BOORSE, GC; DENVER, RJ; Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Tissue distribution of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) signaling components in Xenopus laevis suggests multiple roles in physiology and development The distribution and actions of CRH extend beyond the regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. By contrast to mammals, little is known about the peripheral expression or functions of […]

ALLISON, W.T.*; DANN, S.G.; HAWRYSHYN, C.W.; Univ. of Victoria, BC, Canada: Thyroid hormone control of opsin expression, cone death and regeneration during natural development Background: Ultraviolet-sensitive (UV-) cones disappear from the retina of salmonid fishes during the metamorphosis that prepares them for marine life. Thyroid hormone mediates this metamorphosis during natural development. At sexual maturity, […]

MANZON, R.G.*; DENVER, R.J.; University of Regina, SK, Canada; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA: Regulation of pituitary thyrotropin during Xenopus metamorphosis: beyond type II deiodinase. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the paradoxical increase and sustained expression of pituitary thyrotropin (TSH) in the presence of elevated thyroid hormone (TH) levels at metamorphic climax […]

WU, X*; DURICA, DAVID/S; HOPKINS, PENNY/M; University of Oklahoma; University of Oklahoma; University of Oklahoma: Physical characterization of the ecdysteroid and retinoid X receptors (UpEcR and UpRXR) in the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator and their distribution patterns in regenerating limbs during the molt cycle Several UpRXR cDNA variants were found in regions that could potentially […]

MURDOCK, C.A.*; WIBBELS, T.; University of Alabama, Birmingham; University of Alabama, Birmingham: Dmrt1 mRNA levels during development in a turtle with temperature-dependent sex determination Vertebrates exhibit a variety of sex determination systems, which include both genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). A number of genes have been identified in these sex determination systems, and some […]

O’NEILL, M. W. *; GIBB, A. C.; Northern Arizona University; Northern Arizona University: Unexpected feeding asymmetries in the hogchoker, Trinectes maculatus We investigate the purpose and function of extreme morphological asymmetry of the jaw apparatus in flatfishes. Previous research demonstrated that species with greater morphological asymmetry of the jaws display greater behavioral asymmetry during feeding. […]

FRANCIS, JR., A. W.*; Saint Joseph’s University: Feeding Functional Morphology and Biomechanics of Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma An ontogenetic series of Paralichthys lethostigma was collected from aquaculture facilities and subsequently cleared and double stained for bone and cartilage. From photomicrographs of cleared and stained larvae, measurements were made of head shape, eye migration, quadratal angle, […]

HULSEY, C/D; Univ. of California, Davis: Evolutionary Decoupling of Oral and Pharyngeal Jaws in Central American Cichlid Fish I investigate whether a single species of cichlid fish, Herichthys minckleyi , possesses oral jaw mechanics that vary independently of mechanical and functional specializations in its pharyngeal jaw. One explanation for the unparalleled trophic raditaion in cichlid […]

LEVINE, Robert P.; MONROY , Jenna A. ; BRAINERD, Elizabeth L.; University of Massachusetts Amherst; Northern Arizona University; University of Massachusetts Amherst: Contribution of eye retraction to swallowing performance in the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens Most frogs retract their eyes during swallowing. This observation has led to the suggestion that eye retraction may aid […]

SWANSON, BO; Northern Arizona University, : Comparison of fish feeding behaviors between laboratory and field: Do lab feeding analyses reflect ecologically important behaviors? Analyses of the kinematics of feeding behaviors have elucidated the mechanisms integral to fish feeding. Previous studies have demonstrated that differences in motor pattern and morphology produce a wide variety feeding behaviors […]