Round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in the River Rhine: Population genetic support for invasion via two different routes.

The round goby, Neogobius melanostomus, is a successful invasive fish species. Originating from the Caspian and Black Sea, it is now distributed widely within European fresh- and brackish waters. The River Rhine was colonized in 2008 only a few years after the opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube canal and only four years after N.

An integrated system to assess marine extinctions.

More than 20 global marine extinctions and over 700 local extinctions have reportedly occurred during the past 500 years. However, available methods to determine how many of these species can be confidently declared true disappearances tend to be data-demanding, time-consuming, and not applicable to all taxonomic groups or scales of marine extinctions (global [G] and local [L]). We developed an integrated system to assess marine extinctions (ISAME) that can be applied to any taxonomic group at any geographic scale.

Teaching laboratory for large cohorts of undergraduates: Private and social information in fish.

A challenge in the Bachelor's studies in Biology is to strike a balance between reducing the teaching of practical scientific experiments to what is feasible in a short time, and teaching "real" science in undergraduate laboratories for high numbers of participants. We describe a laboratory in behavioral biology, with the primary focus on the student learning. However, also the underlying scientific question and the results of the experiment, namely the behavior of the three-spined stickleback () in a trade-off situation during foraging, is without a doubt timely and sufficient for scientific studies on this subject, and this through the experiments conducted and data collected by the students.

Airway surface liquid from smokers promotes bacterial growth and biofilm formation via iron-lactoferrin imbalance.

Background: Smoking is a leading cause of respiratory infections worldwide. Tobacco particulate matter disrupts iron homeostasis in the lungs and increases the iron content in the airways of smokers. The airway epithelia secrete lactoferrin to quench iron required for bacteria to proliferate and cause lung infections.

Does social context affect boldness in juveniles?

Differences in boldness are common between populations or between related species and are discussed as part of individual coping style, personality, or behavioral syndrome. Boldness has been found to be dependent on experience, social, and environmental contexts. The major aim of the present study was to establish an experimental environment that would allow analyzing the risk-taking behavior of 2 competing invasive goby species.