TYTELL, E.D.*; LAUDER, G.V.; Harvard University: Kinematics and wake structure of steadily swimming eels (Anguilla rostrata) Swimming kinematics and wake flow fields of steadily swimming eels (Anguilla rostrata) were characterized using high-speed video and high-resolution digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) to examine three previous wake flow models: a global circulation model based on computational results, […]

BOUSFIELD, E.L.*; HENDRYCKS, E.A.; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa: Functional morphology and phylogeny within the littoral marine amphipod family Hyalidae Amphipod family Hyalidae, the most primitive of 10 families within superfamily Talitroidea, encompasses about 50 mostly newly described species in the North Pacific Basin and about 110 species in 12 genera […]

SCHRIEFER, J.E. *; HALE, M.E.; Univ. of Chicago; Univ. of Chicago: Are strikes and startles similar? Kinematics and EMGs of S-start escape and feeding in northern pike. S-start behaviors of fishes have been shown to function in both escape startles and feeding strikes. We examine S-start behaviors and muscle activity patterns to compare the motor […]

MITCHELL, RM; MAIN, R; BIEWENER, AA; Harvard University: Scaling Patterns in Avian Limb Bone Development The lengths and diameters of avian limb bone elements increase rapidly throughout ontogeny. Allometric scaling patterns could act to increase material strength or the size of limb elements experiencing greater stresses as mass increases and/or different limbs are used in […]

ETNIER, S.A.*; PABST, D.A.; MCLELLAN, W.A.; University of North Carolina, Wilmington: Ontogenetic increases in the structural stiffness (“EI”) of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Fetal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are bent laterally with the tail flukes and throat juxtaposed, requiring tremendous flexibility of the axial skeleton and associated soft tissues. Immediately upon birth, neonatal dolphins must […]

CHRISTIANS, JK *; BINGHAM, V; KEIGHTLEY, PD; University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Fine-mapping of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) affecting skeletal size in mice Many traits of medical, agricultural or evolutionary significance show continuous variation (e.g., body size), rather than having discrete, one-or-the-other states (e.g., blood types). In recent years, numerous studies have used molecular […]

BOWEN, K.D.; Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant: Changes in Body Size and Color Pattern of the Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon Relatively small Nerodia sipedon sipedon possess a striking dorsal pattern, while relatively large snakes often have a more uniform dorsal coloration. Past researchers have hypothesized that this color shift occurs through a darkening […]

FOURNIER, Francois; GAUTHIER, Gilles; Universite de Moncton; Universite Laval: The effect of food quality on developmental plasticity and digestive efficiency in greater snow goose goslings Geese, one of the few herbivorous groups of birds, face a series of unique constraints during growth. (1) Goslings must feed by themselves (precocial); (2) they must attain a large […]

SHERRARD, K.M.; University of Chicago: The biomechanics and ontogeny of fatal constipation in the brooding sea squirt Corella inflata Corella inflata is a species of solitary ascidian which broods by retaining its buoyant embryos in an inflated region of tunic near the excurrent siphon. This novel morphology has a negative consequence, apparently unique among ascidians, […]

DIMOCK, RV, Jr*; ALDRIDGE, DC; Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC; University of Cambridge, UK: Role reversal in symbiosis: functional morphology of larval fish in a mussel’s gills The life cycle of most freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) includes a larva, the glochidium, which must become parasitic on a fish host to complete its development. In a […]