BERDNIKOVS, Sergejs; University of Cincinnati: Sexual Dimorphism and Morphological Integration in Mustelid Pelvis Morphological integration, the evolutionary pattern of trait correlation due to commonality in function within a form, is an important consideration in the pelvis, which consists of several different bones, and serves several different functions. Understanding the evolution of the pelvis is complicated […]

JOHNSON, R.F.; California Academy of Sciences/Univ. of California, Santa Cruz: Phylogenetics, phylogeography and biogeography: Where and how do they meet? The increasing ease and speed at which DNA sequences (especially mtDNA) can be obtained from large numbers of individuals has revolutionized biology. One of the unexpected findings of this revolution was that intra-specific gene trees […]

BERGMANN, P.J.*; RUSSELL, A.P.; Tulane University, USA; University of Calgary, Canada: Patterns of variation in relation to tail morphology, vertebral number and tail length in lizards. The number of caudal vertebrae can be highly variable in lizards. The question of whether this variability correlates with morphometric variability in terms of tail length is investigated. We […]

CONRAD, J L; Univ of Chicago: Evolution of ‘necrosaurids’ (Reptilia, Squamata) and their utility for reconstructing ancestral character states More than 20 years of cladistic work has yielded virtually no consensus regarding the phylogenetic relationships of the anguimorph groups (Xenosauridae, Anguidae, Monstersauria, Varanidae, and Mosasauroidea). The �Necrosauridae� have been particularly problematic due to their poorly […]

CLAESON, Kerin M; University of Massachusetts: THE SKULL OF ERPETOICHTHYS CALABARICUS (ACTINOPTERYGII: POLYPTERIDAE), THE ROPEFISH Polypterid fishes are considered the most basal group of extant actinopterygians and may be a direct link to understanding the systematics and evolution of the first bony fishes. At least 12 extinct and extant genera have been named. Two genera […]

OAKLEY, T/H; SWARTZ, B/A; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of Cambridge: Supermatrix phylogenetic analyses support parallel evolution of complex life history (anadromy) in Atlantic and Pacific Salmon Complex traits are of particular interest to evolutionists because they require the contribution of many individual adaptations. Unless biases exist, such as developmental constraints or ecological determinism, […]

ALFARO, M.E.*; BOLNICK, D.I.; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; , ; , ; , ; , ; , ; Washington State; Univ. Texas, Austin; UC Davis: Evolutionary consequences of redundant design in labrid fishes Many physiological traits consist of two hierarchically related levels: physical structures, and the emergent functional properties of those structures. Because selection tends to act […]

COLLAR, D.C.*; NEAR, T.J.; WAINWRIGHT, P.C.; University of California, Davis; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; University of California, Davis: Comparative studies of morphological diversity: trophic evolution in centrarchid fishes Evolutionary lineages differ with respect to the variety of forms they exhibit. We investigated whether comparisons of morphological diversity can be used to inform about differences in […]

CAMPBELL, T.G.; GAREY, J.R.; University of South Florida; University of South Florida: Analysis of Glycerol 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase for Potential Use in Deep Metazoan Phylogeny Genetic sequence data have been used to analyze phylogenetic relationships for over a decade and numerous data sets have been generated for testing metazoan relationships at many taxonomic levels. Because of […]

WEISBLAT, D.A.; REN , X.*; GONSALVES, F.C.; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Paradoxical aspects, and their possible evolutionary implications, of cell fate determination and cell signaling in the early embryo of Helobdella robusta, a glossiphoniid leech Though highly derived, leeches are among the best studied representatives of the […]