VON DASSOW, M; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Does fluid flow control pattern formation in a colonial suspension feeder? Biological fluid transport systems have many functions in different organisms, including gas exchange and feeding. To what extent does the flow through the system determine subsequent pattern formation of the system during an organism�s growth? Colonies of […]

LONG, JR., J.H.; HOBSON, B; PELL, C; SCHUMACHER, J; KEMP, M; Vassar College; Nekton Research LLC; Nekton Research LLC; Vassar College; Nekton Research LLC: Biorobotics: A Four-Finned Underwater Vehicle for Locomotor Research In order to test functional predictions about fin-based swimming, we have designed and built an underwater, remotely-operated vehicle with four independently controlled fins. […]

GRUBICH, JR; WESTNEAT, MW; The Field Museum of Natural History; The Field Museum of Natural History: Bichirs, Bowfins, and Gars, Oh My! Functional Morphology of Pectoral Fin Locomotion in Basal Actinopterygian Fishes Pectoral fin locomotion has been investigated across a phylogenetically broad range of fishes including elasmobranchs, acipenseriformes, and teleosts; yet, there are several actinopterygian […]

BASOLO, A.L.; University of Nebraska-Lincoln: The Effect of Predation on the Evolution of Genetically Linked Life History Traits Adult size is often negatively correlated with the age at which an individual matures, and there are both benefits and costs associated with maturing earlier at a smaller size. Benefits to earlier maturation include a higher probability […]

COLLIN, R; STRI: Sex Ratio and Patterns of Sex Change in Calyptraeid Gastropods The size advantage hypothesis predicts that the optimal size at which an individual should change sex is a function of its size and the size and sex of its potential mates. In species that form small mating groups, variation in group composition […]

MCGOVERN, TM; Dauphin Island Sea Labs: Self-fertilization in the brooding sea anemone Aulactinia incubans Despite the potentially negative consequences (inbreeding depression) associated with inbreeding, self-fertilization in simultaneous hermaphrodites offers various genetic and ecological advantages. Several conditions, including mating between relatives in kin-structured groups, may serve to reduce inbreeding depression and lead to a greater tolerance […]

MCFADDEN, C.S.*; RETTIG, P.M.; BECKMAN, E.J.; Harvey Mudd College: Molecular Evidence for Hybridization Between Two Alcyoniid Soft Coral Species With Contrasting Life Histories Numerous studies have now documented both the potential for and past occurrence of interspecific hybridization events in scleractinian corals and other anthozoan cnidarians. The evolutionary importance of hybridization in these groups is […]

KEEVER, C.C.*; HART, M.W.; Simon Fraser Univ.; Simon Fraser Univ.: Evolution of reproductive mode in asterinid sea stars Asterinid sea stars have evolved diverse modes of reproduction and larval development that include planktonic larval dispersal with suspension feeding (or planktotrophy, the ancestral state for the Asteroidea), brief larval dispersal with non-feeding morphology (lecithotrophy), non-dispersing larval […]

BERKE, S.K.*; WOODIN, S.A.; Univ. of South Carolina; Univ. of South Carolina: Do energy-mortality tradeoffs drive sexual dimorphism in a crab�s decoration? (Oregonia gracilis, Brachyura: Majidae) Decorator crabs camouflage themselves by attaching sessile organisms to their carapace and legs. This behavior reduces predation risk, but incurs significant energetic costs. We asked whether this energy-mortality tradeoff […]

Meeting Abstract 19.1  Jan. 5  Variation in Gryllotalpa major burrow mouths: Why bother? HILL, PSM*; SHADLEY, JR; Univ. of Tulsa peggy-hill@utulsa.edu Most molecricket males in the Orthopteran family Gryllotalpidae produce sexual advertisement songs from constructed burrows in the soil. The surface openings, or mouths, of the burrows vary in number among species for which they have been […]