BERTIN, M.J.*; POMPONI, S.A.; ELLINGTON, W.R.; Florida St. Univ., Tallahassee; HBOI, Fort Pierce, FL; Florida St. Univ., Tallahassee: Creatine and Arginine Kinases are Widespread in the Porifera Creatine kinase (CK) and arginine kinase (AK) are expressed in cells that display high and variable rates of ATP turnover and belong to a highly conserved family of […]

LAPID, E.; CHADWICK, N. E. *; Bar Ilan University; Auburn University : Coral sweeper tentacles as probes to remotely detect competitors Inducible elongated tentacles in sea anemones (catch tentacles, fighting tentacles) and corals (sweeper tentacles) have been proposed to function in prey capture, sexual reproduction, and damage to competitors. We add here a possible function […]

TRESPALACIOS, D.*; BEULIG, A.; New College of Florida; New College of Florida: Coral Luminescent Banding as Environmental Indicator in Bocas del Toro, Panama Coral luminescent banding is explored as a potential environmental indicator in the region of Bocas del Toro, Panama. The luminescent banding pattern in two specimens of Porites astreoides taken from Almirante Bay […]

QUINN, NJ*; KOJIS, BL; Univ. of West Indies, Discovery Bay Marine Lab, Jamaica; Division of Fish & Wildlife, St. Thomas, US Virgin Is: Assessing Enhancement Techniques to Increase Acropora cervicornis Populations and Increase Fish Biodiversity in Jamaica Shallow water Acropora species were nearly extirpated on Jamaican reefs in the late 1970�s and early 1980�s where […]

BRITT, E.J.*; HICKS, J.W.; BENNETT, A.F.; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Irvine: The energetic consequences of prey specialist and generalist populations of three species of garter snake (Thamnophis elegans, T. couchii and T. ordinoides). North American garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) represent a unique study system because of their diverse […]

OTT, BD*; SECOR, SM; Univ. of Alabama; Univ. of Alabama: Postprandial Upregulation of Intestinal Morphology and Function in Python Infrequently feeding snakes such as boas, pythons, and rattlesnakes have demonstrated that their digestive tract severely downregulates during periods of fasting and rapidly upregulates after the ingestion of a meal. While fasting, small intestinal mass decreases […]

HERNANDEZ, R/A*; SECOR, S/M; ESPINOZA, R/E; California State Univ., Northridge; California State Univ., Northridge; Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa: Is a dietary jack of all trades a master of none? Adaptability of gut form and function in an omnivorous lizard. Omnivory can be viewed as a jack-of-all-trades dietary strategy that allows some animals to exploit a […]

CURTIS, D.L.**; MCGAW, I.J.; University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre; University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre: Feeding and digestion in response to low salinity in the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister The Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, is classified as a weak osmoregulator. Nevertheless, this species often forages in […]

ROARK, Alison M.*; BJORNDAL, Karen A.; Univ. of Florida, Dept. of Zoology; Univ. of Florida, Dept. of Zoology: Experimentally imposed patterns of food availability and their effects on metabolic rate in Indian stick insects, Carausius morosus Changes in food availability throughout an animal�s lifetime may drastically influence physiology and life history. In this study, we […]

WELCH, KC*; BAKKEN, BH; SUAREZ, RK; Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; Univ. of Wyoming; Univ. of California, Santa Barbara: Use of Dietary Sugar by Hummingbirds as Revealed by Stable Isotope and Respiratory Analysis Hummingbirds are noted for their high foraging frequencies, their primarily nectar-based (sugar) diet, and their capacity to routinely display RQ values near […]