COATES, M.C.; THEOBALD, J.C.; Stanford University; University of Washington: Optimal visual parameters for a cubozoan jellyfish in the mangrove environment The cubomedusans are unique among Cnidarians in possessing eyes capable of forming images, but how these eyes are used in the wild is a mystery. Our hypothesis is that detecting self motion is a major […]

SPRAYBERRY, J.D.H.; HOWELL, S.; Univ. of Washington: Hawk moths, flower tracking and frequencies: implications for functional performance Hawk moths hover rather than perch when feeding from flowers. However, flowers in nature are not static targets; natural currents or airflow generated by moth wing beats induce flower motion during feeding events. The interaction between feeding and […]

ADAMS, Julie A.; MOORE, Paul A.; Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green State University: Foraging in a complex chemical background: DOM from elevated CO2 detritus and its impact on crayfish orientation to a food source Organisms extract information from the environment to make behaviorally relevant decisions. Many organisms use chemical information to perform a variety […]

SWEENEY, A.M.; JOHNSEN, S.; Duke University; Duke University: Biological Optical Instruments in the Deep Sea Biologically generated optical instruments such as lenses, light guides and transparent tissues are an important part of the ecology of many metazoans, especially in midwater depths of the ocean. For example, organisms such as the hyperiid amphipod Phronima use fiber […]

LOHMANN, Kenneth J.; LOHMANN, Catherine M.F.; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A Coastal Magnetic Map Used in Sea Turtle Navigation Sea turtles navigate long distances to specific geographic areas used as feeding grounds and nesting sites, but how they do so has remained enigmatic. It has […]

CLAESON, Kerin M; University of Massachusetts: THE SKULL OF ERPETOICHTHYS CALABARICUS (ACTINOPTERYGII: POLYPTERIDAE), THE ROPEFISH Polypterid fishes are considered the most basal group of extant actinopterygians and may be a direct link to understanding the systematics and evolution of the first bony fishes. At least 12 extinct and extant genera have been named. Two genera […]

OAKLEY, T/H; SWARTZ, B/A; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Cambridge: Supermatrix phylogenetic analyses support parallel evolution of complex life history (anadromy) in Atlantic and Pacific Salmon Complex traits are of particular interest to evolutionists because they require the contribution of many individual adaptations. Unless biases exist, such as developmental constraints or ecological determinism, […]

ALFARO, M.E.*; BOLNICK, D.I.; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; , ; , ; , ; , ; , ; Washington State; Univ. Texas, Austin; UC Davis: Evolutionary consequences of redundant design in labrid fishes Many physiological traits consist of two hierarchically related levels: physical structures, and the emergent functional properties of those structures. Because selection tends to act […]

COLLAR, D.C.*; NEAR, T.J.; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; University of California, Davis; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; University of California, Davis: Comparative studies of morphological diversity: trophic evolution in centrarchid fishes Evolutionary lineages differ with respect to the variety of forms they exhibit. We investigated whether comparisons of morphological diversity can be used to inform about differences in […]

CAMPBELL, T.G.; GAREY, J.R.; University of South Florida; University of South Florida: Analysis of Glycerol 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase for Potential Use in Deep Metazoan Phylogeny Genetic sequence data have been used to analyze phylogenetic relationships for over a decade and numerous data sets have been generated for testing metazoan relationships at many taxonomic levels. Because of […]