ROLLINS-SMITH, L.A.; Vanderbilt Univ. Med. Center: Antimicrobial Peptide Defenses in Amphibian Skin The skin of amphibians is critical for fluid balance, respiration, and for transport of sodium and other essential ions. It also serves as a barrier to entry of pathogens. One of the natural defenses in the skin is production of antimicrobial peptides in […]

KOZLOWSKI, Jan; Jagiellonian University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Krakow, Poland: The meaning of terms �growth rate� and �adult size� in determinate and indeterminate growers Basically all organisms can be classified as determinate growers if their growth stops or almost stops at maturation or indeterminate growers if growth is still intense after maturation. Adult size for […]

GILLOOLY, JF; BROWN, JH; ALLEN, AP; WEST, GB; CHARNOV, EL; SAVAGE, VM; University of New Mexico; University of New Mexico; University of New Mexico; Los Alamos National Labs; University of New Mexico; Los Alamos National Labs; ; : The Central Role of Metabolism from Genes to Ecosystems Metabolism provides a basis for using first principles […]

ANGILLETTA, M.J.*; SEARS, M.W.; STEURY, T.D.; Indiana State University, Terre Haute ; Indiana State University, Terre Haute ; Indiana State University, Terre Haute : Temperature, growth rate, and body size in ectotherms: fitting pieces of a life history puzzle In the majority of ectothermic species studied to date, individuals in warmer environments grow faster but […]

KINGSOLVER, JG*; IZEM, R; RAGLAND, G; UNC-Chapel Hill; UNC-Chapel Hill; UNC-Chapel Hill: Selection and variation in size and growth in fluctuating thermal environments Most organisms experience a range of temperature conditions during their growth and development. How do fluctuating temperature conditions affect patterns of genetic variation and natural selection on growth rate and size? We […]

GOTTHARD, K; Stockholm University: Optimal body size and growth strategies in temperate butterflies Adaptive variation in rates of juvenile development and growth is often present both within and between populations, indicating that natural selection tends to optimize these rates rather than maximize them. Larval growth strategies of butterflies in the tribe Pararginii (Satyrinae: Nymphalidae) seems […]

CONOVER, D.O.; Stony Brook University: Countergradient variation and the evolution of growth rate: lessons from silverside fishes Recent findings are fundamentally changing our view of the evolution of juvenile growth rate, related physiological traits, and their thermal reaction norms. Countergradient variation in growth appears to be a widespread means of adapting to climate change. An […]

DAVIDOWITZ, G.*; NIJHOUT, H.F.; Univ. of Arizona; Duke Univ.: The Physiological Basis of Reaction Norms: Where Developmental Rate and Duration of Development Connect The effects of temperature and nutritional quality on growth rate and body size are well known. We know little, however, of the mechanisms by which an organism translates variation in diet and […]

BAYNE, B.L.*; Univ. Sydney, Australia: Phenotypic plasticity in component processes to growth in marine bivalves Bivalve molluscs are highly plastic in their feeding behavior and the component processes of growth. A few examples will be discussed in the context of responses to changes in the food environment. Different species respond in different ways, but the […]

GILCHRIST, G. W.; HUEY, R. B.; College of Wiliam & Mary; University of Washington: Is plasticity an adaptation? Body size as a function of temperature within and among parallel clines in Drosophila subobscura. The European fruit fly, Drosophila subobscura, exhibits striking clinal variation in wing size, with overall size steadily increasing with latitude. About 25 […]