LANCE, V.A.; ELSEY, R.M.; TROSCLAIR, P.; San Diego State University; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: Sexual Maturation in Male American Alligators Very little is known about the attainment of puberty in reptiles. In the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) males are assumed to be sexually mature at about 1.8 […]

JOHN-ALDER, H.B.*; COX, R.M.; Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick; Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick: Growth Effects of Testosterone and Castration in Lizards (Sceloporus spp.) with Female- Vs. Male-Larger Sexual Size Dimorphism Adults of most Sceloporus spp. (fence and spiny lizards) are characterized by either male- or female-larger sexual size dimorphism (SSD). In all described species, maturational sex […]

SWETT, M.B.*; BREUNER, C.W.; Univ. of TX at Austin; same : Behavioral Polymorphism Correlates with Testosterone in the White-Throated Sparrow The white-throated sparrow exhibits a unique genetic polymorphism affecting plumage and behavior in both sexes. Birds possessing a chromosomal inversion have brighter white stripes on the crown, are more aggressive and provide less parental care […]

BOYER, S. L.*; GIRIBET, G.; Harvard University; Harvard University: Vicariance in the harvestman family Pettalidae (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) during the breakup of Gondwana The theory of plate tectonics has generated many hypotheses concerning the historical causes of global distributions of organisms. The former supercontinent Gondwana has become the textbook system for historical biogeography, and the […]

CLOUSE, R. M.*; GIRIBET, G.; Harvard University; Harvard University: The Systematics and Biogeography of the Stylocellidae, a Southeast Asian Family of Cyphophthalmi (Opiliones) Here we present our current understanding of the systematics of the Stylocellidae, a Southeast Asian family of the opilione suborder Cyphophthalmi. These animals are small (1-6 mm), cryptic, slow-moving arachnids that live […]

KIDD, Michael R.*; KOCHER, Thomas D.; University of New Hampshire; University of New Hampshire: Patterns of Ecological Diversification within Pseudotropheus tropheops, a Subgenus of Rock Dwelling Cichlid from Lake Malawi The haplochromine cichlids of Africa�s Great Lakes have become a celebrated example of adaptive radiation. Unfortunately, phylogenetic analysis of the Lake Malawi species flock has […]

TRIPP, Erin, A.; Duke University: Nothing happens once: systematics and parallel evolution in the species-rich genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae) The genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae) comprises ca. 300 species, is largely herbaceous, and is primarily tropical or subtropical in distribution. Ruellia is ecologically and evolutionarily interesting because of its diversity in floral and vegetative morphology, habit, and reproductive […]

MASSEY, S. E.*; CURTIS, N. E.; PIERCE, S. K.; Univ. of South Florida, Tampa; Univ. of South Florida, Tampa; Univ. of South Florida, Tampa: Identification of a retrovirus that may have a role in the life cycle and chloroplast symbiosis of kleptoplastic sea slugs. The annual life cycle of the kleptoplastic sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, […]

SPENCE, H.R.*; KNOWLTON, R.E.; MERCHANT, H.C.; Univ. of Massachusetts; George Washington Univ.; George Washington Univ.: A comparison of cryptic species of Alpheus (snapping shrimp) from North Carolina and Florida Differentiating cryptic species of snapping shrimp (Alpheidae), despite their ubiquity and acoustic fame, is fraught with misidentifications and ambiguity. Much of this confusion is due to […]

Meeting Abstract 27.4  Jan. 5  Taxonomic Significance of Gill Slit Morphology in Extant Sharks DOLCE, J.L.*; WILGA, C.D.; University of Rhode Island jdol6206@postoffice.uri.edu The number of gill slits that an elasmobranch species possesses is often used for taxonomic classification. However, other characteristics of the gill slits that have been overlooked appear to have taxonomic significance. In this […]