Echidnas, the only mammals that lay eggs, have an unusual reproductive system that includes a pseudo-pouch where their young, called puggles, grow and develop during lactation. Researchers from the University of Adelaide have made a fascinating discovery about the microbiome in these pseudo-pouches, which changes significantly while the mother is nursing her young.

The study, published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology, reveals that the microbial communities in echidna pseudo-pouches undergo dramatic changes during lactation, creating an environment that’s conducive to the health and well-being of their puggles. This is particularly important since puggles hatch at a very early developmental stage, lacking a functional immune system.

“We know that the reproductive microbiome is crucial for infant health in many species, including humans,” says Isabella Wilson, lead researcher on the study. “However, little was known about how it functions in egg-laying monotremes like echidnas.”

One of the key findings of this research is that during lactation, the pseudo-pouch microbial communities show significant differences in composition compared to samples taken outside of breeding season or during courtship and mating. This suggests that the echidna pseudo-pouch environment changes during lactation to accommodate young that lack a functional adaptive immune system.

The way puggles suckle may contribute to this shift in microbes. Unlike other species, echidnas don’t have nipples; instead, their young rub their beaks against a part of the pseudo-pouch called the milk patch, causing milk to come out of the skin, similar to a sweat or oil gland.

Compounds within the milk and from the skin probably contribute to the changes seen in the pseudo-pouch microbiota during lactation. This study highlights the importance of understanding these unique reproductive dynamics for conservation efforts and breeding programs for echidnas.

The research also sheds light on previous findings that showed big differences in the gut microbiome between echidnas in zoos and those in the wild. Surprisingly, no major difference was found in the pseudo-pouch microbiota between zoo-managed and wild animals. This suggests that the milk, rather than external environmental factors like captivity, is what primarily shapes the bacterial landscape of the pseudo-pouch.

For conservation efforts and breeding programs, it’s essential to learn more about the bacteria found in echidna pseudo-pouches and how they affect echidna health. This knowledge will help ensure the well-being of these unique animals and their young, ultimately contributing to the preservation of this fascinating species.

The fascinating world of bird feeding behaviors has been further explored by researchers, who have discovered that Chilean flamingos use their unique beak and foot structure to create water tornados and skimming techniques to trap their prey.

Victor Ortega Jiménez, an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and his collaborators have published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences detailing how these birds employ various strategies to capture brine shrimp, a crucial food source for them.

One of the key findings is that flamingos use their floppy webbed feet to churn up the water and create vortices around their beaks. This allows them to concentrate particles of food and increase their chances of capturing prey.

Another technique employed by flamingos is skimming, which involves moving the lower beak in a rapid chattering motion to create symmetrical vortices on either side of the beak. This helps to recirculate particles in the water and bring them into the beak, making it easier for the bird to capture its prey.

The study also highlights the importance of fluid dynamics in understanding how flamingos feed. Researchers employed computational fluid dynamics to simulate the 3D flow around the beak and feet, confirming that the vortices do indeed concentrate particles, similar to experiments using a 3D-printed head in a flume.

This research has significant implications for our understanding of bird feeding behaviors and could potentially inform the design of robots that need to navigate water or muddy environments.

The study on the reproducibility of behavioral experiments with insects has now been published, providing evidence that some results cannot be fully reproduced. This “reproducibility crisis” affects different disciplines, including biomedical research and behavioral studies on mammals. However, there have been no comparable systematic studies on insects – until now.

A team of researchers from the Universities of Münster, Bielefeld, and Jena (Germany) conducted a multi-laboratory approach to test the reproducibility of ecological insect studies. They performed three different behavioral experiments using different insect species: the turnip sawfly, meadow grasshopper, and red flour beetle.

Each experiment was carried out in laboratories in Münster, Bielefeld, and Jena, and the results were compared. The studies examined the effects of starvation on behavior in larvae of the turnip sawfly, the relationship between body color and preferred substrate color in grasshoppers, and the choice of habitat in red flour beetles.

To the research team’s knowledge, this study is the first to systematically demonstrate that behavioral studies on insects can also be affected by poor reproducibility. This was surprising, as insect studies generally use large sample sizes and could provide more robust results. However, reproducibility was higher compared to other systematic replication studies not carried out on insects.

The results are of particular interest to scientists in behavioral biology and ecology but also for all disciplines where behavioral experiments are conducted with animals. The research team concludes that deliberately introducing systematic variations could improve reproducibility in studies with living organisms.