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1. Estimating body size in the large carpenter bees (Xylocopa)

   https://doi.org/10.17161/jom.vi125.23025  

   Ostwald, Madeleine; Hirokawa, Ryan; Smith, Colleen; Rivas_Trasvina, Sheccid; Seltmann, Katja (January 2025, Journal of Melittology)

   Body size is a salient functional trait in bees, with implications for reproductive fitness, pollination ecology, and responses to environmental change. Methods for quantifying bee body size commonly rely on indirect estimates and vary widely across studies, particularly in studies of the large carpenter bees (Xylocopa Latreille) (Apidae: Xylocopinini). We evaluate the robustness of three common body size parameters (intertegular distance, head width, and costal vein length) as predictors of dry body mass within and among 11 species of Xylocopa (and 5 subspecies). We found that all three size measurements provide robust body size estimates, accounting for 92–93% of intraspecific variation in body mass. Within species, however, these measurements were considerably less predictive of body mass, explaining on average only 36.8% (intertegular distance), 57.4% (head width), and 38.8% (costal vein length) of the variation in body mass. We also highlight a novel application of photogrammetry and 3D modeling to estimate surface area and volume across species, and comment on the utility of these methods for body size estimates in Xylocopa and in insects more broadly. These findings provide practical guidelines for body size estimation methods within and among carpenter bee species.  

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2. Night lighting and anthropogenic noise alter the activity and body condition of pinyon mice ( Peromyscus truei )

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3388  

   Willems, Joshua S.; Phillips, Jennifer N.; Vosbigian, Ryan A.; Villablanca, Francis X.; Francis, Clinton D. (March 2021, Ecosphere)
3. The mode of expression divergence in Drosophila fat body is infection-specific

   https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.269597.120  

   Ramirez-Corona, Bryan A.; Fruth, Stephanie; Ofoegbu, Oluchi; Wunderlich, Zeba (June 2021, Genome Research)

   Transcription is controlled by interactions of cis -acting DNA elements with diffusible trans -acting factors. Changes in cis or trans factors can drive expression divergence within and between species, and their relative prevalence can reveal the evolutionary history and pressures that drive expression variation. Previous work delineating the mode of expression divergence in animals has largely used whole-body expression measurements in one condition. Because cis -acting elements often drive expression in a subset of cell types or conditions, these measurements may not capture the complete contribution of cis -acting changes. Here, we quantify the mode of expression divergence in the Drosophila fat body, the primary immune organ, in several conditions, using two geographically distinct lines of D. melanogaster and their F1 hybrids. We measured expression in the absence of infection and in infections with Gram-negative S. marcescens or Gram-positive E. faecalis bacteria, which trigger the two primary signaling pathways in the Drosophila innate immune response. The mode of expression divergence strongly depends on the condition, with trans -acting effects dominating in response to Gram-negative infection and cis -acting effects dominating in Gram-positive and preinfection conditions. Expression divergence in several receptor proteins may underlie the infection-specific trans effects. Before infection, when the fat body has a metabolic role, there are many compensatory effects, changes in cis and trans that counteract each other to maintain expression levels. This work shows that within a single tissue, the mode of expression divergence varies between conditions and suggests that these differences reflect the diverse evolutionary histories of host–pathogen interactions. 

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4. Transcriptome-wide microRNA and target dynamics in the fat body during the gonadotrophic cycle of Aedes aegypti

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701474114  

   Zhang, Xiufeng; Aksoy, Emre; Girke, Thomas; Raikhel, Alexander S.; Karginov, Fedor V. (March 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
5. Immunohistochemistry and Morphometric Analysis of Drosophila Larval Body Wall Neuromuscular Junction Preparations

   https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot108500  

   Ashley, James; Carrillo, Robert A (June 2024, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols)

   TheDrosophilaneuromuscular junction (NMJ) is an excellent model for studying vertebrate glutamatergic synapses. Researchers have uncovered fundamental mechanisms at the fly NMJ that are conserved in higher-order organisms. To gain molecular and structural insight into these and other structures, immunolabeling is invaluable. In this protocol, we describe how to use immunolabeling to visualize embryonic/larval presynaptic and postsynaptic structures at the NMJ. We also include details about amplification of weak immunohistochemistry signals and how to use these signals to quantify synaptic growth via bouton counting. Boutons are bead-like structures at motor axon terminals that house synapses, and the number of boutons reflects the size of the NMJ. We also describe how to identify the different bouton types. 

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