—Natal philopatry is rare in long-distance migrant shorebirds and requires long-term population studies to detect. We report on the rate of natal philopatry from a 18-year study of Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus) marked as hatchlings to an arctic breeding site near Churchill, Manitoba. About 2% (27/1271) of banded hatchlings returned to the Churchill area to breed. There was no m...

The importance of symbiotic microbes to insects cannot be overstated; however, we have a poor understanding of the evolutionary processes that shape most insect-microbe interactions. Many bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) species are involved in what have been described as obligate mutualisms with symbiotic fungi. Beetles benefit through supplementing their nutrient-poor diet ...

BACKGROUND Social support theory and observational risk factor studies suggest that increased antenatal psychosocial support could prevent post-natal depression. We used empirical knowledge of risk and protective factors for post-natal depression not employed previously in order to develop and evaluate an antenatal preventive intervention. METHODS We conducted a pragmatic randomized controlle...

A new scale for the detection and assessment of maternity blues was completed by 56 women daily for ten days after elective gynaecological surgery. When their responses were compared with those of 87 post-natal women, they differed significantly in frequencies of different symptoms at different times. The findings suggest that post-natal mood changes ('maternity blues') are characteristic of th...

[1]. Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. [2]. Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. [3] Instituto Nacional de Ciências e Tecnologia de Doenças Tropicais, INCT-DT, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil. [4] Departments of Internal Medicine and P...

Identifying the natal origins of brood parasites is a major challenge that usually requires labor-intensive searching for nests of host species. Stable isotope analysis of feathers and other body tissues of parasitic young could be a possible tool for determining natal origins if tissues reflect the isotopic composition of the diet fed to nestlings. We measured the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) i...

BACKGROUND High rates of depression associated with childbirth have been reported in many parts of the developing world. However, the prevalence and associations of antenatal and post-natal depression in the rural population remain unknown. Disability associated with depression and its impact on infant health and development could have important public health implications for many developing co...

To elucidate the developmental aspects of the evolution of sexual size dimorphism (SSD), an understanding of the sex-specific ontogeny of body size is critical. Here, we evaluate the relative importance of genetic and environmental determinants of SSD in juvenile common lizards (Lacerta vivipara). We examined the prenatal and post-natal effects of population density and habitat humidity on SSD,...

Passerine birds have an extensive repertoire of olfactory receptor genes. However, the circumstances in which passerine birds use olfactory signals are poorly understood. The aim of this study is to investigate whether olfactory cues play a role in natal nest recognition in fledged juvenile passerines. The natal nest provides fledglings with a safe place for sleeping and parental food provision...