Running, jumping, hunting, and scavenging: Functional analysis of vertebral mobility and backbone properties in carnivorans.

Carnivorans are well-known for their exceptional backbone mobility, which enables them to excel in fast running and long jumping, leading to them being among the most successful predators amongst terrestrial mammals. This study presents the first large-scale analysis of mobility throughout the presacral region of the vertebral column in carnivorans. The study covers representatives of 6 families, 24 genera and 34 species.

Metabolic rate, sleep duration, and body temperature in evolution of mammals and birds: the influence of geological time of principal groups divergence.

This study contains an analysis of basal metabolic rate (BMR) in 1817 endothermic species. The aim was to establish how metabolic scaling varies between the main groups of endotherms during evolution. The data for all the considered groups were combined and the common exponent in the allometric relationship between the BMR and body weight was established as = 0.

Metabolic Scaling in Birds and Mammals: How Taxon Divergence Time, Phylogeny, and Metabolic Rate Affect the Relationship between Scaling Exponents and Intercepts.

Analysis of metabolic scaling in currently living endothermic animal species allowed us to show how the relationship between body mass and the basal metabolic rate (BMR) has evolved in the history of endothermic vertebrates. We compared six taxonomic groups according to their energetic characteristics and the time of evolutionary divergence. We transformed the slope of the regression lines to the common value and analyzed three criteria for comparing BMR of different taxa regardless of body size.

Evolution of metabolic scaling among the tetrapod: effect of phylogeny, the geologic time of class formation, and uniformity of species within a class.

The metabolic scaling in the animal has been discussed for over 90 years, but no consensus has been reached. Our analysis of 2126 species of vertebrates reveals a significant allometric exponent heterogeneity. We show that classes of terrestrial vertebrates exhibit the evolution of metabolic scaling.

Phenological sensitivity to climate change is higher in resident than in migrant bird populations among European cavity breeders.

Many organisms adjust their reproductive phenology in response to climate change, but phenological sensitivity to temperature may vary between species. For example, resident and migratory birds have vastly different annual cycles, which can cause differential temperature sensitivity at the breeding grounds, and may affect competitive dynamics. Currently, however, adjustment to climate change in resident and migratory birds have been studied separately or at relatively small geographical scales with varying time series durations and methodologies.

Geographic patterns of genetic differentiation and plumage colour variation are different in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).

The pied flycatcher is one of the most phenotypically variable bird species in Europe. The geographic variation in phenotypes has often been attributed to spatial variation in selection regimes that is associated with the presence or absence of the congeneric collared flycatcher. Spatial variation in phenotypes could however also be generated by spatially restricted gene flow and genetic drift.