Meeting Abstract S5-3  Sunday, Jan. 5 09:00 – 09:30  Adhesive Performance of Tropical Arboreal Ants on Canopy Substrates STARK, A Y*; YANOVIAK, S P; Villanova University; University of Louisville and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute alyssa.stark@villanova.edu http://www.alyssaystark.com The surface characteristics of forest canopy substrates are highly variable over relatively small temporal and spatial scales. Substrates often differ in […]

Meeting Abstract S5-10  Sunday, Jan. 5 14:30 – 15:00  Abstraction of Slow and Fast Plant Movement Principles for the Technical Transfer into Biomimetic Motile Structures POPPINGA, S*; SPECK, T; Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany simon.poppinga@biologie.uni-freiburg.de http://www.botanischer-garten.uni-freiburg.de/mitarbeiter/pbg/simonpoppinga Plants can move organs or organ parts (e.g. […]

Meeting Abstract S5-7  Sunday, Jan. 5 11:30 – 12:00  A Filament-like Structure for Flight?: The Ballooning Flight of Spiders CHO, MS*; NEUBAUER, P; FAHRENSON, C; RECHENBERG, I; Technical University of Berlin; Technical University of Berlin; Technical University of Berlin; Bionics and Evolution Techniques m.cho@campus.tu-berlin.de Many flying insects utilize a membranous structure for flight, which is known as […]

HOLBROOK, N.M.*; ZWIENIECKI, M.A.; MELCHER, P.J.: The dynamics of “dead” wood: Hydrogel-mediated changes in xylem hydraulic properties Xylem vessels are well known for their passive role in water transport and the possibility that these tubes comprised of dead cells might possess the ability for rapid flow control has never been considered. The prevailing view among […]

Hairston, Jr., N.G.: Temporal dispersal: ecological and evolutionary implications of prolonged egg diapause Zooplankton egg banks are the accumulation of diapausing embryos buried in the sediments of many aquatic ecosystems. These eggs, which are analogous life history stages to the seeds of many plants, can survive in a ready-to-hatch state for periods ranging from decades […]

SCHULTZ, J.C.: Shared signals and the potential for phylogenetic espionage between plants and animals Our understanding of responses to biotic and abiotic stimuli has developed separately for plants and animals. But recent biochemical and molecular work is producing a growing list of elements involved in diverse responses that are common to both kingdoms. Some of […]

Lutz, P.* L Lutz; Prentice, H.: Sensing and responding to hypoxia, molecular and physiological mechanisms In order to accommodate to low oxygen it is necessary first to be able to detect hypoxia, then to initiate the appropriate mechanisms. There are two basic detectors: molecular sensors that are directly linked to gene regulation and metabolic indicators […]

Ehleringer, J.*; Cerling, T.: Possible relationships between atmospheric carbon dioxide and mammalian grazers We explore the possible relationships between photosynthetic pathway, changing atmospheric carbon dioxide, and mammalian herbivores. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have changed over the last 200 million years; the recent pattern of increasing anthropogenic emissions has resulted in a dramatic increase in atmospheric […]

Feder, M.E.: Plant and animal comparative physiology/biochemistry, evolutionary physiology, ecological physiology, and physiological ecology: opportunities for synergy Both the communities of plant biology researchers and animal biology researchers include multidisciplinary groups that combine physiology, ecology, biochemistry, biomechanics, and evolution, but historically these groups have often been as distinct as the organisms they study. This symposium […]

Porter, W.* P.; Budaraju, S.; Stewart, W.E.; Ramankutty, N.: Physiology on a landscape scale: applications in ecological theory and conservation practice Plant properties play a crucial role in a novel and unsuspected way that involves the physiology of animals as does effects of climate variation in time and space in how many species can coexist […]