My #230 Papers Challenge

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You might have heard of the #360papers challenge – to read one journal article a day for a whole year – you might be less familiar with the related #230 papers challenge. This makes the more realistic goal of reading one journal article each working day of the year, which is apparently 230 days in total (I haven’t checked their maths). This is a record of my feeble attempt to reach this lofty goal – I will update every ten articles or so and try to give a one sentence summary (or link to an article or a longer blog).

Last updated: 19.08.17

No. Title Authors Journal Description
1 Climate predicts which sex acts as helpers among cooperatively breeding bird species Guoyue Zhang, Qingtian Zhao, Anders Pape Møller, Jan Komdeur, Xin Lu Biology Letters In cooperatively breeding birds, the authors found evidence that sex differences in survival and reproductive success between temperate and tropical regions leads to male-only helping in temperate zones and unisex helping in tropical zones.
2 Interpreting and Predicting the Spread of Invasive Wild Pigs Snow, N. P., Jarzyna, M. A. and VerCauteren, K. C. Journal of Applied Ecology Invasive wild pigs spread across US – Nature Research Highlights
3 How Ants Use Vision When Homing Backward Sebastian Schwarz, Michael Mangan, Jochen Zeil, Barbara Webb, Antoine Wystrach Current Biology Ants look forward to navigate backwards – Nature Research Highlights
4 Climate change upends selection on ornamentation in a wild bird Simon R. Evans & Lars Gustafsson Nature Ecology & Evolution Climate change makes birds less sexy – Nature Research Highlights
5 Tales from the crypt: a parasitoid manipulates the behaviour of its parasite host Kelly L. Weinersmith, Sean M. Liu, Andrew A. Forbes, Scott P. Egan Proceedings of the Royal Society B Parasite controls another wasp – Nature Research Highlights
6 Breaking wind to survive: fishes that breathe air with their gut J. A. Nelson Journal of Fish Biology More than 1000 species of fish can breath air and it has evolved 70 times in vertebrates. In air-breathing fish, some breath through the mouth, oesophagus or the gut. Gut-breathing fish only exchange oxygen, not CO2 and all are faculatative or continuous air breathers. This is likely driven by adaptation to waters that are frequently anoxic.
7 No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide Hanno Seebens, Tim M. Blackburn, Ellie E. Dyer, Piero Genovesi, Philip E. Hulme, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Shyama Pagad, Petr Pyšek, Marten Winter, Margarita Arianoutsou, Sven Bacher, Bernd Blasius, Giuseppe Brundu, César Capinha, Laura Celesti-Grapow, Wayne Dawson, Stefan Dullinger, Nicol Fuentes, Heinke Jäger, John Kartesz, Marc Kenis, Holger Kreft, Ingolf Kühn, Bernd Lenzner, Andrew Liebhold, Alexander Mosena, Dietmar Moser, Misako Nishino, David Pearman, Jan Pergl, Wolfgang Rabitsch, Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Alain Roques, Stephanie Rorke, Silvia Rossinelli, Helen E. Roy, Riccardo Scalera, Stefan Schindler, Kateřina Štajerová, Barbara Tokarska-Guzik, Mark van Kleunen, Kevin Walker, Patrick Weigelt, Takehiko Yamanaka & Franz Essl Nature Communications Alien species are accelerating their march across the globe – ScienceNOW
8 Immune system stimulation by the native gut microbiota of honeybees Waldan K. Kwong, Amanda L. Mancenido, Nancy A. Moran Royal Society Open Science Honeybees with gut microbes produce more of the immune protein apaecin, and may be less susceptible to infection by E.coli.
9 Human adaptation to arsenic in Andean populations of the Atacama Desert Mario Apata, Bernado Arriaza, Elena Llop, Mauricio Moraga American Journal of Physical Anthropology How humans adapt to arsenic – Nature Research Highlights
10 Global warming and sexual plant reproduction Afif Hedhly, José I. Hormaza, María Herrero Trends in Plant Science Global climate change is having a complex effect on plant reproduction, influencing phenology as well as fertility.
11 Excess of genomic defects in a woolly mammoth on Wrangel island Rebekah L. Rogers , Montgomery Slatkin PLOS Genetics Woolly mammoths suffered genomic meltdown – Nature Research Highlights
12 Population viability at extreme sex-ratio skews produced by temperature dependent sex determination Graeme C. Hays, Antonios D. Mazaris, Gail Schofield, Jacques-Olivier Laloë Proceedings of the Royal Society B Although temperature change is predicted to skew sea turtle sex ratios because of temperature dependent sex determination (producing more females), it does not have such a big impact as thought because males can mate with multiple females and more often, and males also tend to have a higher mortality, so a female-biased sex ratio at birth actually helps, up to a point.
13 Deep-Time Convergence in Rove Beetle Symbionts of Army Ants Munetoshi Maruyama, Joseph Parker Current Biology Beetles repeatedly evolved mimicry – Nature Research Highlights
14 Three-dimensional preservation of cellular and subcellular structures suggests 1.6 billion-year-old crown-group red algae Stefan Bengtson, Therese Sallstedt, Veneta Belivanova, Martin Whitehouse PLOS Biology Oldest plant fossils found – Nature Research Highlights
15 Origins of house mice in ecological niches created bysettled hunter-gatherers in the Levant 15,000 y ago Lior Weissbroda, Fiona B. Marshallb, François R. Vallac, Hamoudi Khalailyd, Guy Bar-Oza, Jean-Christophe Auffraye, Jean-Denis Vignef, Thomas Cucchif PNAS Sedentary hunter-gatherers domesticated mice – Curious Meerkat (Recent Research)
16 Dynamic masquerade with morphing three-dimensional skin in cuttlefish Deanna Panetta, Kendra Buresch, Roger T. Hanlon Biology Letters Cuttlefish change skin texture to blend in – Nature Research Highlights
17 First macrobiota biomineralization was environmentally triggered Rachel Wood, Andrey Yu Ivantsov, Andrey Yu Zhuravlev Proceedings of the Royal Society B The first skeletons evolved repeatedly in chalky seas – Curious Meerkat (Recent Research)
18 Ecological intensification to mitigate impacts of conventional intensive land use on pollinators and pollination Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki, Anahí Espíndola, Adam J. Vanbergen, Josef Settele, Claire Kremen, Lynn V. Dicks Ecology Letters Designing agricultural land to intensify ecosystem services such as pollination, nutrient cycling and pest control can help ensure long-term food security.
19 High-Speed Surface Reconstruction of a Flying Bird Using Structured-Light Marc E. Deetjen, Andrew A. Biewener, David Lentink Journal of Experimental Biology
20 Eye development in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps: cranial and retinal adaptations to simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision Louise N. Perez, Jamily Lorena, Carinne M. Costa, Maysa S. Araujo, Gabriela N. Frota-Lima, Gabriel E. Matos-Rodrigues, Rodrigo A. P. Martins, George M. T. Mattox, Patricia N. Schneider Proceedings of the Royal Society B The four-eyed fish, Anableps has partially duplicated eyes – the top portion protrudes above the water when swimming, the botton portion remains underwater, giving the fish remarkable vision. This study found that the eye duplication begins to develop in the 3rd larval stage. The two eye-halves express different genes and proteins, differences that begin before the larva is born – therefore must be determined genetically rather than environmentally.
21 A puzzling homology: a brittle star using a putative cnidarian-type luciferase for bioluminescence Jérôme Delroisse, Esther Ullrich-Lüter, Stefanie Blaue, Olga Ortega-Martinez, Igor Eeckhaut, Patrick Flammang, Jérôme Mallefet Royal Society Open Biology Bioluminescence uses a luciferase enzyme to modify a luciferin molecule to release light. It is thought that while many species get luciferins from eating bioluminescence animals themselves, they must produce their own luciferase, and so each of the 15 or so independent origins of bioluminescene have likely evolved their own bespoke enzyme. This is largely what we find, but in the special case of the the brittlestar, the authors found that their luciferase was homologous with one in a cnidarian. In fact, many other echinoderms also carry this gene, although it doesn’t function to emit light. The authors surmise that the gene was originally transfered horizontally from a bacterium into the ancestor of brittlestars and cnidarians, where it played a different role. It was then independently co-opted to be a luciferase in each lineage.
22 Uplift-driven diversification in the Hengduan Mountains, a temperate biodiversity hotspot Yaowu Xinga and Richard H. Ree Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Geological uplift creates mountain biodiversity hotspots – Curious Meerkat (Recent Research)
23 Genetic signatures of high-altitude adaptation in Tibetans Jian Yanga, Zi-Bing Jinb, Jie Chenb, Xiu-Feng Huangb, Xiao-Man Lib, Yuan-Bo Liangb, Jian-Yang Maob, Xin Chenb, Zhili Zhenga, Andrew Bakshia, Dong-Dong Zhengb, Mei-Qin Zhengb, Naomi R. Wraya, Peter M. Visschera, Fan Lub, and Jia Qub Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Tibetans evolved to cope with UV – Curious Meerkat (Recent Research)
24 Hummingbird pollination and the diversification of angiosperms: an old and successful association in Gesneriaceae Martha Liliana Serrano-Serrano, Jonathan Rolland, John L. Clark, Nicolas Salamin, Mathieu Perret Proceedings of the Royal Society B Hummingbird pollinated plants in one neotropical family speciate twice as often as those pollinsted by insects.
25 Exploring the impact of multidecadal environmental changes on the population genetic structure of a marine primary producer Nina Lundholm, Sofia Ribeiro, Anna Godhe, Lene Rostgaard Nielsen, Marianne Ellegaard Ecology and Evolution Researchers rejuvenated old diatoms from sediments and looked at their populations – they found evidence of sub-group dynamics in relation to the North Atlantic Oscilaton.
26 Sexual signals reflect telomere dynamics in a wild bird Deanna Panetta, Kendra Buresch, Roger T. Hanlon Ecology and Evolution Male yellowthroated warblers with brighter throat bibs showed slower rates of telomere decline, a marker of cellular ageing, and their telomeres tended to be longer to start with.
27 Evolution of virulence under intensive farming: Salmon lice increase skin lesions and reduce host growth in salmon farms M. S. Ugelvik, A. Skorping, O. Moberg, A. Mennerat Journal of Evolutionary Biology Does Farming Drive Fish Disease? – The Scientist
28 “River piracy and drainage basin reorganization led by climate-driven glacier retreat” Daniel H. Shugar, John J. Clague, James L. Best, Christian Schoof, Michael J. Willis, Luke Copland & Gerard H. Roe Nature Geoscience River piracy may rise thanks to climate change – Nature Research Highlights
29 “Intensive aquaculture selects for increased virulence and interference competition in bacteria” Lotta-Riina Sundberg, Tarmo Ketola, Elina Laanto, Hanna Kinnula, Jaana K. H. Bamford, Reetta Penttinen, Johanna Mappes Proceedings of the Royal Society B Does Farming Drive Fish Disease? – The Scientist
30 Candidate genes mediating magnetoreception in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Robert R. Fitak, Benjamin R. Wheeler, David A. Ernst, Kenneth J. Lohmann, Sönke Johnsen Biology Letters Rainbow trout can detect magnetic fields, but a brief pulse of magnetic field temporarily shuts them down. This study used transcriptome sequencing to compare gene expression in rainbow trout before and after a magnetic pulse. They identified candidate genes involved in function and repair of magnetoreception. One such differentially expressed gene was frim, which is involved in iron-binding, supporting the hypothesis that magnetoreception is based on magnetite-based (iron-containing) receptors.
31 “Low-frequency hearing preceded the evolution of giant body size and filter-feeding in baleen whales” Travis Park, Alistair R. Evans, Stephen J. Gallagher, Erich M. G. Fitzgerald Proceedings B
32 Reproductive seasonality, sex ratio and philopatry in Argentina’s common vampire bats H. A. Delpietro, R. G. Russo, G. G. Carter, R. D. Lord, G. L. Delpietro Royal Society Open Science Vampire bats in Argentina can live up to 17 years, tend to mate in autumn and give birth in spring, and have consistently male-biased sex ratios.
33 Group cohesion in foraging meerkats: follow the moving ‘vocal hot spot’ Gabriella E. C. Gall, Marta B. Manser Royal Society Open Science Meerkats forage in groups, burrowing in the soil to find invertebrates to eat. To stay together, they produce ‘close’ calls, which overall produce a vocal hotspot towards the centre front of the group, helping individual meerkats stay close. In an artificial playback experiment, they found that creating two opposing vocal hotspots caused the group to elongate and eventually split into two sub-groups.
34 Aggressive behaviours, food deprivation and the foraging gene Silu Wang, Marla B. Sokolowski Royal Society Open Science They found that contrary to expectation, food deprivation make fruit flies less aggressive. They suggest a role for the foraging (for) gene in fruit fly hunger but not aggression, suggesting the gene shows modular pleiotropy.
35 Polyethylene bio-degradation by caterpillars of the wax moth Galleria mellonella Paolo Bombelli, Christopher J. Howe, Federica Bertocchini Current Biology This caterpillar can digest plastic – Nature Research Highlights
36 Metabolic evolution and the self-organization of ecosystems Rogier Braakmana, Michael J. Follows, and Sallie W. Chisholm PNAS Using a dataset on traits, phylogenetic relationships and geographic distribution for nearly all mammals in the world, this study found that not only have species repeatedly converged on the same sets of traits, but that entire biotas have converged in different regions with similar climate. Australia shows particularly high convergence with northern temperate faunas.
37 Mosquitoes Transmit Unique West Nile Virus Populations during Each Feeding Episode Nathan D. Grubaugh, Joseph R. Fauver, Claudia Rückert, James Weger-Lucarelli, Selene Garcia-Luna, Reyes A. Murrieta, Alex Gendernalik, Darci R. Smith, Doug E. Brackney, Gregory D. Ebel Cell Reports
38 An improved assembly and annotation of the allohexaploid wheat genome identifies complete families of agronomic genes and provides genomic evidence for chromosomal translocations Bernardo J. Clavijo, Luca Venturini1, Christian Schudoma, Gonzalo Garcia Accinelli, Gemy Kaithakottil, Jonathan Wright, Philippa Borrill, George Kettleborough, Darren Heavens, Helen Chapman, James Lipscombe, Tom Barker, Fu-Hao Lu, Neil McKenzie, Dina Raats, Ricardo H. Ramirez-Gonzalez, Aurore Coince, Ned Peel, Lawrence Percival-Alwyn, Owen Duncan, Josua Trösch, Guotai Yu, Dan M. Bolser, Guy Namaati, Arnaud Kerhornou, Manuel Spannagl, Heidrun Gundlach, Georg Haberer, Robert P. Davey, Christine Fosker, Federica Di Palma, Andrew L. Phillips, A. Harvey Millar, Paul J. Kersey, Cristobal Uauy, Ksenia V. Krasileva, David Swarbreck, Michael W. Bevan and Matthew D. Clark Genome Research Wheat genome surrenders its genetic secrets – Nature Research Highlights
39 “Tracing the Enterococci from Paleozoic Origins to the Hospital” François Lebreton, Abigail L. Manson, Jose T. Saavedra, Timothy J. Straub, Ashlee M. Earl, Michael S. Gilmore Cell Why some drug-resistant bacteria thrive in hospitals – Nature Research Highlights
40 Paleogenomic Evidence for Multi-generational Mixing between Neolithic Farmers and Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers in the Lower Danube Basin Gloria González-Fortes, Eppie R. Jones, Emma Lightfoot, Clive Bonsall, Catalin Lazar, Aurora Grandal-d’Anglade, María Dolores Garralda, Labib Drak, Veronika Siska, Angela Simalcsik, Adina Boroneanţ, Juan Ramón Vidal Romaní, Marcos Vaqueiro Rodríguez, Pablo Arias, Ron Pinhasi, Andrea Manica, Michael Hofreiter Current Biology Early farmers bred with hunter-gatherers – Nature Research Highlights

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