LEVITAN, D.R.; Florida State University: Theory and empirical evidence for the role of egg size on fertilization success in marine invertebrates The amount of energy invested in individual eggs is a critical life history trait. The obvious cost of producing relatively large eggs is decrease in the number of eggs that can be produced per […]

EMLET, R.B.; Univ. of Oregon, OIMB: Linking stages of life history: How larval quality translates into juvenile performance Experimental manipulations of offspring quality combined with outplanting of juveniles in the natural environment allow strong tests of the influence of offspring quality on juvenile performance. By experimentally manipulating food given to larval barnacles (Balanus glandula) and […]

PECHENIK, J.A.; Tufts University, Medford, MA: Larval experience and carryover effects�metamorphosis is not a new beginning For many years ecologists have documented the variation inherent in natural systems�e.g., variability in growth rates, fecundities, time to reproductive maturity, mortality rates, the outcomes of competitive interactions, and tolerance to pollutants. Over the past 20 years, it has […]

PADILLA, Dianna K; Stony Brook University: Larry McEdward’s legacy and influence on future research in complex life histories. Larry McEdward was a leader of the field of ecological physiology, and evolutionary ecology of marine invertebrate larvae and complex life histories. Complex life histories are an important aspect of the biology of animals, and occur in […]

PIRES, A; Dickinson College: Signals Mediating Rapid Loss of Cell Adhesion in Metamorphosis Rapid morphological changes that occur during the abrupt metamorphoses of many taxa involve shedding of larval organs and migrations of populations of retained cells. Both processes require rapid modulation of cell adhesion. Veliger larvae of gastropods shed the larval velum during metamorphosis […]

HEYLAND, Andreas*; MOROZ, Leonid/L; The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Saint Augustine, FL; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, FL; The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Saint Augustine, FL; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, FL: SEARCH FOR NEURONAL TRANSCRIPTS INVOLVED IN THE METAMORPHIC TRANSITION OF THE SEA HARE APLYSIA CALIFORNICA Metamorphosis among many marine […]

YOUSON, J.H.; University of Toronto at Scarborough: Lamprey metamorphosis and a theory on the evolution of adult life history types Lampreys, as agnathans, have a direct lineage to the most ancient of vertebrates. Although the other extant agnathan, the hagfish, has direct development, all lamprey species have a free-living larva that undergoes a true metamorphosis […]

FLATT, T; Brown University, Providence: Juvenile Hormone as an Effector of Metamorphosis and Life History Transitions Hormones, regulatory signaling molecules that coordinate multiple developmental and physiological processes, commonly play central roles in the coordination of life cycles, both among and within species. Life history transitions, for instance from larva to adult or from a non-reproductive […]

DENVER, Robert/J*; CRESPI, Erica/J; University of Michigan; University of Michigan: Hormones translate environmental information to time amphibian metamorphosis Metamorphic timing in amphibians is highly dependent on environmental conditions. Hormones, in particular those of the neuroendocrine stress axis, play central roles in linking sensory information about the external environment with changes in development and growth. Neuropeptides […]

JACOBS, MW*; DEGNAN, BM; Univ. of Washington; Univ. of Queensland: Delay of Metamorphosis in Solitary Ascidians: Genetics, Morphology, and Ecology Metamorphosis is both an ecological and a developmental genetic transition that an organism undergoes as a normal part of ontogeny. Many organisms have the ability to delay metamorphosis when conditions are unsuitable. This strategy carries […]