Meeting Abstract P1.31  Friday, Jan. 4  Abiotic influences on the distribution and abundance of tropical cave-dwelling Macrobrachium spp. WEISS, A.K.*; PAKES, M.J.; LINDBERG, D.R.; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley ameliakw@berkeley.edu Our understanding of factors controlling species distributions within tropical cave ecosystems is limited. This study is the first to investigate […]

Meeting Abstract P1.147  Friday, Jan. 4  A costly antipredator behavior in a gradient of predation pressure: tail autotomy in the side blotched lizard Uta stansburiana KUO, C-Y*; IRSCHICK, DJ; Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst; Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst chiyun@bio.umass.edu The ability to survive predation is one of the most important aspects of organismal fitness. To that end, animals […]

Meeting Abstract P1.200  Friday, Jan. 4  A comparative study of body shape and swimming kinematics in pholid and stichaeid fishes REYNAGA, CM*; FERRY, LA; CLARK, AJ; Univ. of California, Santa Cruz; Arizona State Univ.; College of Charleston cmreynag@ucsc.edu Body shape may provide a potential explanation for the variation in swimming kinematics across fish groups. The anguilliform body […]

Meeting Abstract P1.149  Friday, Jan. 4  A basin redox transect at the dawn of animal life SPERLING, EA*; KNOLL, AH; MACDONALD, FA; JOHNSTON, DT; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University sperling@fas.harvard.edu Multiple eukaryotic clades make their first appearance in the fossil record between ~850-715 Ma. Molecular clock studies suggest that the origin of animal multicellularity […]

Meeting Abstract P1.127  Friday, Jan. 4  A Whole-Mount Method for Trypsin Clearing and Collagen Type II Antibody Staining LOHMAN, BK*; SIROTKIN, HI; BELL, MA; University of Texas at Austin; Stony Brook University; Stony Brook University lohman@utexas.edu Although cartilage and bone are often stained to study development in fishes, collagen forms before either of these tissues during skeletal […]

Meeting Abstract P1.18  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Why does the curly tail lizard (Leiocephalus) curl its tail? An assessment of social and predatory interactions KIRCHER, BK*; JOHNSON, MA; Trinity University bkircher@trinity.edu Animal display behaviors are used to convey specific messages to other animals, including potential mates, rivals, and predators. However, because these different types of interactions can […]

Meeting Abstract P1.1  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Vocal behavior of Southeast Alaskan humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae): classification and context FOURNET, ME*; SZABO, A; Oregon State University; Alaska Whale Foundation mbellalady@gmail.com Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are vocal baleen whales that exhibit complex social interactions across broad spatial and temporal scales. On low latitude breeding grounds, humpback whales produce […]

Meeting Abstract P1.33  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Vernal Pool Distribution on Assateague Island, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VA DODGIN, S/R*; LUNARDI, P/N; HRANITZ, J/M; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania srd89161@huskies.bloomu.edu Climate change poses a major threat to barrier islands and their communities through the consequences of sea level rise and […]

Meeting Abstract P1.211  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Validity of Skeletochronology for Indicating Age and Growth in Egyptian Tortoise, Testudo kleinmanni ZIMMERMAN, S*; CURRY ROGERS, K; Macalester College; Macalester College rogersk@macalester.edu We assessed the accuracy of skeletochronology in the assessment of age and overall growth dynamics in a known-age skeleton of Testudo kleinmanni (Egyptian Tortoise). Skeletochronology is often […]

Meeting Abstract P1.153  Saturday, Jan. 4 15:30  Utilizing likelihood models for phylogenetic reconstruction from discrete phenotypic characters WRIGHT, AM*; HILLIS, DM; University of Texas at Austin wright.aprilm@gmail.com Rate heterogeneity among characters presents challenges for the estimation of phylogenetic trees. This statement has been validated in many molecular studies to date, and we present results here exploring the […]