Zoology articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article | 29 June 2010

  A new Argentinean nesting site showing neosauropod dinosaur reproduction in a Cretaceous hydrothermal environment

  Dinosaur nesting sites have been found in many different places, but the factors that influenced the choice of location are unclear. Here, a sauropod nesting site is described in a geothermal setting in the Sanagasta Valley, suggesting that the dinosaurs used the warm environment to favour the incubation process.

  • Gerald Grellet-Tinner
  •  & Lucas E. Fiorelli

• Article
  29 June 2010 | Open Access

  Novel survey method finds dramatic decline of wild cotton-top tamarin population

  For conservation purposes, accurate methods are required to track cotton-top tamarins in their natural habitat. As existing census methods are not appropriate for surveying these monkeys, a lure-transect method combined with playback vocalization was used here to allow accurate counting of the animals.

  • Anne Savage
  • , Len Thomas
  •  & Felix S. Medina

• Article | 01 June 2010

  Adopting kin enhances inclusive fitness in asocial red squirrels

  Adoption is an altruistic behaviour that incurs parental costs. Gorrellet al. examined more than 2,000 squirrel litters and showed that red squirrels adopt only their kin, resulting in an increase in their inclusive fitness. These data provide support for Hamilton's rule of altruism.

  • Jamieson C. Gorrell
  • , Andrew G. McAdam
  •  & Stan Boutin

• Article | 17 May 2010

  Viscoelastic solids explain spider web stickiness

  Spider silk adhesion is reliant on sticky droplets composed of glycoproteins surrounded by an aqueous coat. Sahni and co-workers show that these droplets behave as viscoelastic solids that enable large, rate-dependent adhesive forces capable of trapping fast- and slow-moving prey.

  • Vasav Sahni
  • , Todd A. Blackledge
  •  & Ali Dhinojwala

• Article | 04 May 2010

  Deep-sea hydrothermal vent animals seek cool fluids in a highly variable thermal environment

  Many animals adapt their behaviour according to their surroundings. Here, Bateset al.show that animals living in deep-sea hydrothermal vents choose habitats within their thermal limits.

  • Amanda E Bates
  • , Raymond W Lee
  •  & Miles D Lamare

• Article
  12 April 2010 | Open Access

  The evolutionary origins of ritualized acoustic signals in caterpillars

  Many animals communicate through gestures, some caterpillars use scraping and drumming signals to ward off unwanted neighbours. Here, Scottet al. demonstrate that "leg-like" structures used by some caterpillar species to communicate evolved from legs that their ancestors used to walk.

  • Jaclyn L. Scott
  • , Akito Y. Kawahara
  •  & Jayne E. Yack