BABBITT, C.C.; PATEL, N.H.; University of Chicago; University of California, Berkeley/HHMI: Developmental phylogenetics of the Malacostraca (Crustacea): using development to construct phylogeny By understanding developmental processes in a phylogenetic framework, “developmental systematics” can provide novel information about both evolution and development. The goal of this project is to define and explore developmental characters, and to […]

GABRIEL, Willow; PATEL, Sapna; GOLDSTEIN, Bob; Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Developing Tardigrades as a New Model for Studying the Evolution of Development How morphological diversity evolves is a central question in biology. We aim to develop tardigrades as a model for studying the evolution of developmental processes that determine morphology. Tardigrades are phylogenetically […]

BANBURY, B.L.*; MAGLIA, A.M.; The University of Missouri-Rolla: Comparative cranial development of premetamorphic pelobatid tadpoles (Anura: Pelobatidae) Adult pelobatid frogs (Anura: Pelobatidae) exhibit extreme variation in the degree of cranial ossification. Scaphiopus and Pelobates have robust hyperossified crania, while Spea is a gracile, poorly ossified frog. Because Scaphiopus and Spea are sister-taxa, this suggests that […]

DAVIS, M.C.*; VOGELI, K.M.; Univ. of California, San Francisco; Univ. of California, San Francisco: Apical ectodermal ridge development in the paired fins of chondrichthyans and basal actinopterygians In tetrapods, limb outgrowth is maintained by a thickened epithelium along the distal margin of the limb bud called the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). The paired fin buds […]

SOTKA, E.E.; College of Charleston: The evolution of herbivore offense in the sea: tropical versus temperate herbivores in feeding tolerance for chemically-rich seaweeds The past 25 years of research on seaweed-herbivore interactions have witnessed remarkable advances in our understanding of seaweed defenses, the chemical and morphological mechanisms that seaweeds use to protect themselves from being […]

LEHMAN, E.M.; Indiana University, Bloomington: Tetrodotoxin as a maternally-endowed defense against egg predation in the rough-skinned newt, Taricha granulosa Antipredator defenses include behaviors to evade capture, physical structures to deter predation, and noxious or toxic chemicals aimed at predators. While adults are often well protected, early life history stages (e.g., eggs) often are more vulnerable. […]

PETERS, K.J.*; AMSLER, C.D.; MCCLINTOCK, J.B.; BAKER, B.J.; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham; Univ. of South Florida: Palatability and chemical defenses of Antarctic Peninsula sponges One of the major benthic taxa in terms of biomass along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula is Demospongiae. […]

HUANG, Y.M.*; MCCLINTOCK, J.B.; AMSLER, C.D.; PETERS, K.J.; BAKER, B.J.; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham; Univ. of South Florida: Feeding rates of common Antarctic gammarid amphipods on ecologically important sympatric macroalgae Single species feeding trials employing both fresh algal tissues and alginate food pellets […]

HUTCHINSON, Deborah A.*; SCHROEDER, Frank C.; SAVITZKY, Alan H.; MORI, Akira; MEINWALD, Jerrold; BURGHARDT, Gordon M.; Old Dominion Univ.; Cornell Univ.; Old Dominion Univ.; Kyoto Univ.; Cornell Univ.; Univ. of Tennessee: Dietary Toxin Sequestration in Two Populations of a Toad-Eating Snake, Rhabdophis tigrinus Rhabdophis tigrinus (Colubridae: Natricinae) is a bufophagous (toad-eating) snake from Asia that […]

DERBY, C.D.*; KICKLIGHTER, C.E.; SHABANI, S.; JOHNSON, P.M.; KO, K.-C.; KAMIO, M.; YANG, H.; SCHMIDT, M.; Georgia State University: Chemical defenses of sea hares: novel and adaptive strategies for escape and defense via inking Defensive secretions are usually complex mixtures of chemicals that can be distasteful, harmful, or toxic. We have investigated inking by sea […]