SOCKMAN, K.W.*; HAHN, T.P.; WILLIAMS, T.D.; BALL, G.F.; Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore; Univ. of California, Davis; Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby; Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore: Prior Experience with Photostimulation Accelerates Photo-induced Reproductive Development in Female European Starlings Individuals reproducing early in the breeding season usually enjoy greater reproductive success than late breeders. For first-year female birds, […]

SEMSAR, K*; GODWIN, J; North Carolina State University; North Carolina State University: Multiple Mechanisms for Phenotype Development In most vertebrate species, androgens are necessary for the organization and function of the male-typical phenotype, including critical neurohormone systems underlying male behavior such as the arginine vasotocin (AVT) system. However, female bluehead wrasses, a coral reef fish […]

HUMFELD, Sarah C; University of Missouri-Columbia: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Interact to Mediate Mating Tactic Switches An important example of phenotypic variation is alternative behaviours used for mate acquisition. Alternative reproductive behaviours are usually considered to be a consequence of male-male competition for a limited number of females, in which only a subset of males […]

MINER, B.G.*; University of Florida: How to test if plasticity is adaptive Biologists have become increasingly interested in the evolutionary and ecological role of phenotypic plasticity in natural systems, and many studies assert that plasticity is adaptive. However, the theory to test the adaptivity of phenotypic plasticity has not been well developed, and few of […]

NOREN, D.P.; University of California, Santa Cruz and National Marine Mammal Laboratory: Differential Energy Reserve Utilization During the Postweaning Fast of Northern Elephant Seals: Implications for the First Year of Life During fasting, lipid reserves are preferentially utilized for energy while proteins are spared. For marine mammals, however, lipids are not only important energy stores, […]

BURMEISTER, SS; MUNSHI, RG; FERNALD, RD; Stanford University; Stanford University; Stanford University: Afferents to the Preoptic Area in a Cichlid Fish with Socially Controlled Reproductive Phenotypes Social signals regulate the reproductive axis in many vertebrates, and such regulation is central to the social system of the teleost Haplochromis burtoni. Territorial males suppress reproductive behavior and […]

CARLETON, K L *; SPADY, T C; KOCHER, T D; University of New Hampshire; University of New Hampshire; University of New Hampshire: Visual sensitivities of cichlid fishes: Using DNA to see through the eyes of a fish African Cichlid fishes are a textbook example of rapid vertebrate speciation, having evolved hundreds of species in the […]

KAJIURA, S.M.; FORNI, J.B.; SUMMERS, A.P.; University of California, Irvine: Vision and Olfaction in Carcharhinid and Sphyrnid Sharks The unique head morphology of hammerhead sharks (Chondrichthyes, Sphyrnidae) has spawned a variety of adaptive hypotheses. Two hypotheses which have persisted without empirical evidence are the ‘expanded visual field’ and the ‘stereo-olfaction’ hypotheses. It has been suggested […]

COHEN, J.H.*; FORWARD, R.B.; Duke University Marine Laboratory; Duke University Marine Laboratory: Photoresponses of the copepod Calanopia americana involved in diel vertical migration Light is regarded as the primary proximate factor regulating diel vertical migration (DVM) in zooplankton, although much debate has focused on the exact role that light plays in this behavior. The pontellid […]

THEOBALD, J. C.; University of Washington, Seattle, Washington: Night vision strategies of sphingid moths match feeding behavior A nocturnal eye must make the most of scarce photons. Reliable vision in dim light is difficult because light is absorbed discretely and randomly. This ‘photon noise’ is an inescapable problem for nocturnal animals; they must use both […]