BUNDLE, M. W.; University of Montana: Muscle efficiency during bird flight The efficiency with which muscle converts chemical energy into mechanical energy is a basic parameter of muscle function. Yet, empirical measurements for the efficiency of vertebrate muscle exist only for isolated muscle preparations. The difficulty in measuring muscle efficiency at the whole animal level […]

HEDRICK, TL; BIEWENER, AA; CFS, Harvard University: Linear Accelerations in the Flapping Flight of Cockatiels We quantified whole body vertical, horizontal, and lateral accelerations in the flapping flight of cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus, n=4) in order to examine the mechanisms they employ in producing forces within a wingbeat and across a range of speeds. Accelerations were […]

BLOB, R.W.*; FRALICK, M.S.; Clemson University, SC: Limb kinematics of swimming box turtles: is ancestral function retained despite terrestrial specialization? Emydid turtles that regularly use aquatic habitats (e.g., sliders, painted turtles) move fore and hindlimbs very differently during swimming. Hindfoot digits are strongly webbed to form a broad paddle in these species. During retraction they […]

TOBALSKE, B.W.; PUCCINELLI, L.A.; Univ. of Portland, Oregon; Univ. of Portland, Oregon: Effects of Flight Mode on Contractile Activity of the Pectoralis in Zebra Finch Flap-bounding is a widespread form of intermittent flight used by birds including the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Previous workers have hypothesized that intermittent bounds permit small birds to vary mechanical […]

KENNEDY, M.S.; SPENCER, R-J.; BAXTER, G.S.; Univ. of Queensland, Gatton, Australia; Iowa State Univ.; Univ. of Queensland, Gatton, Australia: Using small mammals to test ecological processes driving population and community processes after fire in a nutrient poor environment. Patterns of small mammal community responses to fire events are well documented in some regions of Australia. […]

BRANDENBURG, M.D.*; MILES, D.B.; Ohio University, Athens; Ohio University, Athens: Responses of Small Mammals to Deer Exclosures in Oak-Hickory Forest Small mammal communities of eastern deciduous forests provide a model system for evaluating how variables such as behavior, food availability, competition, and abiotic conditions structure communities. Several herbivorous mammals coexist in eastern forests: White-tailed deer […]

SABA, M.V.*; HORN, M.H.; California State University, Fullerton; California State University, Fullerton: Ontogeny of Diet and Trophic Position in Herbivorous and Carnivorous Prickleback Fishes (Stichaeidae): Dietary and Stable Isotope Analyses We examined gut contents and carbon (&delta13C) and nitrogen (&delta15N) signatures of four related, wild-caught, and experimentally-fed (high-protein animal diet) prickleback fishes as well as […]

BERGER, M.S.; University of Oregon, OIMB: Juvenile performance of the barnacle Balanus glandula along an estuarine gradient The acorn barnacle, Balanus glandula, has a wide intertidal distribution within the South Slough Estuary in Oregon that ranges from the oceanic mouth to approximately six kilometers upstream towards the riverine head of the estuary. Along this horizontal […]

REITZEL, A.R.*; DARLING, J.; Boston University; Boston University: Global population structure of the invasive salt marsh anemone Nematostella vectensis Nematostella vectensis is a euryhaline, burrowing anemone inhabiting estuarine sediments along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts of North America, as well as the southern and southeastern coasts of England. The species is currently listed as […]

CORBIN, Clay E; Bloomsburg University: Ecomorphological Concordance in North American and South African Flycatcher Communities In both the Old and New Worlds, independent clades of sit-and-wait insectivorous birds have evolved. These independent radiations provide an excellent opportunity to test whether the relationships between morphology and ecology are concordant. First, with canonical correlation analysis, I test […]