BOLLER, M.L.*; CARRINGTON, E; University of Rhode Island: A new model for drag generation in flexible organisms Rocky intertidal organisms experience large hydrodynamic forces due to extreme water velocities created by large waves. Flexible organisms, like algae, often experience lower drag than rigid bodied organisms because their shape and area projected into the flow change […]

GREENE, MICHAEL/J; UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT DENVER: THE ROLE OF CUTICULAR HYDROCARBON STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY IN ANT RECOGNITION CUES In social insects, suites of hydrocarbon molecules present on the cuticle, known as hydrocarbon profiles, act as multi-component recognition cues. Social insects can use variation in hydrocarbon profiles as recognition cues in order to recognize group membership […]

TRICAS, T.C.; BOYLE, K.S.; DALE, J.; Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu: Sound production and social pairing in laterophysic butterflyfishes All 87 species of butterflyfishes in the genus Chaetodon (family Chaetodontidae) have a laterophysic connection, a unique anatomical linkage between the swim bladder, lateral line and inner ear. This morphological feature is hypothesized to impart sound pressure […]

NOLAN, P M; JOUVENTIN, P; DOBSON, FS; Arizona State Univ.; CNRS-France; Auburn Univ.: Plumage color predicts immune response in king penguins Mate choice is particularly important in slow-breeding species, like king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), because a poor choice of mate can not be corrected for a year or more. King penguin males are not territorial, […]

WELCH, A.M.*; REICHERT, M.S.; Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Plasticity in frog calling: sexier rivals elicit costlier calls In many species, males aggregate and display during the breeding season, while females choose among potential mates based on display attractiveness. Social interactions among males within these groups can affect […]

OSTERBERG, J.S.; RITTSCHOF, D.; FORWARD, JR. , R.B.; Duke University Marine Lab: Ontogenic Changes in Chemically Mediated Rheotaxis by Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus: Implications for Secondary Dispersal Secondary dispersal of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) juveniles from initial settlement habitats (often seagrass beds) to the wider estuarine environment is a crucial step in the blue crab […]

BOSTWICK, Kimberly; Cornell University: How do the feathers of the Club-winged Manakin (Aves: Pipridae) produce a sustained note composed of integer-related harmonics? In 1871 Darwin noted that in the context of intense sexual selection during courtship displays the anatomy of male birds was occasionally modified to enable the production of non-vocally produced acoustic signals, or […]

DICKEY, Brad; University of Kentucky, Lexington; University of California, Davis: Effect of Resource Enrichment on the Social Structures of Crayfish Social structures affect access to resources such as shelters and food, but changes in the environment affect the dynamics of the social structure and the behaviors of the group members. These reciprocal effects make it […]

BRANDT, Y*; CHAPPELL, MA; University of Toronto at Scarborough; University of California, Riverside: Do threat displays in lizards handicap endurance by interfering with respiration? Threat displays, the signals employed in agonistic interactions, appear to advertise aggression and fighting prowess. Handicaps, signals whose honesty is maintained by the cost of signal production, are seldom employed as […]

CUNNINGHAM, Gregory B.; WEIMERSKIRCH, Henri; NEVITT, Gabrielle A.; Univ. of California, Davis; CNRS, France; Univ. of California, Davis: Blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea) fledglings respond differently to a food-related odor and a novel odor in a wind tunnel. In a first step towards understanding the ontogeny of olfactory foraging behaviors in Antarctic procellariiform seabirds, we showed […]