Gleaning insectivorous bats that forage by using echolocation within dense forest vegetation face the sensorial challenge of acoustic masking effects. Active perception of silent and motionless prey in acoustically cluttered environments by echolocation alone has thus been regarded impossible. The gleaning insectivorous bat Micronycteris microtis however, forages in dense understory vegetation ...

Predictions of mating patterns in animals have focused on males and how they compete for fertilizations by controlling females. With reference to the Odonata, a taxon in which mating requires cooperation of the female, the active role that females play in mating decisions is often ignored, leading to the premature conclusion that male coercion of females is common. A critical review of the outc...

The larva of Palaeosynthemis Förster, 1903, based on P. cyrene (Lieftinck, 1953), is described and illustrated for the first time. A diagnosis of the genus is given. A larval generic key to all known non-New Caledonian genera of Synthemistidae is provided.

Predator community composition can alter habitat quality for prey by changing the strength and direction of consumptive effects. Whether predator community composition also alters prey density via nonconsumptive effects during habitat selection is not well known, but is important for understanding how changes to predator communities will alter prey populations. We tested the hypothesis that pre...

Much of our understanding of the control and dynamics of animal movement derives from controlled laboratory experiments. While many aspects of animal movement can be probed only in these settings, a more complete understanding of animal locomotion may be gained by linking experiments on relatively simple motions in the laboratory to studies of more complex behaviours in natural settings. To dem...

Aposematism is an evolved, cross-species association between a preys' unprofitability and the presence of conspicuous signals. Avian predators have been widely employed to understand the evolution of these warning signals However, insect predators are abundant, diverse, and highly visual foragers that have been shown to be capable of learned aversion. Therefore, it is likely that their behaviou...

The portable cases constructed by caddisfly larvae have been assumed to act as a mechanical defense against predatory attacks. However, previous studies have compared the survival of caddisflies with different cases, thereby precluding an analysis of the survival benefits of "weaker" case materials. The level of protection offered by caddisfly cases constructed with rock, stick, or leaf materia...

Dragonflies are dramatic, successful aerial predators, notable for their flight agility and endurance. Further, they are highly capable of low-speed, hovering and even backwards flight. While insects have repeatedly modified or reduced one pair of wings, or mechanically coupled their fore and hind wings, dragonflies and damselflies have maintained their distinctive, independently controllable, ...