MOORE, Ignacio T; GOYMANN, Wolfgang; SCHEUERLEIN, Alexander; HIRSCHENHAUSER, Katharina; GRAFEN, Alan; WINGFIELD, John C; Virginia Tech; Max Planck Research Centre for Ornithology, Germany; University of Missouri, St Louis; Unidade de Investiga��o em Eco-Etolog�a, Portugal ; University of Oxford, UK; University of Washington, Seattle; ; : Testosterone in tropical birds: How high and why? Recent studies […]

LANCE, V.A.; ELSEY, R.M.; TROSCLAIR, P.; San Diego State University; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: Sexual Maturation in Male American Alligators Very little is known about the attainment of puberty in reptiles. In the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) males are assumed to be sexually mature at about 1.8 […]

JOHN-ALDER, H.B.*; COX, R.M.; Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick; Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick: Growth Effects of Testosterone and Castration in Lizards (Sceloporus spp.) with Female- Vs. Male-Larger Sexual Size Dimorphism Adults of most Sceloporus spp. (fence and spiny lizards) are characterized by either male- or female-larger sexual size dimorphism (SSD). In all described species, maturational sex […]

SWETT, M.B.*; BREUNER, C.W.; Univ. of TX at Austin; same : Behavioral Polymorphism Correlates with Testosterone in the White-Throated Sparrow The white-throated sparrow exhibits a unique genetic polymorphism affecting plumage and behavior in both sexes. Birds possessing a chromosomal inversion have brighter white stripes on the crown, are more aggressive and provide less parental care […]

THEOBALD, JC; COATES, MM; Lund University, Sweden; Lund University, Sweden: Visual processing in the box jellyfish, Charybdea Box jellyfish possess lenses and retinas capable of forming images, which is unique among cnidarians. This presumably allows them to exploit near-shore habitats too dangerous for other jellyfish. But the existence of these structures does not tell us […]

REILLY, C.R.L.; Stanford University: Thermal noise limits visual sensitivity in the Rockfish (genus Sebastes). An animal’s ability to behave appropriately in response to the dynamic events in its local environment depends on the ability of its sensory systems to detect and encode those events. This necessitates an informational relationship through which salient features of the […]

BLEVINS, E.L.*; JOHNSEN, S.; Duke University; Duke University: Spatial vision in the echinoid genus Echinometra Although eyes are generally considered necessary for image resolution, a diffuse photoreceptive system with directional sensitivity may also have this ability. Two species of the echinoid genus Echinometra were tested for spatial vision by examining their ability to locate and […]

KIHSLINGER, Rebecca L*; NEVITT, Gabrielle A; Univ. of California, Davis: Sending fish to preschool: Early enrichment affects brain and behavioral phenotype in salmon. It is well established that rearing environment plays a critical role in the development of phenotype. This role may be more pronounced in organisms that experience a dramatic change in environmental conditions, […]

SPRAYBERRY, Jordanna D. H.; University of Washington: Response of descending visual interneurons in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta to flower-like stimuli Vision is a vital sensory system in the control of animal flight. Hawkmoths rely on vision to guide flower tracking, a behavior that compensates for flower motion during feeding bouts. What visual information about a […]

HAUBER, ME; THEUNISSEN, FE; University of Auckland; University of California, Berkeley: Neural bases of species discrimination in female songbirds Acoustic perception learning by both females and males is widespread among songbirds, including many species in which only males sing. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated response selectivity for conspecific song over synthetic stimuli in auditory […]