Meeting Abstract 104.3  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Anaconda locomotion: Gait transitions and a novel form of terrestrial locomotion YOUNG, B.A.; University of Massachusetts at Lowell Bruce_Young@uml.edu Snakes have traditionally been divided into "sit and wait" ambushers and active foragers. The former group is typified by slow moving heavy-bodied snakes that rely on venom (vipers) or constriction (pythons) to […]

Meeting Abstract 104.1  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Alternate pathways in the evolution of body elongation, locomotor performance and kinematics in two clades of lizards. BERGMANN, P.J.*; IRSCHICK, D.J.; University of Arizona; University of Massachusetts Amherst pjbergma@email.arizona.edu Variation in body shape is associated with variation in function in many animals. Body elongation and limb reduction has evolved repeatedly, frequently […]

Meeting Abstract 103.1  Wednesday, Jan. 7  PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY IN ALLIGATORINAE EVOLUTION & VISUALIZING 3-D SHAPE CHANGE SADLEIR, R.W.*; LEE, S.; Field Museum & Univ. of Chicago; Univ. of Illinois, Chicago rsadleir@uchicago.edu During ontogeny, organisms can display different phenotypes as a result of living under different environmental conditions. Recent research suggests such environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity can promote […]

Meeting Abstract 103.6  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Evolutionary Insights About Hummingbirds’ Serrate Tomia RICO-G., A.; Univ. of Connecticut alejandro.rico@uconn.edu For many years it has been believed that the minute serrations on the tomia (cutting edges of the beak) of hummingbirds serve in the capture of small arthropods. This belief most likely exists because the serrate tomia resemble similar […]

Meeting Abstract 103.3  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Evolution of jaw size and shape in New World tree squirrels SWIDERSKI, D.L.*; ZELDITCH, M.L.; Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor dlswider@umich.edu Animals that differ by more than an order of magnitude in body mass might be expected to also differ in shape particularly in the shapes […]

Meeting Abstract 103.5  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Beyond the beak: wing shape variation in Darwins finches. VANHOOYDONCK, B*; HERREL, A; GABELA, A; PODOS, J; Univ. of Antwerp; Harvard University; Univ. Massachusetts, Amherst; Univ. Massachusetts, Amherst bieke.vanhooydonck@ua.ac.be Wing design in birds is subject to a suite of interacting selective pressures. As different performance traits (e.g. manoevrability, aerodynamic efficiency, speed) […]

Meeting Abstract 103.2  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Artificial Selection, Developmental Constraints, and Craniofacial Variation in the Feral and Domesticated Pigeon (Columba livia) YOUNG, N.M.*; FONDON III, J.W.; University of California, San Francisco; University of Texas at Arlington nathan.m.young@gmail.com The relative importance of selection and constraint in evolution is one of the oldest questions in biology. While selection determines […]

Meeting Abstract 102.4  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Tail Elongation and Patterns of Regional Growth in Salamanders VAGLIA, J.L.*; BABCOCK, S.K.; WHITE, K.; CASE, A.; SMITH, K.; DePauw University jvaglia@depauw.edu While the morphology and function of the vertebral column are conserved across vertebrate groups, it exhibits variation in the number of vertebrae comprising the different axial regions. Typically the […]

Meeting Abstract 102.1  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Larval developmental patterns in Acris crepitans blanchardi (Anura: Hylidae) and their implications HAVENS, S.B.*; MAGLIA, A.M.; Missouri University of Science and Technology; Missouri University of Science and Technology sbhdbe@mst.edu Blanchards cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi), a North American hylid, is of ecological and evolutionary importance because of its miniature body size […]

Meeting Abstract 102.5  Wednesday, Jan. 7  Growth factor initiated intercalary regeneration in salamanders. CRAWFORD, Karen; St. Mary’s College of Maryland, MD kcrawford@smcm.edu Grafting a piece of mature skin over the surface of a freshly amputated amphibian limb inhibits regeneration. In striking contrast, when a more distal level blastema (the bud of tissue that forms following amputation) is […]