31 October 2025

An update on captive cetacean welfare

"Welfare of animals in managed care is an extremely important issue and this is a quite detailed review of the current data."

Jennifer Vonk, Section Editor

13 October 2025

Evidence of positive selection and a novel phylogeny among five subspecies of song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) in Alaska

"This article provides compelling evidence of local adaptation and evolutionary divergence among Alaskan song sparrow subspecies. By integrating genomic and morphological data, it reveals novel insights into positive selection and phylogenetic relationships, offering a valuable contribution to evolutionary biology and island biogeography."

Shaw Badenhorst, Handling Editor

9 October 2025

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals high diversity of setae on the hind tibiae and basitarsi of Peruvian Stingless Bees (Apidae: Meliponini)

"because of in-depth analysis of structure-function relationship of bee setae."

Stanislav Gorb, Handling Editor

25 September 2025

Geographic distributions and patterns of co-occurrence among black-bellied and shovel-nosed salamanders (Desmognathus spp.) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

"This study presents new insights into the geographic distribution and co-occurrence of species within a highly cryptic salamander genus."

Zoltán Tóth, Handling Editor

26 August 2025

Diurnal moths have larger hearing organs: evidence from comparative 3D morphometric study on geometrid moths

"This is a good example of a study on functional ecology based on a comparative study of moth species and their morphological sensory response to predation. It was evaluated how the predator activity pattern influences the phylogenetic development of the morphological organs involved in antipredator detection."

Javier Manjarrez, Handling Editor

21 August 2025

Evaluating COI and ITS2 dual barcoding for molecular delimitation and taxonomic insights in Arenosetella Wilson, 1932 (Harpacticoida: Ectinosomatidae) along Turkish Coasts

"This elegant study provides a strong foundation for analyzing previously unnoticed cryptic diversity in interstitial copepods by employing a dual-marker DNA barcoding approach."

Rony Huys, Handling Editor

30 July 2025

New and known free-living nematode species (Nematoda: Chromadorea) from offshore tsunami monitoring buoys in the Southwest Pacific Ocean

"This is a good contribution to the systematics of marine nematodes. The editor particularly appreciated the originality of this work, with research in a very little studied environment, ocean buoys."

Jean-Lou Justine, Handling Editor

10 July 2025

Vocal constraints on song amplitude in star finches Bathilda ruficauda

"This manuscript aims to enhance researchers' understanding of amplitude in vocal communication among songbirds. Song amplitude is one of the important characteristics of bird communication, particularly in the breeding phase, and it determines whether the communication will be detectable or not, which is critical in finding a mate."

Devraj Singh, Handling Editor

10 July 2025

A Jack of All Trades—Tawaki/Fiordland penguins are able to utilise diverse marine habitats during winter migration

"The study provides new and relevant information on penguin migration."

Javier Manjarrez, Handling Editor

7 July 2025

Inter-colony and inter-annual behavioural plasticity in the foraging strategies of a fjord-dwelling penguin—good news in the face of environmental change?

"The article provides valuable biological information on the impact of environmental changes on the foraging habits of the penguin species studied."

Javier Manjarrez, Handling Editor