Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae).

Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species-specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity.

Using de novo transcriptomes to decipher the relationships in cutthroat trout subspecies ().

For almost 200 years, the taxonomy of cutthroat trout (), a salmonid native to Western North America, has been in flux as ichthyologists and fisheries biologists have tried to describe the diversity within these fishes. Starting in the 1950s, Robert Behnke reexamined the cutthroat trout and identified 14 subspecies based on morphological traits, Pleistocene events, and modern geographic ranges. His designations became instrumental in recognizing and preserving the remaining diversity of cutthroat trout.

Using external morphology as a proxy for stomach size in .

Stomach morphology can provide insights into an organism's diet. Gut size or length is typically inversely related to diet quality in most taxa, and has been used to assess diet quality in a variety of systems. However, it requires animal sacrifice and time-consuming dissections.

Phylogeography of a widespread Australian freshwater fish, western carp gudgeon (Eleotridae: ): Cryptic species, hybrid zones, and strong intra-specific divergences.

Despite belonging to the most abundant and widespread genus of freshwater fishes in the region, the carp gudgeons of eastern Australia (genus ) have proved taxonomically and ecologically problematic to science since the 19th century. Several molecular studies and a recent taxonomic revision have now shed light on the complex biology and evolutionary history that underlies this group. These studies have demonstrated that carp gudgeons include a sexual/unisexual complex (five sexual species plus an assortment of hemiclonal lineages), many members of which also co-occur with an independent sexual relative, the western carp gudgeon ().

Past energy allocation overwhelms current energy stresses in determining energy allocation trade-offs.

Regeneration of lost appendages is a gradual process in many species, spreading energetic costs of regeneration through time. Energy allocated to the regeneration of lost appendages cannot be used for other purposes and, therefore, commonly elicits energetic trade-offs in biological processes. We used limb loss in the Asian shore crab to compare the strength of energetic trade-offs resulting from historic limb losses that have been partially regenerated versus current injuries that have not yet been repaired.

Citizen science data reveal regional heterogeneity in phenological response to climate in the large milkweed bug, .

Regional populations of geographically widespread species may respond to different environmental factors across the species' range, generating divergent effects of climate change on life-history phenology. Using thousands of citizen science observations extracted from iNaturalist and associated with corresponding temperature, precipitation, elevation, and daylength information, we examined the drivers of adult mating and of nymphal phenology, development, and group size for populations of the large milkweed bug, , in different ecoregions. Research-grade iNaturalist images were correctly identified 98.

Differences in growth within and across the reproductive forms of northern crayfish ().

Complex life histories are frequently associated with biological trade-offs, as the use of one trait can decrease the performance of a second trait due to the need to balance competing demands to maximize fitness. Here, we examine growth patterns in invasive adult male northern crayfish () that are indicative of a potential trade-off between energy allocation for body size versus chelae size growth. Northern crayfish undergo cyclic dimorphism, a process characterized by seasonal morphological changes associated with reproductive status.

Metabolic rates of the Asian shore crab in air as a function of body size, location, and injury.

Rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine may influence the success or invasiveness of the Asian shore crab, . To better predict the effects of climate change on this invasive species, it is necessary to measure its energy dynamics under a range of conditions. However, previous research has only focused on the metabolism of this intertidal species in water.

Species boundaries in the messy middle-A genome-scale validation of species delimitation in a recently diverged lineage of coastal fog desert lichen fungi.

Species delimitation among closely related species is challenging because traditional phenotype-based approaches, for example, using morphology, ecological, or chemical characteristics, may not coincide with natural groupings. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing, it has become increasingly cost-effective to acquire genome-scale data which can resolve previously ambiguous species boundaries. As the availability of genome-scale data has increased, numerous species delimitation analyses, such as BPP and SNAPP+Bayes factor delimitation (BFD*), have been developed to delimit species boundaries.

The protection of from ultraviolet radiation by betacyanins and phenolic compounds.

is a commonly occurring annual species of the salt playas of the Great Basin Desert of the western United States. In such habitats, plants experience high levels of ultraviolet radiation, which could potentially damage DNA. As a member of the Amaranthaceae (Caryophyllales), .

Alpine lichen diversity in an isolated sky island in the Colorado Plateau, USA-Insight from an integrative biodiversity inventory.

Lichens are major components of high altitude/latitude ecosystems. However, accurately characterizing their biodiversity is challenging because these regions and habitats are often underexplored, there are numerous poorly known taxonomic groups, and morphological variation in extreme environments can yield conflicting interpretations. Using an iterative taxonomic approach based on over 800 specimens and incorporating both traditional morphology-based identifications and information from the standard fungal DNA barcoding marker, we compiled a voucher-based inventory of biodiversity of lichen-forming fungi in a geographically limited and vulnerable alpine community in an isolated sky island in the Colorado Plateau, USA-the La Sal Mountains.