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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Inheritance Of Morphological And Behavioral Differences In The Mating Signals Of Sailfin And Shortfin Mollies, Stephanie Loveless Dec 2008

The Inheritance Of Morphological And Behavioral Differences In The Mating Signals Of Sailfin And Shortfin Mollies, Stephanie Loveless

All Theses

Changes in mating signals often result in the development of new species, thus, understanding the genetic basis of traits that confer pre-mating reproductive isolation can shed light on the speciation process. This study used interspecific hybridization between poeciliid fish, a sailfin molly (Poecilia velifera) and a shortfin molly (P. mexicana), to generate reciprocal F1 and backcross hybrids to investigate patterns of inheritance of traits that contribute to mating signal differences between these two groups of mollies. The first part of my study focused on behavioral differences in the mating system of sailfin and shortfin mollies. I observed mating behaviors of …


Mating Systems, Copulatory Organ Size, And Scaling Relationship In Mollies (Poecilia Spp.), Martha Divver, Eric T. Schultz Jan 2008

Mating Systems, Copulatory Organ Size, And Scaling Relationship In Mollies (Poecilia Spp.), Martha Divver, Eric T. Schultz

EEB Articles

Copulatory organs rapidly evolve and are subject to complex selective pressures affecting mating success. One feature of copulatory organs that is subject to such selective pressures is size. Benefits of longer organs may include greater signal effectiveness in courtship and longer ‘reach’ when attempting copulations with evasive females. Costs of longer organs may include impaired locomotion, increased energetic cost or reduced mechanical compatibility with female genitalia. The optimal size for a copulatory organ may vary with mating behavior. The objective of this study is to examine among-species variability in copulatory organ size, body size and the relationship between copulatory organ …


Contribution To The Distribution, Morphological Peculiarities, And Karyology Of The Greater Noctule, Nyctalus Lasiopterus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), In Southwestern Turkey, Nuri̇ Yi̇ği̇t, Şafak Bulut, Ahmet Karataş, Pinar Çam, Fulya Saygili Jan 2008

Contribution To The Distribution, Morphological Peculiarities, And Karyology Of The Greater Noctule, Nyctalus Lasiopterus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), In Southwestern Turkey, Nuri̇ Yi̇ği̇t, Şafak Bulut, Ahmet Karataş, Pinar Çam, Fulya Saygili

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The Greater Noctule, Nyctalus lasiopterus, was recorded from southwestern Turkey for the third time. The dorsal fur of the Greater Noctule, which also covers the underpart of the wing membrane, along with the forearm and propatagium, is uniformly dark brown. The cranium shows typical characteristics of the noctule bats. In addition to these, the exoccipital is convex and is markedly visible in the planar view of the skull. There is a small depression mid braincase. The dental formula is i: 2, c: 1, pm: 1, m: 3/i: 3, c: 1, pm: 2, m: 3 = 32. The diploid number of …


Distribution And Morphology Of Mauremys Rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833) (Reptilia: Testudines: Geoemydidae) In The Lake District And Mediterranean Region Of Turkey, Di̇nçer Ayaz, Abi̇di̇n Budak Jan 2008

Distribution And Morphology Of Mauremys Rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833) (Reptilia: Testudines: Geoemydidae) In The Lake District And Mediterranean Region Of Turkey, Di̇nçer Ayaz, Abi̇di̇n Budak

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Morphometric measurements and color-pattern features of 62 samples of Mauremys rivulata from the Lake District (Göller Bölgesi) and the Mediterranean Region of Turkey were compared. Between populations, males apparently differed in 10 characters and females in 12 characters (independent t-test), but coefficient of difference (CD) values for these characters were not significant, and sexes were combined into a single group and compared with Aegean M. rivulata with respect to morphometric features. The greatest straight carapace length (SCL) observed in a male and female Aegean specimen was 215.0 mm and 214.0 mm, respectively. This paper also provides the first record of …