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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Reproductive Altruism, Social Diversity And Host Association In Sponge-Dwelling Snapping Shrimps, Synalpheus, Tin Chi Solomon Chak Jan 2016

Reproductive Altruism, Social Diversity And Host Association In Sponge-Dwelling Snapping Shrimps, Synalpheus, Tin Chi Solomon Chak

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The diversity of animal social strategies has interested evolutionary biologists since the time of Darwin. Eusociality—the apex of animal sociality—traditionally characterized by cooperative offspring care, overlapping generations and reproductive division of labor, was until recently known only in insects and a few vertebrate species. The independent evolution of eusociality in shrimps in the genus Synalpheus offers a unique opportunity to test the generality of social evolution theories that are based mainly on insects and social vertebrates. The genus Synalpheus is particularly ideal for comparative analysis because their social organizations are highly diverse, yet they share very similar ecology of being …


The Influence Of An Innovative Locomotor Strategy On The Phenotypic Diversification Of Triggerfish (Family: Balistidae), A Dornburg, B Sidlauskas, F Santini, L Sorenson, Tj Near, Me Alfaro Jan 2011

The Influence Of An Innovative Locomotor Strategy On The Phenotypic Diversification Of Triggerfish (Family: Balistidae), A Dornburg, B Sidlauskas, F Santini, L Sorenson, Tj Near, Me Alfaro

VIMS Articles

Innovations in locomotor morphology have been invoked as important drivers of vertebrate diversification, although the influence of novel locomotion strategies on marine fish diversification remains largely unexplored. Using triggerfish as a case study, we determine whether the evolution of the distinctive synchronization of enlarged dorsal and anal fins that triggerfish use to swim may have catalyzed the ecological diversification of the group. By adopting a comparative phylogenetic approach to quantify median fin and body shape integration and to assess the tempo of functional and morphological evolution in locomotor traits, we find that: (1) functional and morphological components of the locomotive …


The Effects Of Methylmercury On Corticosterone And Thyroid Hormones In A Breeding Songbird Model Organism, Sarah Ross Lemelin Jan 2011

The Effects Of Methylmercury On Corticosterone And Thyroid Hormones In A Breeding Songbird Model Organism, Sarah Ross Lemelin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Sponge Host Characteristics Shape The Community Structure Of Their Shrimp Associates, Kristen M. Hultgren, J. Emmett Duffy May 2010

Sponge Host Characteristics Shape The Community Structure Of Their Shrimp Associates, Kristen M. Hultgren, J. Emmett Duffy

VIMS Articles

Both body size and habitat architecture have pervasive effects on the form, function, and interactions of organisms, and can play especially important roles in structuring intimate associations between host organisms and their obligate associates. In this study, we examined how body size is related to host use in a diverse clade of closely related snapping shrimp species (Synalpheus) that live in the interior canals of sponges. Using data from an extensive survey of sponge-dwelling Synalpheus from Jamaica, we tested how sponge morphology (interior canal size and individual sponge volume) was related to the identity and diversity of Synalpheus …