The reduction in relative brain size in the domesticated dog is not an evolutionary singularity among the canids.

Domestication has long been considered the most powerful evolutionary engine behind dramatic reductions in brain size in several taxa, and the dog () is considered as a typical example that shows a substantial decrease in brain size relative to its ancestor, the grey wolf (). However, to make the case for exceptional evolution of reduced brain size under domestication requires an interspecific approach in a phylogenetic context that can quantify the extent by which domestication reduces brain size in comparison to closely related non-domesticated species responding to different selection factors in the wild. Here, we used a phylogenetic method to identify evolutionary singularities to test if the domesticated dog stands out in terms of relative brain size from other species of canids.

High-resolution computed tomographic (HRCT) image series from 413 canid and 18 felid skulls.

Computed tomography (CT) is a non-invasive, three-dimensional imaging tool used in medical imaging, forensic science, industry and engineering, anthropology, and archaeology. The current study used high-resolution medical CT scanning of 431 animal skulls, including 399 dog skulls from 152 breeds, 14 cat skulls from 9 breeds, 14 skulls from 8 wild canid species (gray wolf, golden jackal, coyote, maned wolf, bush dog, red fox, Fennec fox, bat-eared fox), and 4 skulls from 4 wild felid species (wildcat, leopard, serval, caracal). This comprehensive and unique collection of CT image series of skulls can provide a solid foundation not only for comparative anatomical and evolutionary studies but also for the advancement of veterinary education, virtual surgery planning, and the facilitation of training in sophisticated machine learning methodologies.

The effect of environmental variation on the relationship between survival and risk-taking behaviour in a migratory songbird.

Temporal changes in environmental conditions may play a major role in the year-to-year variation in fitness consequences of behaviours. Identifying environmental drivers of such variation is crucial to understand the evolutionary trajectories of behaviours in natural contexts. However, our understanding of how environmental variation influences behaviours in the wild remains limited.

The estimation of additive genetic variance of body size in a wild passerine is sensitive to the method used to estimate relatedness among the individuals.

Assessing additive genetic variance is a crucial step in predicting the evolutionary response of a target trait. However, the estimated genetic variance may be sensitive to the methodology used, e.g.

Host space, not energy or symbiont size, constrains feather mite abundance across passerine bird species.

Comprehending symbiont abundance among host species is a major ecological endeavour, and the metabolic theory of ecology has been proposed to understand what constrains symbiont populations. We parameterized metabolic theory equations to investigate how bird species' body size and the body size of their feather mites relate to mite abundance according to four potential energy (uropygial gland size) and space constraints (wing area, total length of barbs and number of feather barbs). Predictions were compared with the empirical scaling of feather mite abundance across 106 passerine bird species (26,604 individual birds sampled), using phylogenetic modelling and quantile regression.

Phylogenetic meta-analysis reveals system-specific behavioural type-behavioural predictability correlations.

The biological significance of behavioural predictability (environment-independent within-individual behavioural variation) became accepted recently as an important part of an individual's behavioural strategy besides behavioural type (individual mean behaviour). However, we do not know how behavioural type and predictability evolve. Here, we tested different evolutionary scenarios: (i) the two traits evolve independently (lack of correlations) and (ii) the two traits' evolution is constrained (abundant correlations) due to either (ii/a) proximate constraints (direction of correlations is similar) or (ii/b) local adaptations (direction of correlations is variable).

Using community science data to assess the association between urbanization and the presence of invasive Aedes species in Hungary.

Background: Urbanization can be a significant contributor to the spread of invasive mosquito vector species, and the diseases they carry, as urbanized habitats provide access to a great density of food resources (humans and domestic animals) and offer abundant breeding sites for these vectors. Although anthropogenic landscapes are often associated with the presence of invasive mosquito species, we still have little understanding about the relationships between some of these and the built environment.

Methods: This study explores the association between urbanization level and the occurrence of invasive Aedes species, specifically Aedes albopictus, Aedes japonicus, and Aedes koreicus, in Hungary, using data from a community (or citizen) science program undertaken between 2019 and 2022.

Evolution of relative brain size in dogs-no effects of selection for breed function, litter size, or longevity.

Domestication is a well-known example of the relaxation of environmentally based cognitive selection that leads to reductions in brain size. However, little is known about how brain size evolves after domestication and whether subsequent directional/artificial selection can compensate for domestication effects. The first animal to be domesticated was the dog, and recent directional breeding generated the extensive phenotypic variation among breeds we observe today.

Individual differences in song plasticity in response to social stimuli and singing position.

Individual animals can react to the changes in their environment by exhibiting behaviors in an individual-specific way leading to individual differences in phenotypic plasticity. However, the effect of multiple environmental factors on multiple traits is rarely tested. Such a complex approach is necessary to assess the generality of plasticity and to understand how among-individual differences in the ability to adapt to changing environments evolve.

Experimental evolution reveals differential evolutionary trajectories in male and female activity levels in response to sexual selection and metapopulation structure.

Behavior is central to interactions with the environment and thus has significant consequences for individual fitness. Sexual selection and demographic processes have been shown to independently shape behavioral evolution. Although some studies have tested the simultaneous effects of these forces, no studies have investigated their interplay in behavioral evolution.

High frequency of social polygyny reveals little costs for females in a songbird.

Mating system theory predicts that social polygyny-when one male forms pair bonds with two females-may evolve by female choice in species with biparental care. Females will accept a polygynous male if the benefit of mating with a male providing high-quality genes or rearing resources outweighs the cost of sharing mate assistance in parental care. Based on this rationale, we hypothesise that the population frequency of social polygyny (FSP) varies due to changes in mate sharing costs caused by changing environmental conditions.

Ecological Predictors of Human Malaria Risk During Different Phases of the Elimination: An Analysis of Historical Data.

To understand the evolutionary ecology of disease dynamics, it is crucial to identify the environmental factors that mediate the spread and abundance of parasites and their vectors. However, human-mediated changes in the biotic and abiotic environment and intervention programs are intensifying in the past 30-40 years at a rate that masks the causal effect of the original ecological predictors. In this study, we used archived epidemiological data spanning over 100 years on malaria risk in Hungary to demonstrate that different associations exist between infection risk and environmental predictors during different phases of the elimination program.

Improving the Management of Patients with Osteoporosis Undergoing Spinal Fusion: The Need for a Bone Mineral Density-Matched Interbody Cage.

With an increasingly aging population globally, a confluence has emerged between the rising prevalence of degenerative spinal disease and osteoporosis. Fusion of the anterior spinal column remains the mainstay surgical intervention for many spinal degenerative disorders. However, decreased vertebral bone mineral density (BMD), quantitatively measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), complicates treatment with surgical interbody fusion as weak underlying bone stock increases the risk of post-operative implant-related adverse events, including cage subsidence.

The effect of social environment on bird song: listener-specific expression of a sexual signal.

Animal signals should consistently differ among individuals to convey distinguishable information about the signalers. However, behavioral display signals, such as bird song are also loaded with considerable within-individual variance with mostly unknown function. We hypothesized that the immediate social environment may play a role in mediating such variance component, and investigated in the collared flycatcher () if the identity and quality of listeners could affect song production in signalers.

Sequential organization of birdsong: relationships with individual quality and fitness.

Many vocalizing animals produce the discrete elements of their acoustic signals in a specific sequential order, but we know little about the biological relevance of this ordering. For that, we must characterize the degree by which individuals differ in how they organize their signals sequentially and relate these differences to variation in quality and fitness. In this study, we fulfilled these tasks in male collared flycatchers ().

Experimentally constrained early reproduction shapes life history trajectories and behaviour.

The trade-off between current and future reproduction is a cornerstone of life history theory, but the role of within-individual plasticity on life history decisions and its connections with overall fitness and behaviour remains largely unknown. By manipulating available resources for oviposition at the beginning of the reproductive period, we experimentally constrained individual life history trajectories to take different routes in a laboratory study system, the beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, and investigated its causal effects on fecundity, survival and behaviour. Compared to females without resource limitations, females experiencing restricted conditions for oviposition had reduced fecundity early in life but increased fecundity when resources became plentiful (relative to both the previous phase and the control group) at the expense of longevity.

Collision between biological process and statistical analysis revealed by mean centring.

Animal ecologists often collect hierarchically structured data and analyse these with linear mixed-effects models. Specific complications arise when the effect sizes of covariates vary on multiple levels (e.g.

The link between selection for function and human-directed play behaviour in dogs.

Human-directed play behaviour is a distinct behavioural feature of domestic dogs. But the role that artificial selection for contemporary dog breeds has played for human-directed play behaviour remains elusive. Here, we investigate how human-directed play behaviour has evolved in relation to the selection for different functions, considering processes of shared ancestry and gene flow among the different breeds.

Evolutionary dynamics in the Anthropocene: Life history and intensity of human contact shape antipredator responses.

Humans profoundly impact landscapes, ecosystems, and animal behavior. In many cases, animals living near humans become tolerant of them and reduce antipredator responses. Yet, we still lack an understanding of the underlying evolutionary dynamics behind these shifts in traits that affect animal survival.

The role of common ancestry and gene flow in the evolution of human-directed play behaviour in dogs.

Among-population variance of phenotypic traits is of high relevance for understanding evolutionary mechanisms that operate in relatively short timescales, but various sources of nonindependence, such as common ancestry and gene flow, can hamper the interpretations. In this comparative analysis of 138 dog breeds, we demonstrate how such confounders can independently shape the evolution of a behavioural trait (human-directed play behaviour from the Dog Mentality Assessment project). We combined information on genetic relatedness and haplotype sharing to reflect common ancestry and gene flow, respectively, and entered these into a phylogenetic mixed model to partition the among-breed variance of human-directed play behaviour while also accounting for within-breed variance.

Digit ratio predicts the number of lifetime recruits in female collared flycatchers.

The early environment in which an organism grows can have long-lasting impacts on both its phenotype and fitness. However, assessing this environment comprehensively is a formidable task. The relative length of the second to the fourth digit (2D : 4D) is a broadly studied skeletal trait that is fixed for life during ontogeny.

Male territorial aggression and fitness in collared flycatchers: a long-term study.

Aggressive behaviour plays a fundamental role in the distribution of limiting resources. Thereby, it is expected to have consequences for fitness. Here, we explored the relationship between aggression and fitness in a long-term database collected in a wild population of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis).