MEDEIROS, Matthew J; University of California, Berkeley: Repeated evolution of flightlessness in cave-dwelling moths. Most insects are capable of sustained flight, but flightlessness has evolved independently several times in insects, especially in females. Certain habitats, such as caves, seem to be correlated with an increased likelihood of evolving flightlessness. However, it is largely unknown whether […]

BUTLER, MA*; KING, AA; University of Tennessee; University of Michigan: OUCH! an improved method for phylogenetic tests of adaptive evolution The comparative method is a central tool for investigating the adaptive significance of traits. Using interspecific data, biologists seek to identify and study the factors which have been important in producing the diversity of life […]

KOEPFLI, K.-P.*; GOMPPER, M.E.; EIZIRIK, E.; HO, C.-C.; LINDEN, L.; MALDONADO, J.E.; WAYNE, R.K.; Univ. of California, Los Angeles; University of Missouri, Columbia; Faculdade de Biociencias, PUCRS; Univ. of California, Los Angeles; Univ. of California, Los Angeles; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History; Univ. of California, Los Angeles: Molecular Phylogeny Reveals Extensive Morphological Parallelism […]

TIBBELS, A.E.**; MORENO, A.; MCCRACKEN, G.F.; University of Tennessee; Instituto Tecnol�gico de Cd. Victoria; University of Tennessee: Local Scale Population Structure of the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). We examined mitochondrial genetic variation of common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) in western Tamaulipas, Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains, of Tamaulipas, are dissected by steep ridges […]

BUCKLEY, D.*; BONETT, R. M.; WAKE, M. H.; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Evolution of Viviparity and Speciation Patterns in Vertebrates The evolution of viviparity (here defined as development through metamorphosis of offspring within the mother with maternal nourishment) in vertebrate lineages has been traditionally studied from ecological, […]

GIFFORD, M. E.**; LARSON, A.; Washington University, St. Louis; Washington University, St. Louis: Consequences of recent secondary contact between lineages of Ameiva chrysolaema in the Dominican Republic Historic climate fluctuations have been implicated as playing a significant role in structuring genetic variation within and between species. Repeated expansion and contraction of organismal ranges has has […]

HAMILTON, D.E.*; JANOWSKI-BELL, M.E.; MCINTYRE, N.E.; DENSMORE, L.D.; Texas Tech University; Victoria College; Texas Tech University; Texas Tech University: A preliminary molecular analysis of the Theraphosid genus Aphonopelma and its implications on the present morphological taxonomy The Theraphosid genus Aphonopelma belongs to the infraorder Mygalomorphae, a group thought to be relatively primitive and highly conserved […]

SLOAN, N. J.B.*; GOODFRIEND, E.; JOHNSON, K.B.; Florida Institute of Technology: Zooplankton Abundance and Distribution in Tidal Marshes Impounded for Mosquito Control Seventy-five percent of tidal marsh areas along the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) are impounded for mosquito control. Canals within these areas are habitat used as nurseries by juvenile fish, which in many cases […]

ROTH, J.D.*; WIESEL, I.; DREA, C.M.; University of Central Florida; Brown Hyena Research Project, Namibia; Duke University: Variation in seal consumption by brown hyenas in the Namib desert estimated using stable isotopes Coastal areas often receive substantial inputs of energy and nutrients from the ocean, and these allochthonous inputs can be important for terrestrial consumers. […]

FAUTH, J.E.*; OLESON, R.; KAUP, D.J.; MALONE, L.C.; CLARKE, T.L.; University of Central Florida (UCF); UCF; UCF; UCF; UCF: Using crowd-control simulations to predict the behavior of motile organisms Simulation is being used to develop crowd-control models to understand the collective behavior of pedestrians in the street or of people finding their way out of […]