Zoology

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

The value of livestock abortion surveillance in Tanzania: identifying disease priorities and informing interventions

1. F. Lankester
2. T. Kibona
3. K.J. Allan
4. W.A. de Glanville
5. J.J. Buza
6. F. Katzer
7. J.E.B. Halliday
8. BT Mmbaga
9. N. Wheelhouse
10. E.A. Innes
11. K.M. Thomas
12. O.M Nyasebwa
13. E.S. Swai
14. J.R. Claxton
15. S. Cleaveland

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study reports the use of a surveillance approach in identifying emerging diseases, monitoring disease trends, and informing evidence-based interventions in the control and prevention of livestock abortions, as it relates to their public health implications. The data support the convincing finding that abortion incidence is higher during the dry season, and occurs more in cross-bred and exotic livestock breeds. Aetiological and epidemiological data can be generated through established protocols for sample collection and laboratory diagnosis. These findings are of potential interest to the fields of veterinary medicine, public health, and epidemiology.

Reviewed by eLife

A comparison of the parasitoid wasp species richness of tropical forest sites in Peru and Uganda – subfamily Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

1. Tapani Hopkins
2. Hanna Tuomisto
3. Isrrael C. Gómez
4. Ilari E. Sääksjärvi

Reviewed by Peer Community In Zoology

Species composition and distribution of the Anopheles gambiae complex circulating in Kinshasa

1. Josue Zanga
2. Emery Metelo
3. Nono Mvuama
4. Victoire Nsabatien
5. Vanessa Mvudi
6. Degani Banzulu
7. Osée Mansiangi
8. Maxwel Bamba
9. Narcisse Basosila
10. Rodrigue Agossa
11. Roger Wumba

• Curated by GigaByte

  Editors Assessment: Understanding the distribution of Anopheles mosquito species is essential for planning and implementing malaria control programmes, a task undertaken in this study that assesses the composition and distribution of the Anopheles in different districts of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mosquitoes were collected using CDC light traps, and then identified by morphological and molecular means. In total 3,839 Anopheles were collected, and data was digitised, validated and shared via the GBIF database under a CC0 waiver. The project monitoring the monthly dynamics of four species of Anopheles, showing a fluctuation in their respective frequencies during the study period. Review improved the metadata by adding more accurate date information, and this data can provide important information for further basic and advanced studies on the ecology and phenology of these vectors in West Africa.

  *This evaluation refers to version 1 of the preprint

Reviewed by GigaByte

Energy conservation by collective movement in schooling fish

1. Yangfan Zhang
2. George V Lauder

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The authors provide an important series of metabolic measurements characterizing group dynamics in fish, rationalizing that schooling behavior presents several benefits. The strength of evidence supporting this conclusion is solid, but the specific methodological and analytical approaches taken should be considered for further interpretation.

Reviewed by eLife