MCWHORTER, T.J.*; HARTMAN BAKKEN, B.; KARASOV, W.H.; MARTINEZ DEL RIO, C.; University of Wisconsin-Madison; University of Wyoming: Hummingbirds fuel high metabolism with both paracellular and carrier-mediated intestinal glucose absorption Twenty years ago, the highest active glucose transport rate and lowest passive glucose permeability in vertebrates were reported in Rufous and Anna�s hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus, Calypte […]

LAVIN, S.R.*; MCWHORTER, T.J.; KARASOV, W.H.; Univ. of Wisc.; Univ. of Wisc.; Univ. of Wisc.: Differences in paracellular absorption: a function of solvent drag or pore size? Increasing evidence indicates that birds have more extensive intestinal non-mediated, paracellular absorption of hydrosoluble compounds than do mammals. The mechanism(s) underlying this difference has not been studied. More […]

TRACY, C.R.; WOJCIECHOWSKI, M.S.; MCWHORTER, T.J.; YOSEF, R.; KARASOV, W.H.; PINSHOW, B.*; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; University of Wisconsin-Madison; International Birding and Research Centre Eliat, Israel: Carbohydrate absorption in migrating blackcaps, upon arrival and after refeeding, at a stopover in southern Israel Small birds in migratory flight catabolize fat and apparently some protein […]

PODLESAK, D. W.*; MCWILLIAMS, S. R.; Univ. of Utah; Univ. of Rhode Island: Birds metabolically route exogenous nutrients to rebuild digestive organs after fasting Many songbirds catabolize their digestive organs and other proteinaceous tissues while fasting during migration. The gut-limitation hypothesis proposes that after arrival at a stopover site songbirds must rebuild digestive organs prior […]

TRACY, C.R.; MCWHORTER, T.J.; KORINE, C.; PINSHOW, B.; KARASOV, W.H.*; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; University of Wisconsin-Madison: A mystery solved: how the Egyptian fruit bat absorbs sugar Two decades ago D.J. Keegan reported findings on Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus, Megachiroptera) that were mysteriously at odds with the dogma about how glucose is […]

DUNN, CW*; WAGNER, GP; University of Hawaii; Yale University: The evolution and development of colony-level organization in the Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) The siphonophores (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa), like other colonial animals, are made up of many multicellular zooids, each of which is homologous to a free-living solitary animal. Each colony arises from a single zygote, but the […]

MATUS, DQ*; PANG, K; THOMSEN, GH; MARTINDALE, MQ; University of Hawaii, Kewalo Marine Laboratory; University of Hawaii, Kewalo Marine Laboratory; Stony Brook University, Dept. of Biochemistry and Cell Biology; University of Hawaii, Kewalo Marine Laboratory: Signaling pathway complexity in the development of an anthozoan cnidarian Cnidarians (corals, sea anemones, and jelly fish) occupy an important […]

IRVINE, Steven Q; University of Rhode Island: Genomic regulation of the Dll-A/B gene cluster in Ciona intestinalis. The ascidian Ciona intestinalis has a compact genome, including an apparent homolog of the Dlx clusters in vertebrates. The Dll-A/B cluster in C. intestinalis is much smaller than its vertebrate counterparts, and in combination with the ability in […]

RYCHEL, A.L.*; SWALLA, B.J.; University of Washington; University of Washington: Evolution of Pharyngeal Gill Bars in the Deuterostomes Vertebrate pharyngeal gills contain structural elements that are cartilages elaborated from neural crest cells. The invertebrate chordate group, the Cephalochordates, also have pharyngeal gills containing structural elements, although the origin of these structures are not known. The […]

CLAMP, J.C.; North Carolina Central Univ.: The phylogenetic position of Lagenophrys (Protista, Ciliophora, Peritricha) inferred from the sequence of the gene for 18S small subunit rRNA Lagenophrys is a genus of peritrich ciliates in which the cell body and life cycle are highly modified to accommodate existence as ectosymbionts of a wide variety of crustaceans. […]