Context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration is necessary for multifunctional #behavior in a constrained hydrostat Muscular hydrostats, muscular structures with no rigid skeleton, are ubiquitous within the animal kingdom, from vertebrate tongues to cephalopod arms, but how they perform complex actions remains poorly understood. One model hydrostat studied for its neural control and biomechanics is the feeding system (buccal mass) of the sea hare Aplysia (Fig. 1). The buccal mass (Fig. 1b) performs multiple feeding behaviors by coordinating intrinsic muscles to move a grasper (odontophore). In this paper, we investigated how mechanical reconfiguration from interacting shape-changing elements facilitates large odontophore protractions. During rejection behaviors, mechanical reconfiguration of the odontophore (elongating its shape to a higher aspect ratio) stretches a protractor muscle (I2), allowing I2 to generate stronger protractions. In biting behaviors, the odontophore has a similar range of motion. However, during biting, the odontophore has a lower aspect ratio throughout protraction, meaning the I2 muscle alone is insufficient to reach observed protractions due to its length/tension property and reduced mechanical advantage. By combining new analysis of MRI movies of Aplysia feeding (Fig. 1) with a new biomechanical model for biting and rejection (Fig. 2), we demonstrate two context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration mechanisms that explain the different ways large protractions are produced in biting and rejection (Fig. 3). The mechanisms integrate shape changes, bending and conforming of muscle structures, and shifts in contact interactions. We propose two mechanical subclasses of muscular hydrostats, "constrained" or "unconstrained" (Fig. 4), that may be morphologically similar but employ different control strategies depending on whether mechanical constraints are reliably present.

Context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration is necessary for multifunctional #behavior in a constrained hydrostat bioRxivpreprint

Evolutionary basis of male same-sex sexual #behavior by multiple pheromone switches in Drosophila Ouadah et al. discover a Drosophila species in which males spontaneously court rather than attack other males. Their social evolution is traced to three changes in pheromone signaling, which connect the emergence of male same-sex sexual behavior to the need in females to maintain reproductive isolation from an interfertile sibling species.

Evolutionary basis of male same-sex sexual #behavior by multiple pheromone switches in Drosophila CurrentBiology

This square design centers on a photo of a brown Belgian Malinois on a long lead, sniffing her way across a plowed field under a blue sky with puffy clouds. The headline says, “Let Them Sniff!” Photo courtesy of Working Dog Magazine online.

What’s the first thing you do when you exit a door or car? You look around to get oriented. 🐕 #Dogs do this through their noses. You’ll get better #behavior from your #dog if you’ll allow them a minute to sniff out the milieu. #K9
www.workingdogmagazine.com/let-them-sni...

Saturation #behavior and full-field reconstruction of residual stress in quenched AISI 304 stainless steel via the contour method Scientific Reports, Published online: 07 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-45542-wSaturation behavior and full-field reconstruction of residual stress in quenched AISI 304 stainless steel via the contour method

Saturation #behavior and full-field reconstruction of residual stress in quenched AISI 304 stainless steel via the contour method SciReports

The NWPBIS 2026 Annual Conference features a rich multi-day agenda designed to support learning, collaboration, and practical skill-building. Join us in beautiful Spokane, WA, April 29-May 1, 2026. #PBIS #Behavior #EducatorPD

pbisnetwork.org/conference-2/

Energetics and #behavior during predation in wild, schooling white mullet (Mugil curema) Although predation is a major driver of group living across taxa and the antipredator benefits of grouping are well established, the energetic costs experienced by groups under predation remain largely unexplored. In the current study, we use wild, white mullet (Mugil curema, Valenciennes 1836), to provide the first real-time quantification of the energetic cost of escape in schooling fish using intermittent, closed-loop respirometry. We found that small groups exposed to predators showed a 53.8% increase in their organismal metabolic rate (MO2) as compared to groups without predator exposure. When we evaluated antipredator behaviors such as escape response, group cohesion, and displacement of the group centroid, we found a positive correlation to energetic costs. We then investigated whether escape responses are socially modulated by comparing the energetic costs of escape across solitary individuals, solitary individuals with visual access to a group, and groups. We found that escape frequency and energetic costs to predation were comparable across social contexts, indicating that escape may be an intrinsic survival response independent of cues from group members. Furthermore, we found that fish exposed to predators showed markedly reduced feeding, suggesting that predation constrains energy acquisition in addition to imposing direct energetic costs. Our results provide the first direct quantification of the energetic costs of escape in a schooling fish, offering new insights into the physiological trade-offs underlying collective antipredator defenses.

Energetics and #behavior during predation in wild, schooling white mullet (Mugil curema) bioRxivpreprint

Consolation #behavior in pigs: Prior exposure to group members in need of help drives targeted affiliation and facilitates social buffering We assessed whether pigs provide consolation, referring to targeted affiliation that attenuates a partner's stress, under experimental conditions that manipulated exposure to stressed partners. Using a within-subject design, 74 pigs were tested in three contexts: a helping task in which group members could observe and help a trapped focal pig to return to the group, a direct-reunion, in which group members were naive to the experience of a separated focal pig until reunion, and an undisturbed control. We measured affiliative and non-affiliative interactions, anxiety behaviours and changes in salivary cortisol. Only the helping context satisfied most consolation criteria: there were selective increases in unidirectional affiliative contacts from the observer to the focal pig, non-affiliative interactions remained at baseline, and focal pigs showed fewer anxiety behaviours. In contrast, direct-reunions triggered increases in affiliative and non-affiliative interactions and higher anxiety. Cortisol increased during both direct-reunions and helping, but its level was not linked to affiliation. Results add to growing evidence for consolation behaviour in pigs and suggest best practices for reintegrating pigs into groups. Graded reintroductions that allow observers to assess the emotional state of targets may promote social buffering, whereas abrupt regrouping may trigger more generalized arousal or personal distress.

Consolation #behavior in pigs: Prior exposure to group members in need of help drives targeted affiliation and facilitates social buffering bioRxivpreprint

Oral administration of MCT oil reduces anxiety-like #behavior and is associated with differences in serum BDNF responses in a rat model of PTSD Scientific Reports, Published online: 06 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-46116-6Oral administration of MCT oil reduces anxiety-like behavior and is associated with differences in serum BDNF responses in a rat model of PTSD

Oral administration of MCT oil reduces anxiety-like #behavior and is associated with differences in serum BDNF responses in a rat model of PTSD SciReports

#psychology #phd #grad #addiction #cannabis #trauma #ptsd #cognition #brain #behavior #diversity #health #quantitative #EMA

from Marieke Van Der Maelen – @House_Of_Paidia or at https://www.houseofpaidia.com

read ICB’s free read on #butterflies
Engaging the Community in #Pollinator #Research: The Effect of Wing Pattern and Weather on #Butterfly #Behavior
Abbigail N Merrill et al
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

& Be sure to stay tuned for #art in bio Tuesday
with Marieke Van Der Maelen
www.houseofpaidia.com

Efferocytosis-related gene PLG in prognosis, immune correlation, and contribution to malignant #behavior in vitro and in vivo of clear cell renal cell carcinoma Scientific Reports, Published online: 06 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-46752-yEfferocytosis-related gene PLG in prognosis, immune correlation, and contribution to malignant behavior in vitro and in vivo of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Efferocytosis-related gene PLG in prognosis, immune correlation, and contribution to malignant #behavior in vitro and in vivo of clear cell renal cell carcinoma SciReports

Join our team as an animal #behavior scientist/ethologist to develop behavioral assays for shrimp health and #welfare.

Aquatic Ethologist/Behavioral Scientist: Crustacean Health & Welfare Assays
Animal Pain Research Institute

See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/animal

Context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration is necessary for multifunctional #behavior in a constrained hydrostat Muscular hydrostats, muscular structures with no rigid skeleton, are ubiquitous within the animal kingdom, from vertebrate tongues to cephalopod arms, but how they perform complex actions remains poorly understood. One model hydrostat studied for its neural control and biomechanics is the feeding system (buccal mass) of the sea hare Aplysia (Fig. 1). The buccal mass (Fig. 1b) performs multiple feeding behaviors by coordinating intrinsic muscles to move a grasper (odontophore). In this paper, we investigated how mechanical reconfiguration from interacting shape-changing elements facilitates large odontophore protractions. During rejection behaviors, mechanical reconfiguration of the odontophore (elongating its shape to a higher aspect ratio) stretches a protractor muscle (I2), allowing I2 to generate stronger protractions. In biting behaviors, the odontophore has a similar range of motion. However, during biting, the odontophore has a lower aspect ratio throughout protraction, meaning the I2 muscle alone is insufficient to reach observed protractions due to its length/tension property and reduced mechanical advantage. By combining new analysis of MRI movies of Aplysia feeding (Fig. 1) with a new biomechanical model for biting and rejection (Fig. 2), we demonstrate two context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration mechanisms that explain the different ways large protractions are produced in biting and rejection (Fig. 3). The mechanisms integrate shape changes, bending and conforming of muscle structures, and shifts in contact interactions. We propose two mechanical subclasses of muscular hydrostats, "constrained" or "unconstrained" (Fig. 4), that may be morphologically similar but employ different control strategies depending on whether mechanical constraints are reliably present.

Context-dependent mechanical reconfiguration is necessary for multifunctional #behavior in a constrained hydrostat bioRxivpreprint

Playing by whose rules? Issue 153 investigates how societal systems mirror boardroom dynamics. Read 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter exploration.

#monopoly #immersion #society #manipulation #takingadvantage #enemy #government #privacy #behavior hubs.ly/Q048J21l0

Playing by whose rules? Issue 153 investigates how societal systems mirror boardroom dynamics. Read 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter exploration.

#monopoly #immersion #society #manipulation #takingadvantage #enemy #government #privacy #behavior hubs.ly/Q048J21l0

Playing by whose rules? Issue 153 investigates how societal systems mirror boardroom dynamics. Read 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter exploration.

#monopoly #immersion #society #manipulation #takingadvantage #enemy #government #privacy #behavior hubs.ly/Q048J21l0

Playing by whose rules? Issue 153 investigates how societal systems mirror boardroom dynamics. Read 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter exploration.

#monopoly #immersion #society #manipulation #takingadvantage #enemy #government #privacy #behavior hubs.ly/Q048J21l0

Playing by whose rules? Issue 153 investigates how societal systems mirror boardroom dynamics. Read 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter exploration.

#monopoly #immersion #society #manipulation #takingadvantage #enemy #government #privacy #behavior hubs.ly/Q048J21l0

Numerical evaluation on #behavior of an integrated slope stabilization structure under seismic effect Scientific Reports, Published online: 05 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-47573-9Numerical evaluation on behavior of an integrated slope stabilization structure under seismic effect

Numerical evaluation on #behavior of an integrated slope stabilization structure under seismic effect SciReports

People who are low-energy all day but wide awake at night often have these underlying tendencies I remember sitting at my desk at 2 PM, staring at a spreadsheet, unable to do the simple math in fro...

#Human #Behavior

Origin | Interest | Match

Circulating extracellular vesicle microRNAs mediate immune modulation of social #behavior in male #mice Nature Communications, Published online: 03 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-70469-1Extracellular vesicles carrying diverse molecules circulate the body. Here, the authors show that blood-borne vesicles containing specific miRNAs boost synaptic function and sociability in mice, revealing a non-canonical pathway for social behavior.

ICYMI: Circulating extracellular vesicle microRNAs mediate immune modulation of social #behavior in male #mice @natcomms.nature.com

What Are Great Tits Showing Us About The Genetics Of Personality? Research suggests that personality variations are heritable in humans and in other animal species, and there are many hypotheses as to why…

What Are Great Tits Showing Us About The Genetics Of Personality?

#SciComm🧪 by @grrlscientist.bsky.social

#behavior #personality #birds🦉 #evolution #ecology grrlscientist.medium.com/what-are-gre...

Rethinking same-sex sexual #behavior: From sensory error to social function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 13, March 2026.

Rethinking same-sex sexual #behavior: From sensory error to social function @PNAS.org

Octopamine regulates neural circuits in the mushroom body and central complex, influencing sleep and arousal. Sleep is a widespread yet incompletely understood phenomenon, and animals exhibit diverse arousal states beyond the simple binary of sleep and wake. Essential behaviors such as feeding, courtship, and...

Excited to share our latest paper from the lab, now out in iScience! 🧠✨

Huge credit to the incredible team whose creativity and hard work made this study possible—so proud of my team! 🙌

#Neuroscience #Sleep #Drosophila #Behavior #Connectomics

www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Alarming Study Finds That Most People Just Do What ChatGPT Tells Them, Even If It’s Totally Wrong We're shockingly prone to "cognitive surrender." The post Alarming Study Finds That Most People Just Do What ChatGPT Tells Them, Even If It’s Totally Wrong appeared first on Futurism.

From the #AI / #Futurism / #psychology / #behavior Department

futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/...

#ChatGPT

Alarming Study Finds That Most People Just Do What ChatGPT Tells Them, Even If It's Totally Wrong Human users are astonishingly willing to take AI chatbots by their word, even when the information they provide us is entirely made up.

From the #AI / #Futurism / #psychology / #behavior Department

futurism.com/artificial-i...

#ChatGPT

ICB - The #evolution of same-sex sexual #behavior: Using old theory to answer new questions Brian A Lerch https://lerchta.wixsite.com/lerch-eco-evo https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icag015 The evolution of mating preferences and the consequences of the resulting sexual selection are intensively studied topics in #evolutionary #biology. Nevertheless, until relatively recently, the evolution of perhaps the most fundamental of all mating preferences, the preference for mating with opposite-sex individuals, has received little attention. In the past two decades, however, there has been an explosion of literature on the evolution and expression of same-sex sexual behavior (SSB) in non-human #animals. Here, I show that literature on SSB has strong connections to many insights from classic theory on mate choice. I argue that explicitly integrating this “old theory” on mate choice proves tremendously informative for understanding the evolution of SSB. To do so, I review what is known about the expression and evolution of SSB. I begin by explaining why selection may favor imperfect sex discrimination (i.e., the failure to accurately assess the sex of potential mating partners), how imperfect sex discrimination manifests in SSB empirically, and the origin of sex discrimination. I then review experimental studies on how varying social conditions such as density and sex ratio influence the plastic expression of SSB. Next, I turn to evidence for adaptive SSB, wherein the act of engaging in sexual behavior with same-sex conspecifics carries fitness benefits. I conclude by arguing that connecting results on SSB to “classic” work on mating preferences leads to a deeper understanding of how SSB evolves.

ICB -
The #evolution of same-sex sexual #behavior: Using old theory to answer new questions
Brian A Lerch
see more about Brian
lerchta.wixsite.com/lerch-eco-evo
& read
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

#biology #science

Welfare Assessment of Captive Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus) in Korean Private Zoos: Associations of Contact Hand-Feeding Tubes with S-AWAG Scores and Begging #behavior Publication date: Available online 1 April 2026 Source: Applied Animal Behaviour Science Author(s): Ji-yoon Kim

Welfare Assessment of Captive Asian Small-Clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus) in Korean Private Zoos: Associations of Contact Hand-Feeding Tubes with S-AWAG Scores and Begging #behavior AAnimBehS

Circulating extracellular vesicle microRNAs mediate immune modulation of social #behavior in male #mice Nature Communications, Published online: 03 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-70469-1Extracellular vesicles carrying diverse molecules circulate the body. Here, the authors show that blood-borne vesicles containing specific miRNAs boost synaptic function and sociability in mice, revealing a non-canonical pathway for social behavior.

Circulating extracellular vesicle microRNAs mediate immune modulation of social #behavior in male #mice @natcomms.nature.com

20 Hissterical Pictures of Sweet and Spicy Felines Packed With Purrsonality Cute or chaotic, they always win.

20 Hissterical Pictures of Sweet and Spicy Felines Packed With Purrsonality Every cat is a little bit angel, a little bit devil. Every cat walks a fine line between naughty and nice, and most of ...

#behavior #cat #pictures #lol #nice #feline #hissterical #Cats #funny

Origin | Interest | Match