FERNANDEZ, A. A.*; MORRIS, M. R.; Ohio University: Pre-existing sensory bias in the Poeciliidae?: additional insight from two Xiphophorus species Previous research has shown that sailfin mollies and guppies prefer red/orange colored objects in a non-mating context. As some guppies also have a mate preference for orange, it has been argued that this preference may […]

BAKKEN, George S.*; KROCHMAL, Aaron R.; Indiana State University; University of Houston, Downtown: Pitviper thermal vision: An optical analysis of spatial resolution and signal strength The long-standing belief that the facial pit of pitvipers is strictly a specialization for detecting and striking at warm prey has led studies of the pit organ to focus on […]

THEOBALD, J C*; WARRANT, E J; Lund University; Lund University: Neural summation in night flying sweat bees Megalopta are neotropical sweat bees that forage during only two time windows: after sunset and before sunrise. Thick forest canopies and the quick onset of darkness at tropical latitudes leave bees in profound darkness for these trips—20 times […]

WYETH, Russell C.; Dalhousie University: Modeling navigation in the sea slug Tritonia diomedea: strategies for finding odor sources in variable flow. Animals navigate by integrating multiple environmental sensory cues to produce directed locomotion. From analysis of crawling patterns in the field and laboratory experiments, we know the nudibranch mollusc Tritonia diomedea uses a combination of […]

GRACE, M.S.*; VANDYKE, J.U.; Florida Institute of Technology: Infrared Imaging in Pit Vipers: Complex Behavior from a Thermal Contrast Detector Crotaline snakes (pit vipers) form images of their environments based upon input from either the eyes or infrared (IR)-imaging pit organs alone, or from the two systems together. We hypothesize that the IR imaging system, […]

FUXJAGER, M.J.*; MANGIAMELE, L.A.; DAVIDOFF, K.R.B.; LOHMANN, K.J.; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Effects of the Magnetic Environment of Sea Turtle Nests on Magnetic Orientation Behavior in Hatchlings Magnetic orientation has been documented in numerous animals, […]

MORA, C.V.*; JOHNSEN, S.; LOHMANN, K.J.; University of North Carolina; Duke University, North Carolina; University of North Carolina: Detection Of Polarized Light By Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) Sea turtles have been hypothesized to use polarized light to find their way during migration and to detect food, but efforts to demonstrate such an ability experimentally […]

SCHIZAS, N.V*; BROWNE, W.E.; University of Puerto Rico, Mayag�ez; University of Hawaii, Kewalo Marine Lab: The genetic population structure of Caribbean populations of the banded coral shrimp Stenopus hispidus The extreme biphasic life-history of the red banded coral shrimp Stenopus hispidus presents an opportunity to examine the population genetics of an evolutionarily successful, circumtropical lineage. […]

HRANITZ, J.M.*; MELICHERCIK, M.J.; BAIRD, T.A.; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania; University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond: The Effective Population Size of a Colony of Collared Lizards: Another Look After Three Generations Previous investigation, using demographic and temporal (genetic) methods, indicate a small effective population size (Ne) and low dispersal rates for a […]

GATESY, J.**; DEMERE, T.; MCGOWEN, M.; BERTA, A.; U. C. Riverside; San Diego Natural History Museum; U. C. Riverside; San Diego State U.: Stepwise Evolution of Filter Feeding in Baleen Whales Synthesis of molecular and paleontological data can offer unique insights into the history of complex adaptations. Here, we use a combined phylogenetic analysis of […]