Owerkowicz, T.*; Brainerd, E. L.; Carrier, D. R.: Electromyographic pattern of the gular pump in monitor lizards. Gular pumping has recently been shown to play an important role in lung ventilation of monitor lizards but its evolutionary origin has not yet been investigated. To compare this mechanism with the amphibian buccal pump, we studied the […]

TRACY, C. R.*; DIAMOND, J.: Altitudinal variation in effects of hibernation and feeding on nutrient uptake in chuckwallas (Sauromalus obesus: Iguanidae) We examined the effects of hibernation and fasting on intestinal glucose and proline uptake rates of chuckwallas. These lizards show dramatic geographic variation in body size and growth rate that parallels an altitudinal gradient […]

VANHOOYDONCK, B.*; VAN DAMME, R.; AERTS, P.: Trade-offs in the evolution of locomotor performance: are speed and stamina correlated in lacertid lizards? Morphological and physiological considerations suggest that sprinting ability and endurance capacity put conflicting demands on the design of an animal’s locomotor apparatus, and therefore cannot be optimised simultaneously. To test this hypothesis, we […]

EARLS, K.D.: Skeletal diversity and morphology in Anseriformes: an explicitly phylogenetic analysis Birds are very conservative in their overall morphology, and yet have diversified across a remarkable spectrum of locomotor behaviors. The associations of morphology with locomotor specializations have been murky, however, due to a lack of resolution within and among many avian clades. While […]

BOSTWICK, K.S.: Sexual selection for wing-sounds associated with convergent wing shape evolution between three clades of manakins (Aves: Pipridae Males of most of the ~40 species of Neotropical manakins (Aves: Pipridae) perform energetic courtship displays on lek territories. In nearly half of the speices, males produce mechanical wing sounds during these displays. Recent phylogenetic hypotheses […]

Niewiarowski, P.H.*; Angilletta, Jr., M.J.; Leache, A.D.; Porter, W.P.: Phylogenetically-based Comparative Analysis of Life History Variation Among Populations of Sceloporus undulatus The eastern fence lizard, Sceloporus undulatus, is one of the most widely distributed lizards in North America. Across its range, populations display two- to three-fold variation in many life history traits, including age at […]

WARNER, D.A.*; ANDREWS, R.M.: Maternal and Environmental Contributions to Hatchling Phenotypes and Survival of the Lizard Sceloporus undulatus Phenotypic variation of hatchling reptiles is influenced by environmental conditions during egg incubation and by various maternal sources. We investigated the effects of incubation moisture conditions, maternal yolk investment, and clutch on various phenotypic traits and subsequent […]

HALL, M.I.: Another look at Leuckart’s Law Birds have particularly large eyes relative to their body mass when compared to other vertebrates. This has been hypothesized to be an adaptation for flight because increases in axial length of the eye enhance spatial resolution, possibly improving an animal’s ability to judge distances, of obvious importance for […]

WOURMS, J.P.: Rudimentary trophotaeniae of Ataeniobius embryos: an evolutionary intermediate of teleost trophotaenial placentae. Embryonic trophotaeniae, external hindgut derivatives, and the maternal ovarian epithelium comprise the trophotaenial placenta of goodeid and other fishes. For 60 years, Ataeniobius toweri was considered the only goodeid fish whose embryos lack trophotaeniae. Scanning EM, however, reveals three, external, rudimentary […]

GALIS, F.: Modularity and the conservation of characters determined in the phylotypic stage The phylotypic stage is the developmental stage at which vertebrates most resemble each other. In an earlier study we found support for Raff’s hypothesis that the remarkable conservation of the phylotypic stage in vertebrates is due to the high number of ongoing […]