SHEARMAN, R.M.; University of Chicago: The frog pectoral girdle: a non-amniote model of bone formation Histogenesis of vertebrate skeletal tissue is highly diverse, particularly among lower vertebrates. The process of bone formation varies at several levels of biological organization; e.g., the role of cells (osteocytes) within calcified matrix, and the timing and patterning of ossification […]

BIRD, N.C.; MABEE, P.M.; Univ. of South Dakota; Univ. of South Dakota: Homology, individuality, and developmental morphology of the axial skeleton of the zebrafish. Developmental morphology and analysis of mutant morphology have long been key in evaluating hypotheses of homology. In turn, correct determination of homology is central to understanding the precise sequence and nature […]

COLE, A.G.; HALL, B.K.; Dalhousie University; Dalhousie University: Creating Cartilage: How do Cephalopods do it? Cartilage has long been thought to be a tissue restricted to vertebrates. However, tissues that are histologically indistinguishable from vertebrate cartilage are found in most Cephalopod species. To determine whether or not these tissues develop in a similar manner to […]

DAVIS, M.C.; University of Chicago: Chondrogenesis in the developing pectoral fins of the chondrosteans Polyodon and Acipenser Chondrosteans (sturgeons, paddlefish, and their extinct relatives) have often been included in discussions of basal osteichthyan evolution and relationships, both in the classical embryological literature and more recently in molecular and paleontological studies. Chondrosteans are ideal taxa for […]

VICKARYOUS, M.K.; HALL, B.K.; Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS Canada; Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS Canada: A comparative and developmental study of the crocodylian dermal interclavicle and avian furcula Common to all major amniote lineages, at least ancestrally, is an unpaired intramembranously derived postcranial element situated within the pectoral/sternal apparatus: the dermal interclavicle (monotremes, lizards and crocodylians), […]

SKALS, N.*; Lund University, Sweden: Sex or Death: The Sensory Conflict Between Mate Attraction and Predator Avoidance in Moths In many situations animals will receive simultaneously information from different sensory modalities. Moths are distinguished for their abilities to evade echolocating insectivorous bats and for their skilled mate location by pheromone detection. The relatively simple system […]

HARTMAN, M.J.*; STANCYK, S.E.; LOHRER, A.M.; Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia; Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia; National Inst. for Water & Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand: Native predators and the success of a newcomer, Petrolisthes armatus, the green porcelain crab to an oyster reef ecosystem in North Inlet, SC Invasive species often experience large increases […]

BUCKLEY, Christine R.; METCALF, Kelly A.; WARKENTIN, Karen M.; Tulane University; Boston University; Boston University: Egg development affects the foraging strategy of wasps preying on red-eyed tree frog eggs The red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas lays its eggs on plants overhanging ponds throughout Central America. Recent studies show that embryos can alter their hatching timing […]

LEVINE, Robert P.*; STANDEN, Em; BRAINERD, Elizabeth L.; DOMENICI, Paolo; Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst; Univ. of British Colombia, Canada; Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst; International Marine Center, Loc. Sa Mardini, Italy: Effect of body size on fast-start performance in the Pacific staghorn sculpin, Leptocottus armatus The effect of body size on fast-start performance in fishes has […]

MCGOVERN*, Tamara M.; HELLBERG, Michael E.; Friday Harbor Labs, Friday Harbor; Louisiana St. Univ., Baton Rouge: Cryptic species, cryptic endosymbionts, and geographic variation in chemical defenses in the bryozoan Bugula neritina Molecular markers often offer the only way to discriminate between species and to elucidate the specificity of many community interactions, both of which are […]