Publications by authors named "M E Herberstein"

Recent advances in microCT are facilitating the investigation of microstructures in spiders and insects leading to an increased number of studies investigating their neuroanatomy. Although microCT is a powerful tool, its effectiveness depends on appropriate tissue preparation and scan settings, particularly for soft, non-sclerotized tissues, such as muscles, organs, and neural tissues. As the application of microCT in spiders is only in its infancy, published protocols are often difficult to implement due to substantial size variation of the specimens.

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In Batesian mimicry, mimetic traits are not always as convincing as predicted by theory-in fact, inaccurate mimicry with only a superficial model resemblance is common and taxonomically widespread. The "selection trade-offs hypothesis" proposes a life-history trade-off between accurate mimetic traits and one or more vital biological functions. Here, using an accurate myrmecomorphic (ant-mimicking) jumping spider species, Myrmarachne smaragdina, we investigate how myrmecomorphic modifications to the body shape impact the internal anatomy in a way that could be functionally limiting.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The researchers derived analytical models that demonstrate that evolutionary outcomes might not always align with the life-dinner principle due to factors like the rare-enemy principle, where predators are outnumbered by prey.
  • * Overall, while the life-dinner principle provides a useful metaphor for understanding predator-prey dynamics, it can be easily influenced by other evolutionary factors that can change the expected outcomes.
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Article Synopsis
  • Insects use colors for various purposes like mating signals, avoiding predators, and regulating body temperature.
  • Climate change may alter melanin-based colors in insects, affecting their physiological functions and interactions with other species.
  • This review aims to summarize existing knowledge on how climate-induced color changes impact insect biology, focusing on environmental influences, adaptive mechanisms, and their consequences for interactions with both the same and different species.
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Aposematic prey advertise their unprofitability with conspicuous warning signals that are often composed of multiple color patterns. Many species show intraspecific variation in these patterns even though selection is expected to favor invariable warning signals that enhance predator learning. However, if predators acquire avoidance to specific signal components, this might relax selection on other aposematic traits and explain variability.

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