Meeting Abstract

S5.4  Tuesday, Jan. 5  Regeneration: a framework for future research MAGINNIS, Tara L; The University of Texas at Austin taramaginnis@austin.rr.com

Many organisms have the ability to shed an appendage (autotomy) to escape a predator or fouled molting event. Despite its immediate advantage on survivorship, autotomy can have important consequences for locomotion, foraging, survivorship, and/or reproduction. Thus, regeneration is a way that animals alleviate some of the costs associated with losing an appendage. Like autotomy, however, appendage regeneration can have important consequences for a variety of aspects of fitness; in a wide range of amphibians, reptiles, fish, and arthropods, the allocation of resources to regenerate a lost appendage negatively affects somatic or reproductive growth. Previous research into the costs associated with autotomy and regeneration has provided a strong framework to explore how tradeoffs associated with regeneration may have influenced its evolution, and has all been done from a specific set of comparisons: individuals autotomising and regenerating an appendage compared to individuals that have never lost an appendage. I suggest a shift in the way we approach our studies in order to specifically address why regenerative capacities themselves evolve or persist. Future work in this direction promises new insights into how the tradeoffs associated with autotomy and regeneration may be shaping its evolution, as well as how regeneration may be influencing animal form and function.