Disparate roost sites drive intraspecific physiological variation in a Malagasy bat.

Many species are widely distributed and individual populations can experience vastly different environmental conditions over seasonal and geographic scales. With such a broad ecological reality, datasets with limited spatial and temporal resolution may not accurately represent a species and could lead to poorly informed management decisions. Because physiological flexibility can help species tolerate environmental variation, we studied the physiological responses of two separate populations of Macronycteris commersoni, a bat widespread across Madagascar, in contrasting seasons.

Influence of lighting environment on social preferences in sticklebacks from two different photic habitats. II. Shoaling and mate preferences of lab-bred fishes.

Different environmental conditions may lead to diverse morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of different populations of the same species. Lighting conditions, for example, vary vastly especially between aquatic habitats, and have been shown to elicit adaptations. The availability of short-wave ultraviolet (UV) light is especially fluctuating, as UV wavelengths are attenuated strongly depending on water properties.

Influence of lighting environment on social preferences in sticklebacks from two different photic habitats. I. mate preferences of wild-caught females.

Ultraviolet (UV) A signals (320-400 nm) are important in mate choice in numerous species. The sensitivity for UV signals is not only assumed to be costly, but also expected to be a function of the prevailing ecological conditions. Generally, those signals are favored by selection that efficiently reach the receiver.

The effects of psychological stress on approach tendencies for smoking-related cues in smokers.

Stress may potentiate the chronification of nicotine addiction, but the exact mechanisms remain elusive. We performed an explorative pilot study examining the effects of psychological stress, administered via the socially evaluated cold pressor task (SECPT), on implicit approach bias for smoking-related cues in smokers in the approach-avoidance task (AAT). Smokers (N = 24) were subjected to the stress or control condition of the SECPT by using a within-subject design.

Tropical bats counter heat by combining torpor with adaptive hyperthermia.

Many tropical mammals are vulnerable to heat because their water budget limits the use of evaporative cooling for heat compensation. Further increasing temperatures and aridity might consequently exceed their thermoregulatory capacities. Here, we describe two novel modes of torpor, a response usually associated with cold or resource bottlenecks, as efficient mechanisms to counter heat.