1. The relationships between number of species, abundance per species, and body length are examined for 859 species of beetles in samples of arthropods collected from ten Bornean lowland forest trees by insecticide fogging. Similar relationships are examined for different feeding guilds of these beetles, and for those beetles from different species of

The extremes of dinosaur body size have long fascinated scientists. The smallest (<1 m length) known dinosaurs are carnivorous saurischian theropods, and similarly diminutive herbivorous or omnivorous ornithischians (the other major group of dinosaurs) are unknown. We report a new ornithischian dinosaur, Fruitadens haagarorum, from the Late Jurassic of western North America that rivals the smal...

BACKGROUND Although linear growth during childhood may be affected by early-life exposures, few studies have examined whether the effects of these exposures linger on during school age, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS We conducted a population-based longitudinal study of 256 children living in the Brazilian Amazon, aged 0.1 y to 5.5 y in 2003. Data regarding socioeco...

We analyzed the infestation of the attached copepod species Lepeophtheirus sp on a wild population of Sciades herzbergii. The infestation and occurrence of attached copepods were related to body size, maturity and sex of host and the presence of lesions on fish skin were described. In 61 fish specimens (37 males and 24 females), total of 218 ectoparasitic copepods, including 204 mature and 14 i...

We examined the variation of the BMP4 gene in four Chinese indigenous cattle breeds and investigated the association of this polymorphism with body measurement traits. Using PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing, a polymorphic microsatellite was detected in the third exon of the bovine BMP4 gene in 459 samples from four Chinese indigenous cattle breeds, Qinchuan, Luxi, Nanyang, and Jiaxian red. The two a...

This study examines the physiological response to locomotion in lizards following bouts of activity scaled to body mass. We evaluate this method as a way to compare locomotor energetics among animals of varying body mass. Because most of the costs of brief activity in reptiles are repaid during recovery we focus on the magnitude and duration of the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)...

BACKGROUND Migrations allow animals to find food resources, rearing habitats, or mates, but often impose considerable predation risk. Several behavioural strategies may reduce this risk, including faster travel speed and taking routes with shorter total distance. Descriptions of the natural range of variation in migration strategies among individuals and populations is necessary before the ecol...

In this paper the influence of knee joint on the motion of the robot and the effect of leg segmental proportions and angle between leg segments on the performance of the robot is explored via parametric analysis. The spring loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) running in the sagittal plane, which is a simple model commonly used to analyze the basic qualitative properties of running, is used. The per...

From August 2000 to August 2001, 1844 swamp eels (Monopterus albus) were purchased from several local markets in Nakhon Nayok Province, Thailand, and examined for the presence of Gnathostoma advanced third-stage larvae. The overall prevalence was 30.1% and the mean number of larvae/eel (infection intensity) was 10.0. The highest infection rate (44.1%) was found in August 2000 and the lowest (10...

The western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is one of the most sexually dimorphic primate species. Mature males are twice the size of females and have grey fur on their backs and a fibrous, adipose crest on their heads. Such traits are likely to have evolved by sexual selection, either because they confer advantages during male-male fights or because females prefer males with more dim...