-associated decreases in evaporative water loss and resting metabolic rate were 27%-38% and 21%-27%, respectively, and did not differ significantly between sites. Decreases in HTLs were significantly larger among arid-zone (mean ± SD = 3.13 ± 1.12°C) and montane species (2.44 ± 1.0°C) compared to lowland species (1.23 ± 1.34°C), with more pronounced hyperthermia among lowland (T b max = 46.26 ± 0.48°C) and montane birds (T b max = 46.19 ± 0.92°C) compared to arid-zone species (45.23 ± 0.24°C). Our findings reveal a functional link between facultative hyperthermia and humidity-related constraints on evaporative cooling, providing novel insights into how hygric and thermal environments interact to constrain avian performance during hot weather. Moreover, the macrophysiological patterns we report provide further support for the concept of a continuum from thermal specialization to thermal generalization among endotherms, with adaptive variation in body temperature correlated with prevailing climatic conditions., (© 2024 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

Vehicular whole-body vibration (WBV) can have long-term adverse effects on human quality of life. Animal models can be used to study pathophysiologic effects of vibration. The goal of this study was to assess animal cooperation and well-being to determine the feasibility of a novel seated rat model for investigating the effects of WBV on biologic systems. Twenty-four male Sprague???Dawley rats were used. The experiment consisted of an acclimation phase, 2 training phases (TrP1 and TrP2), and a testing phase (TeP), including weekly radiographic imaging. During acclimation, rats were housed in pairs in standard cages without vibration. First, experimental (EG; n = 18) and control group 1 (C1; n = 3) rats were placed in a vibration apparatus without vibration, with increasing duration over 5 d during TrP1. EG rats were exposed to vertical random WBV that was increased in magnitude over 5 d during TrP2 until reaching the vibration signal used during TeP (15min, 0.7m??s-2 root mean square, unweighted). C1 rats were placed in the vibration apparatus but received no vibration during any phase. Control group 2 (C2; n = 3) rats remained in the home cages. Cooperation was evaluated with regard to rat-apparatus interactions and position compliance. Behavior, weight, and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (fGCM) were used to evaluate animal well-being. We observed good cooperation and no behavioral patterns or weight loss between phases, indicating little or no animal stress. The differences in fGCM concentration between groups indicated that the EG rats had lower stress levels than the control rats in all phases except TrP1. Thus, this model elicited little or no stress in the conscious, unrestrained, seated rats.

Naked mole-rats ( Heterocephalus glaber ) live in large colonies with one breeding female (queen), one to three breeding males (BMs) and the remainder are non-reproductive subordinates. The animals have a linear dominance rank with the breeders at the top of the hierarchy. We investigated how dominance rank in naked mole-rats differs with exploration (the propensity to explore a novel environment) and related endocrine markers. Exploration behaviour, faecal progestagen metabolite (fPM), faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM), faecal androgen metabolite (fAM) and plasma prolactin concentrations were quantified in breeding, high-, middle- and low-ranked females and males from five naked mole-rat colonies. There were no significant differences between the dominance rank and exploration behaviour. Interestingly, the queens and high-ranking females had higher fGCM and fAM concentrations compared with middle- and low-ranked females. The queens had significantly higher fPM concentrations than all other ranked females, since they are responsible for procreation. In the males, the BMs had higher fGCM concentrations compared with high- and low-ranked males. In addition, BMs and middle-ranking males had overall higher prolactin levels than all other ranked males, which could be linked to cooperative care. Overall, the results suggest that physiological reproductive suppression is linked to high dominance rank.