Zoology

The first complete 3D reconstruction and morphofunctional mapping of an insect eye

1. Anastasia A Makarova
2. Nicholas J Chua
3. Anna V Diakova
4. Inna A Desyatirkina
5. Pat Gunn
6. Song Pang
7. C Shan Xu
8. Harald Hess
9. Dmitri B Chklovskii
10. Alexey A Polilov

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study sets new standards in analyzing the ultrastructure of insect eyes, which have long served as models for understanding how vision works. The way it describes an entire eye with the resolution of electron microscopy is compelling. On top of this, a miniaturized visual system provides additional, exceptional insights towards understanding optimized solutions.

Reviewed by eLife

Geometric analysis of airway trees shows that lung anatomy evolved to enable explosive ventilation and prevent barotrauma in cetaceans

1. Robert L. Cieri
2. Merryn H. Tawhai
3. Marina Piscitelli-Doshkov
4. A. Wayne Vogl
5. Robert E. Shadwick

Reviewed by preLights

Torpor energetics are related to the interaction between body mass and climate in bats of the family Vespertilionidae

1. Jorge Ayala-Berdon
2. Kevin I. Medina-Bello

Reviewed by preLights

Dose, temperature and formulation shape Metarhizium anisopliae virulence against the oriental fruit fly: lessons for improving on-target control strategies

1. Anaïs Chailleux
2. Oumou Noumou Coulibaly
3. Babacar Diouf
4. Samba Diop
5. Ahmad Sohel
6. Thierry Brévault

Reviewed by Peer Community In Zoology

Museomics of Carabus giant ground beetles shows an Oligocene origin and in situ alpine diversification

1. Marie T. Pauli
2. Jérémy Gauthier
3. Marjorie Labédan
4. Mickael Blanc
5. Julia Bilat
6. Emmanuel F. A. Toussaint

Reviewed by Peer Community In Zoology

Investments in photoreceptors compete with investments in optics to determine eye design

1. Francisco JH Heras
2. Simon B Laughlin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the tradeoffs in eye design - specifically between improvements in optics and in photoreceptor performance. The authors successfully build a formal theory that enables comparisons across a wide range of species and eye types. The conclusion from the modeling is that resources are split relatively evenly between optics and photoreceptors, and hence that both must be considered in eye design. Evidence for this conclusion is solid, and could be strengthened with a more complete comparison with the experiment.

Reviewed by eLife

Unlocking the secrets of kangaroo locomotor energetics: Postural adaptations underpin increased tendon stress in hopping kangaroos

1. Lauren H. Thornton
2. Taylor J.M. Dick
3. John R. Hutchinson
4. Glen A. Lichtwark
5. Craig P. McGowan
6. Jonas Rubenson
7. Alexis Wiktorowicz-Conroy
8. Christofer J. Clemente

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable biomechanical analysis of kangaroo kinematics and kinetics across a range of hopping speeds and masses is a step towards understanding a long-standing problem in locomotion biomechanics: the mechanism for how, unlike other mammals, kangaroos are able to increase hopping speed without a concomitant increase in metabolic cost. Based on their suggestion that kangaroo posture changes with speed increase tendon stress/strain and hence elastic energy storage/return, the authors imply (but do not show quantitatively or qualitatively) that the greater tendon elastic energy storage/return counteracts the increased cost of generating muscular force at faster speeds and allows for the invariance in metabolic cost. The methods are impressive, but there is currently only limited evidence for increased tendon stress/strain at faster speeds, and the support for any conclusion metabolic energy expenditure is inadequate.

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

Bisphenol A affects the development and the onset of photosymbiosis in the acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis

1. R. Pennati
2. N. Cartelli
3. C. Castelletti
4. F. Ficetola
5. X. Bailly
6. S. Mercurio

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

How the liver contributes to stomach warming in the endothermic white shark Carcharodon carcharias

1. David C. Bernvi
2. Geremy Cliff

Reviewed by preLights