The expansion of angiosperm-dominated forests in the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic had a profound effect on terrestrial biota by creating novel ecological niches. The majority of modern fern lineages are hypothesized to have arisen in response to this expansion, particularly fern epiphytes that radiated into the canopy. Recent evidence, however, suggests that epiphytism does not correlate with increased diversification rates in ferns, calling into question the role of the canopy habitat in fern evolution. To...

Resident birds in temperate areas respond to seasonally fluctuating temperatures by adjusting their physiology so as to match thermogenic requirements of their environment. Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of heat waves, increasing the likelihood that birds will face environmental mismatch. Changes in BMR due to seasonality or anomaly events should show effects to the oxidative stress system. We examined the effects of chronic and acute heat exposure on muscle and brain tissue...

Barnacles are ancient arthropods that, as adults, are surrounded by a hard, mineralized, outer shell that the organism produces for protection. While extensive research has been conducted on the glue-like cement that barnacles use to adhere to a surfaces, less is known about the barnacle exoskeleton, especially the process by which the barnacle exoskeleton is formed. Here we present data exploring the changes that occur as the barnacle cyprid undergoes metamorphosis to become a sessile...