Hypometabolism is an important energy saving, highly regulated physiological response for some mammals; however, its mechanisms of control have yet to be fully described. It induces a reduction in metabolic rate, heart rate,...
Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased by about 40% since the Industrial Revolution, with current levels residing around 395ppm. A portion of this excess CO2 is absorbed by the oceans resulting in the increase of H+ and...
Epigenetics provide organisms with the ability to alter gene expression, modifying the way two identical pieces of DNA can be expressed. These mechanisms may activate in response to various environmental conditions, allowing...
Constricting prey is energetically costly for snakes and therefore it would be beneficial to minimize this cost. However, the consequences of arresting a constriction event too soon could be deadly. Thus, the duration of...
Organisms inhabiting xeric environments face many challenges to obtain dietary water. Numerous species have evolved unique adaptations to collect, harvest, and condense water from infrequent and unpredictable rainfall. Several...
The causative agent of the evolution of social aggregation continues to baffle biologists.
Though many hypotheses exist, we continue to overlook species that exhibit sociality in nonvisual and non-auditory ways. These...
Many marine organisms grow shells or skeletons that are made of calcium carbonate. The
fluorescent dye, calcein, labels calcium carbonate in actively growing shells and has been used to
tag mollusc larvae for studies of...