When testing differences between populations, ecologists often face a tradeoff between collecting repeated measures from the same unit or independent replications across units. In studies of social insects, for instance, one can sample many individuals within a colony or fewer individuals from more colonies. This choice affects not only statistical power but also the accuracy of variance estimates, which may in turn inflate type-I error. The cost of sampling an additional independent replicate often differs from that of a repeated measure, requiring an efficient experimental design. We use a simulated case study based on social insect research to explore how sampling strategies impact type-I and type-II errors in linear mixed-effects models. In crossed designs—where each colony experiences all levels of a fixed effect—sampling strategy had minimal impact. In contrast, nested designs—where different colonies experience different treatments—were highly sensitive to sampling allocation, with poor variance estimates leading to elevated type-I error rates. Increasing independent replications generally improved accuracy but is more costly, as confirmed by our literature survey showing social insect studies sampled nearly three times more repeated measures than independent replicates. To address this, we developed two optimization protocols that incorporate both sampling cost and balanced accuracy. By integrating power analysis with realistic effort constraints, we provide a practical roadmap for designing efficient, multiscale experiments. While our study was focused on social insects, our results can generalize to other systems requiring a balance between repeated measures and independent replications.

The social behaviors of mice have been a focus of laboratory research for over a century. A new study trades the lab for the coastal shrublands of South Africa to uncover how vocal communication shapes social interactions in the wild.

Ecological Entomology, EarlyView.

A social scientist questions the importance of a key mineral in “green” technology

The world’s oceans and rivers are currently home to at least 1,250 species of sharks (broadly including sharks, rays and chimaeras). They live in almost all marine habitats above 3,500 m depth, and they are predators, although few are dangerous to humans, despite what the media may portray. As human pressures on the ocean have increased, especially from fisheries, shark populations have been negatively affected. Today, more than a third are threatened with an elevated risk of extinction1.

Background Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common respiratory disease in preterm infants. As medical advancements have increased the survival rate of preterm infants, the prevalence of BPD has also increased, representing a significant societal burden. The pathogenesis of BPD is multifactorial, involving both genetic and environmental factors. Although numerous studies have examined risk factors for BPD, their findings are inconsistent. Few meta-analyses exist, yet most focus on risk factors for the development of pulmonary hypertension in infants with BPD. The primary aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for BPD. Methods The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024616871). A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for case-control and cohort studies investigating risk factors for BPD. The search was completed on 22 November 2024, and the data were analyzed using Review Manager 5.3.5 and Stata 15.1. Results A total of 23 studies were included in the analysis, encompassing 14,729 patients in the bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) group and 19,101 in the non-bronchopulmonary dysplasia (non-BPD) group. The meta-analysis revealed that chorioamnionitis (CA) was associated with an increased risk of BPD (OR = 1.52, 95% CI [1.23–1.87]), as was premature rupture of membranes (PROM; OR = 1.42, 95% CI [1.02–1.98]). Additionally, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were identified as a significant risk factor for BPD (OR = 2.73, 95% CI [1.31–5.69]). Other notable risk factors included lower gestational age (GA; MD = −1.86, 95% CI [−2.35 to −1.38]), male sex (OR = 1.41, 95% CI [1.14–1.75]), and being small for gestational age (SGA; OR = 3.14, 95% CI [1.03–9.60]). Furthermore, the analysis indicated that mechanical ventilation (MV; MD = 16.55, 95% CI [9.68–23.41]), oxygen administration (MD = 50.91, 95% CI [37.40–64.42]), and blood transfusion (OR = 1.38, 95% CI [1.06–1.81]) were significant risk factors for BPD. Other variables that were identified as significant risk factors included patent ductus arteriosus (PDA; OR = 1.75, 95% CI [1.35–2.27]), sepsis (OR = 1.88, 95% CI [1.44–2.46]), and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS; OR = 6.37, 95% CI [4.00–10.13]). Conclusions Significant risk factors for BPD include CA, PROM, HDP, lower GA, male sex, SGA, MV, oxygen administration, blood transfusions, PDA, sepsis, and RDS. These findings hold potential clinical significance for predicting BPD pathogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will determine whether MY-RIDE increases HIV prevention strategies and decreases substance use when compared to homeless youth in the attention control group. We will also evaluate if MY-RIDE impacts protective factors such as willingness to take pre-exposure prophylaxis medication and use of mental health and substance use services, and antecedents of risk such as stress, substance use urge, and substance use.

A DNA repair function in a cytosolic sensor demonstrates a potential role in naked mole-rat longevity

Fluid control protocols are widely used in neuroscience to motivate laboratory macaques to engage with behavioural tasks. Despite strong evidence that the physiology of the animals is not compromised by such protocols, fluid control remains controversial due to its potential impact on the psychological well-being of the animals. To address this concern, we investigated the effect of fluid control on the affective state of 23 socially-housed adult macaques (10 females) engaged in neuroscience experiments. The protocol involved up to five consecutive days of fluid control per week, followed by a minimum of two days with unrestricted fluid access. The affective state of the animals was primarily assessed by quantifying the frequency of pharmacologically-validated behavioural indicators of high-arousal negative affect (self-scratching, body shaking, self-grooming). The analysis was subsequently extended to validated behavioural indicators of low-arousal negative affect (Inactive not alert) and other behaviours suspected of indicate high-arousal negative affect but lacking proper validation (pacing, yawning). In total, 700 hours of video footage spanning up to seven years of intermittent fluid control per animal were analysed. Despite this extensive dataset, the study found no significant impact of fluid control on average, or any evidence of habituation or sensitization over the years on any of the affective state indicators. Additional results indicate that these null results are not due to a lack of sensitivity, supporting the view that fluid control, as implemented in this study, does not have an adverse impact on the psychological well-being of laboratory macaques. We argue that macaque welfare will be best served by focusing future refinement on other procedures.

Publication date: November 2025 Source: Hormones and Behavior, Volume 176 Author(s): Marilou Poitras, Adèle Labonté, Aliya F. Qureshi, Cassandra Blackburn, Zoé M.I. Gracovetsky, Rutaaba Fasih, Hélène Plamondon

In school settings, nomophobia—a newly identified form of problematic mobile phone use characterized by anxiety and discomfort experienced when an individual is unable to use or access their smartphone—poses significant challenges to students’ learning and daily life. Prior research on nomophobia has predominantly adopted a variable-centered perspective. However, if nomophobia is heterogeneous across subgroups, acknowledging this heterogeneity may inform the advancement of more tailored and productive therapeutic methods. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted separately among high school students (N = 446) and college students (N = 667) to identify potential subgroup heterogeneity in nomophobia. To examine cross-group similarities in nomophobia profiles, a multi-group LPA was employed. Based on multiple model fit criteria, a three-profile solution—high nomophobia, moderate nomophobia, and low nomophobia—was identified for both groups. However, the multi-group LPA provided only partial support for the similarity of nomophobia profiles across educational stages, specifically in terms of configural and dispersion similarity. While similar nomophobia profiles emerged across groups, the partial equivalence suggests that intervention strategies for nomophobia may not be universally applicable across different educational levels. Additional studies should investigate the mechanisms underlying students’ nomophobia profiles and to inform differentiated interventions for educators, institutions, and policymakers.

Publication date: Available online 9 October 2025 Source: Behavioural Processes Author(s): Brett W. Gelino, Madison E. Graham, Justin C. Strickland, Matthew W. Johnson, Derek D. Reed

Publication date: Available online 9 October 2025 Source: Applied Animal Behaviour Science Author(s): Hongjing Zhou, Shuai Yu, Yangming Jiang, Yanju Li, Ziyi Wang, Yonghong Bai, Xiaomei Wu, Meng Lan, Huijun Hu, Keahzn Han, Jun Huang, Yan Li

Fugazza et al. show that Gifted Word Learner dogs extend verbal labels to functionally similar objects, even without perceptual similarity, during playful interactions with their human families. Functional classification linked to vocabulary learning in a naturalistic context offers new insights into language evolution and its links to other cognitive abilities.

Data produced by “silicon samples” depends on researchers’ exact choice of models, prompts, and settings

Ecology and Evolution, Volume 15, Issue 10, October 2025.

by Julia von Knoerzer-Suckow, Eva-Helena Aden, Romuald Haase, Andreas Klingl, Ignasi Forné, Simon Gras During intracellular development, apicomplexan parasites reside within a parasitophorous vacuole largely derived from the host plasma membrane (PM) and rendered nonfusogenic with the host endolysosomal system. Yet, the parasite is capable of protein uptake from the host cell via endocytosis, which occurs via a conserved structure, the micropore. Recently the composition of the micropore was characterized and its stability was shown to depend on the presence of the kelch-domain protein K13 which is also central to malarial drug-resistance to artemisinin. Interestingly, depletion of K13 also resulted in an impressive accumulation of PM attached to or between individual parasites, suggesting that the micropore plays a critical role in PM homoeostasis. Here, we characterized the dynamics and recycling of the PM in Toxoplasma gondii. In intracellular parasites, the PM is shared between individual parasites and undergoes a cycle of endocytosis and exocytosis during replication, similar to what has been previously demonstrated for extracellular parasites. This cycle appears to depend on Rab5b and MyoF. Interestingly, in contrast to Plasmodium falciparum, Rab5b is dispensable for the lytic cycle of T. gondii. During replication, parasites establish an extracellular plasma membrane reservoir (PMR) prior to daughter cell formation. The PMR is a dynamic membranous structure that varies in size and position throughout replication and disappears after daughter cell budding. Perturbation of the endo-exocytic balance disrupts PMR formation, leading to increased number and size of PMRs and, ultimately, to a complete loss of membrane organization directly linking endocytosis to the regulation of PMR formation.

Objects differing in high-level properties often differ in corresponding lower-level features, complicating experimental interpretation. Boger and Firestone address this problem with ‘visual anagrams’: images that look like one object in one orientation but a completely different object when rotated.

Brain and Behavior, Volume 15, Issue 10, October 2025.

Polynomial regression with response surface analysis (PRRSA) has been widely adopted in congruence research when the relation of congruence to an outcome is examined. However, PRRSA assumes that the congruence effects are homogeneous across all individuals. Polynomial regression mixture analysis (PRMix) allows for heterogeneity in the effect of congruence on an outcome across individuals and identifies latent classes of differential congruence effects. In this study, through Monte Carlo simulation, we examined bias in response surface parameters when differential congruence effects were not modeled correctly in PRRSA. We found that the size of the bias depended on the proportion of ignored classes. When evaluating PRMix and nonnormal PRMix, we found that PRMix generally performed well in detecting two latent classes of differential congruence effects when the assumption of residual normality within class was satisfied, but led to severe over-extraction when this assumption was violated. Nonnormal PRMix provided an adequate solution for the generated skew t residual distribution within class. We provide an empirical data example with annotated software syntax to demonstrate the normal and nonnormal PRMix procedures, including model specification and the construction of confidence intervals for the response surface parameters. Practical implications are discussed for applied researchers.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 40, October 2025. SignificanceAs climate change alters environments, many wild populations are struggling to keep up. However, empirical examples of what happens when genotype and phenotype fail to track environmental change remain rare. Here, we identify genetic and ...

Publication date: Available online 9 October 2025 Source: Physiology & Behavior Author(s): Paulo DRS Nosé, Lila M Oyama, Gustavo Gomes de Araujo, Natalia de Almeida Rodrigues, Filipe Antonio de Barros Sousa, Sergio Tufik, Ronaldo V Thomatieli-Santos

Background Although many studies have shown that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with respiratory diseases (RDs) in children, fewer studies have examined this association in developing countries. We aimed to use the latest PM2.5 standards to investigate the interaction between PM2.5 and RDs among children in Guangzhou. Methods We included 18,291 pediatric inpatients aged 0–14 years with a primary diagnosis of RDs admitted to hospitals in Guangzhou, China, from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021. The association between PM2.5 and RDs was analysed using a non-linear distributed lag model, and additional subgroup analyses were performed based on sex and season. Results The association of PM2.5 with RDs showed a zigzag shape. Specifically, the cumulative effects of PM2.5 at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, with a lag of 0–14 days, were associated with increases in the relative risk (RR) of RDs by 0.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) [1.000–1.007]), 3.4% (95% CI [1.004–1.065]), and 7.7% (95% CI [1.010–1.149]), respectively. Additionally, for each 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration, the on-the-day lagged effect on lag day 4 and lag day 7 was associated with an elevated risk of RDs, with RR of 1.018 (95% CI [1.002–1.034]) and 1.016 (95% CI [1.000–1.032]), respectively. Additionally, PM2.5 exposure significantly increased the risk of RDs in boys and elevated that risk in children during both summer and winter seasons. Conclusions This study reveals a significant effect of PM2.5 exposure on RDs in children, with notably elevated risks during summer and winter seasons. These findings underscore the critical importance of implementing air quality improvement measures to safeguard children’s health, particularly in developing countries.

Empathic perspective-taking may support mental health in caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD). A photo captioning intervention can promote perspective-taking by guiding caregivers to capture the inner voice of the PLWD. Caregivers' approaches to captioning may be an important mechanism of intervention efficacy. Using a mixed-methods design including subgroup parallel sampling and descriptive content-analysis of 310 captions from an intervention trial, we identified patterns in...

Publication date: November 2025 Source: Animal Behaviour, Volume 229 Author(s): Leonardo Campana, Carlos Antônio Mendes Cardoso Júnior, Anete Pedro Lourenço, Klaus Hartfelder