A novel alcohol dehydrogenase in the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon .

is a hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon that produces 1-butanol as an end product. A thermostable alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) must be present in to act as the key enzyme responsible for this production; however, the gene that encodes the ADH has not yet been identified. A novel ADH, HbADH2, was purified from a cell-free extract of , and its characteristics were determined.

Temporal shifts in the marine feeding of individual Atlantic salmon inferred from scale isotope ratios.

Given the limited information on prey use during the marine residency period for Atlantic salmon, scales were collected from salmon at return to the River Namsen (Norway) for spawning after 1 year at sea, and scale material from the first and second summer marine feeding periods was analysed using stable isotope methods to understand dynamics of their trophic ecology. As the salmon increased in size from the first to second summer, they reduced their feeding niche and specialised more (narrowed the δC range) and increased their dependency on higher tropic level (δN) prey, likely fish. Changes in δC indicated a consistent pattern of movement towards the north and west between summer feeding periods.

Active season body mass patterns of little brown and northern myotis bats.

Animals are expected to adjust their behavioral patterns to improve fitness outcomes, such as fecundity or offspring survival. For long-lived hibernators, decisions made in each annual cycle may reflect considerations not just for concurrent survival and reproduction but also the pressure to maximize overwinter survival and future reproductive success. We examined how these elements manifest themselves in the body mass variation patterns of North American northern latitude temperate bats, whose size and roosting habits present considerable monitoring challenges.

A burrowing ecosystem engineer positively affects its microbial prey under stressful conditions.

Species that facilitate others under stressful conditions are often ecosystem engineers: organisms that modify or create physical habitat.However, the net effect of an engineering species on another depends on both the magnitude of the direct interactions (e.g.

Combinations of reproductive, individual, and weather effects best explain torpor patterns among female little brown bats ().

Unlabelled: Heterothermic mammals can use torpor, a state of metabolic suppression, to conserve energy during times of limited food and poor environmental conditions. Females may use torpor throughout gestation and lactation; however, there are associated physiological and ecological costs with potential fitness consequences. Previous studies have controlled for, but not quantified the impact of interindividual variation on torpor patterns and understanding this may provide insight on why certain thermoregulatory responses are employed.