LINDNER, Alberto; Duke University: Evolution of shallow-water stylasterid corals (Cnidaria; Hydrozoa; Stylasteridae) from deep-sea ancestors The fossil record indicates that the origin and diversification of marine taxa is often associated with onshore and offshore patterns of distribution. We investigated onshore-offshore trends in the evolution of stylasterid corals (family Stylasteridae), a group that embraces over 280 […]

MEDINA, M�nica; Joint Genome Institute: Cnidarian Genomics at the Joint Genome Institute The availability of powerful genomic tools has triggered an immense interest in comparative metazoan biology. With several of the genomes from model organisms, either complete, or well underway, there is now room for the use of these modern approaches to understand the biology […]

ESPINOZA, ROBERT E.; California State Univ., Northridge: Why herbivory shouldn�t evolve in reptiles and a hypothesis for why it does. Herbivory is rare in reptiles and for more than 40 years researchers have postulated why so few herbivorous reptiles have evolved. Yet, a better question might be why strict herbivory should evolve at all given […]

STARCK, J.M.; WERNER, R.; MOSER, P.; University of Munich (LMU), Germany; MPI Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany; University of Munich (LMU), Germany: Source of Fuel for Post-Feeding Metabolic Responses in Python regius The postprandial response of pythons has been characterized frequently. Pattern of organ size change, up-regulation of metabolic rate (SDA) and shifts in biochemical blood parameters […]

PIERCE, B.J.; MCWILLIAMS, S.R.*; Univ. Rhode Island, Kingston; Univ. Rhode Island, Kingston: Seasonal changes in the fatty acid composition of lipid stores in migratory birds: the relative importance of selective metabolism of fatty acids and behavioral preferences for certain dietary fatty acids. Fatty acid composition of body fat in migratory birds changes seasonally and changes […]

LIKNES, E.T.; SWANSON, D.L.; Northern State University; University of South Dakota: Phenotypic flexibility of body composition associated with seasonal acclimatization of resident passerines Improved winter cold-tolerance is widespread among small birds from temperate climates and is usually associated with improved shivering endurance and elevated peak metabolic rate (Msum), although acclimatization mechanisms are incompletely understood. Seasonal […]

BEAUPRE, S.J.; University of Arkansas: On the representation and analysis of specific dynamic action (SDA). Specific Dynamic Action (SDA, or the bioenergetic cost of digestion and assimilation, has been studied in a variety of animals to understand the physiological, ecological and evolutionary determinants of digestive function. In comparative studies, researchers often extrapolate their SDA data […]

PETERSON, C.C.*; LIGON, D.B.; The College of New Jersey; Oklahoma State University: Metabolic depression in estivating mud turtles Some animals survive periods of adversely dry and/or hot climatic conditions through terrestrial dormancy, termed estivation. Estivating animals should benefit from conservation of energy, but unlike hibernators, estivating ectotherms cannot rely on the acute effects of low […]

GRAY , EM; BRADLEY, TJ; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Irvine: Metabolic and Energetic Effects of Plasmodial Infection in Aedes aegypti Plasmodium species are the causative agents of malaria. They are transmitted between the vertebrate and mosquito hosts via the bite of the latter. The developmental cycle of Plasmodium spp. in the mosquito […]

MARTINEZ, M.L.; CHAPMAN, L.J.; GRADY, J.M.; REES, B.B.; University of New Orleans, Louisiana; University of Florida, Gainesville; University of New Orleans, Louisiana; University of New Orleans, Louisiana: Interdemic Variation in Lactate Dehydrogenase in the African Cyprinid Barbus neumayeri This study evaluated whether Barbus neumayeri from habitats of high and low oxygen concentration differ in their […]