REITZEL, Adam M; MINER, Benjamin G; Boston Univ.; Univ. of Florida: Transitions in Marine Invertebrate Life Histories: Reduced Planktotrophy in an Echinoid Larva Lecithotrophic development has evolved from planktotrophic development numerous times in many marine invertebrates and is generally considered to be irreversible. Lecithotrophic larvae develop from relatively large yolky eggs that provide the organism […]

MCGHEE, Katie/E; Florida State University, Tallahassee: Indiscriminate fusion of swimming sponge larvae For sedentary marine invertebrates, allorecognition systems allow individuals to distinguish between genetically similar and distinct tissue they may encounter and are thought to reduce tissue fusion with individuals other than self or kin. However, the cost/benefit trade-offs associated with fusion at a sessile […]

LASKER, H.R.*; GUTIERREZ-RODRIGUEZ, C.; University at Buffalo; University at Buffalo: Fertilization and local gamete dispersion in a surface brooding gorgonian Colonies of the Caribbean gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae release unfertilized eggs that are retained on the colony surface where they are fertilized and develop into planulae. On San Salvador, Bahamas spawning starts in the week following […]

PERNET, Bruno; Friday Harbor Laboratories, Washington: Evolutionary persistence of feeding structures in nonfeeding annelid larvae The requirement for feeding during the larval stage has been lost in many lineages of marine invertebrates. This evolutionary transition in nutritional mode is often followed rapidly by changes in larval morphology, in particular reduction or loss of structures involved […]

KRISTAN, D.M.*; AUSTAD, S. N.; California State University, San Marcos; University of Idaho: Whole animal longevity and cellular resistance to oxidative stress in primary kidney fibroblasts of birds and rodents Oxidative damage to DNA occurs during normal metabolism and the effects of this damage accumulate with age, making oxidative stress one of the foremost proximate […]

ORTH, ME*; MONCURE, KG; WILLIAMS, EE; Salisbury University; Salisbury University; Salisbury University: The comparative effects of DHA on T27A murine leukemia cells and CHSE and ZFL fish cells Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the longest and most unsaturated of the omega 3 fatty acids commonly found in cell membranes. As a component of cell membranes, it […]

GIBBS, V.K.*; WATTS, S.A.; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham: The Effect of Temperature on Nutrient Absorption in the Regular Sea Urchin Lytechinus variegatus Although seldom reported, temperature may be a key environmental factor influencing nutrient utilization in ectothermal organisms. The following study investigated nutrient absorption in response to three various exposure temperatures. Adult Lytechinus variegatus […]

ALLMAN, Phil; PLACE, Al; ROOSENBURG, Willem; Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701; Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21202; Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701: Sex differentiation in three populations of Malaclemys: a turtle with temperature-dependent sex determination Sexual differentiation in reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) is known to be influenced by several […]

LEE, Kelly A.; WIKELSKI, Martin; HASSELQUIST, Dennis; Princeton University; Princeton University; Lund University, Sweden: Sex Influences Immune Responses Differently in the House Sparrow and a Monomorphic Congener, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Seasonal and sex differences in immune responses have been well-documented in mammals but less extensively in other vertebrates. Sex differences in immune responses are […]

ESTES, J.*; WIBBELS, T.; BALAZS, G.; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; National Marine Fisheries Service, Honolulu, Hawaii: Evaluation of incubation temperatures in green turtle nests at French Frigate Shoals, northwest Hawaiian Islands. The green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, possesses temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) in which the incubation temperature of the egg determines […]