28 papers
Zoology explores the incredible diversity of animal life, from the smallest insects to the largest whales, uncovering how they behave, evolve, and interact with their environments. This field offers a window into the natural world, revealing the complex adaptations and ecological relationships that sustain our planet's biodiversity. Whether studying migration patterns or cellular mechanisms, researchers strive to understand the living systems that share our world.
On Gist.Science, we make these discoveries accessible by processing every new preprint published in this category on bioRxiv. We transform complex scientific manuscripts into both plain-language overviews for general readers and detailed technical summaries for specialists, ensuring that cutting-edge zoological research is clear and usable for everyone.
Below are the latest papers in zoology, freshly summarized and ready for you to explore.
This study employs a hierarchical Bayesian model on an augmented global dataset to estimate species-specific malaria vector bionomic parameters, revealing significant variation in behavioral traits across *Anopheles* species and their corresponding vulnerability to insecticide-treated nets.
This study documents the behavioral changes, gait alterations, and quality of life of an extremely old rhesus macaque with post-mortem evidence of Alzheimer's-like pathology, highlighting potential signs of physical and cognitive decline while emphasizing the need for further controlled testing to confirm dementia in geriatric primates.
This study characterizes the unique symbiotic relationship between the acoel *Convolutriloba macropyga* and *Tetraselmis* algae, revealing a complex lifecycle involving both vertical and horizontal transmission, distinct spatial localization of symbionts (both extracellular and intracellular), and specific metabolic adaptations in the host.
By reconstructing the complete life histories of approximately 90,000 female tsetse flies in Zimbabwe using ovarian dissection and temperature-dependent development models, researchers demonstrated that meteorological conditions, specifically NDVI and temperature, significantly influence fly and egg sizes, thereby enabling the prediction of future population dynamics to enhance vector and disease control efforts.
This study establishes *Garra rufa* as a novel laboratory model for human-related research by providing a comprehensive histo-anatomical atlas and confirming its unique ability to survive and remain active at human body temperature (37°C), distinguishing it from the more temperature-sensitive zebrafish.
This paper utilizes over 10,000 iNaturalist images to document new distributional records for three *Argiope* species in India, resurrect *A. undulata* as a valid species, and provide the first in situ photographic evidence for *A. caesarea* and *A. macrochoera*, thereby demonstrating the value of community science and the need for ongoing taxonomic review.
This paper presents a new 13-stage normal table for post-embryonic larval development of the California newt (*Taricha torosa*), based on discrete anatomical changes primarily in limb development, to standardize research and highlight that time from hatching is an unreliable metric for staging due to significant variability.
This study characterizes the seasonal population dynamics and multi-year life cycle of the kangaroo soft tick *Australpavlovskyella gurneyi* in South Australia, revealing its dependence on red kangaroo wallows, its reproductive diapause from mid-summer to late winter, and its ability to survive over a year without feeding.