Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Designation Of A Neotype For Leptodactylus Gracilis (Duméril And Bibron, 1840) (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, A. Dubois, A. Ohler

Biology Faculty Publications

The examination of the preserved specimens in the herpetological collection of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, along with a review of the original literature, indicates that no extant specimen can be undoubtedly identified as the holotype of Leptodactylus gracilis (DumCri.l and Bibron, 1840). Furthermore, it revealed that the type locality recently assigned to this taxon is in error.

Occurrence And Biological Effect Of Exogenous Steroids In The Elkhorn River, Nebraska, Usa, Alan S. Kolok, Daniel D. Snow, Satomi Kohno, Marlo K. Sellin, Louis J. Guillette Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent studies of surface waters in North America, Japan, and Europe have reported the presence of steroidogenic agents as contaminants. The current study has three objectives: 1) to determine if steroidogenic compounds are present in the Elkhorn River, 2) to determine if sediments collected from the Elkhorn River can act as a source of steroidogenic compounds to aquatic organisms, and 3) to determine if site-specific biological effects are apparent in the hepatic gene expression of fathead minnows. Evidence was obtained using three approaches: 1) deployment of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), 2) deployment of caged fathead minnows, and 3) …

Do The Size And Landscape Context Of Forest Openings Influence The Abundance And Breeding Success Of Shrubland Songbirds In Southern New England?, Robert A. Askins, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Leah Novak

Biology Faculty Publications

Early successional birds have declined in the northeastern United States due to the regeneration of forest on abandoned farm fields and the suppression of natural disturbances that once provided appropriate habitat. These species have become increasingly dependent on early successional habitats generated by such activities as timber harvesting. Recent approaches of timber harvesting, which range from single-tree harvesting to clearcutting, create forest openings of different sizes and configurations embedded in landscapes with different land use patterns. To assess the importance of forest openings created by timber harvesting for shrubland birds, we surveyed birds on 50m radius plots in 34 harvest …

Eleutherodactylus Ridens (Pygmy Rainfrog) Predation, Tobias Eisenberg, Twan Leenders

Biology Faculty Publications

Workers of the large ponerine ant Paraponera clavata typically forage on small to medium-sized arthropods or collect pieces of plants or nectar but have been suspected of predating small vertebrates.

Description Of The Tadpole Of Leptodactylus Pustulatus Peters, 1870 (Anura: Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, Reuber Brandão, Lorena Dall'ara Guimarães

Biology Faculty Publications

The external morphology and oral disc of the tadpole of Leptodactylus pustulatus Peters, 1870, are described and illustrated for Gosner stage 39. The internal oral anatomy was analyzed with SEM at Gosner stage 36 whereas chondrocranial anatomy is reported for Gosner stage 35. The overall characteristics do not depart from those known for the genus Leptodactylus and they particularly agree for those of the melanonotus species group. The labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3. Observations are presented that suggest that L. pustulatus engages in larval parental care.

Resumo

São descritas a morfologia externa e o disco oral do girino de …

The Tadpole Of Eupsophus Queulensis (Anura, Cycloramphidae), Diana R. Cárdenas-Rojas, Alberto Veloso, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The genus Eupsophus is characterized by endotrophic larvae that inhabit water-filled cavities. The larvae feed from large yolk reserves during metamorphosis. The external morphology has been described for four of the ten known species and data on larval chondrocranial morphology are available only for one. We describe the extema1 morphology, oral disc and chondrocranial anatomy of the larvae of Eupsophus queulensis. The characteristics of E. queulensis tadpoles are compared with those of other Eupsophus larvae.

Improving Natural History Research With Image Analysis: The Relationship Between Skin Color, Sex, Size And Stage In Adult Red-Spotted Newts, Andrew K. Davis, Kristine L. Grayson

Biology Faculty Publications

Natural history researchers are increasingly using digital cameras and computer software to measure their study animals. Adult Red-spotted Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) are known to display a range of skin colors, from brown to green, but it has not been possible to quantify this variation until the advent of image analysis technology. We used an image analysis approach to compare skin color between sexes, across a range of sizes, and between aquatic and post-breeding (emigrating to the terrestrial habitat) stage adult newts. From 232 individuals (53% male, 47% female) we documented a wide but subtle range of skin …

The Tadpole Of Leptodactylus Notoaktites Heyer, 1978 (Anura, Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, José A. Langone, Magno V. Segalla

Biology Faculty Publications

The external morphology and oral disc of the tadpole of Leptodactylus notoaktites Heyer, 1978, are described and illustrated for Gosner’s stage 33. The internal oral anatomy was analyzed under SEM at Gosner’s stage 36 whereas chondrocranial anatomy is reported for Gosner’ stage 38. The morphology of this tadpole is compared with those available for other species of the L. mystaceus complex. The overall characteristics do not depart from those known for the genus Leptodactylus and they particularly agree for those of the fuscus species group. The labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3.

Sex Differentiation Pattern In The Annual Fish Austrolebias Charrua (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), M. J. Arezo, S. D. Alessandro, N. Papa, Rafael O. De Sá, N. Berois

Biology Faculty Publications

Sex differentiation process, determination of sexual strategy, and gametogenesis of the annual fish Austrolebias charrua are established. Evidence of histological sex differentiation in an antero-posterior gradient was observed in pre-hatching stages. Sexual strategy corresponds to the “differentiated gonochoric” pattern. Histological analyses of adult gonads showed an asynchronous spawning mode for females and continuous spawning for males. Mature oocytes presented fluid yolk. Testis organization corresponded to a restricted spermatogonial model. Herein, we report the ultrastructural organization of the vitelline envelope and the main features of the sperm of A. charrua. Taking together these results also contribute to phylogenetic studies and …

Conservation Of Grassland Birds In North America: Understanding Ecological Processes In Different Regions, Robert A. Askins, Felipe Chávez-Ramírez, Brenda C. Dale, Carola A. Haas, James R. Herkert, Fritz L. Knopf, Peter D. Vickery

Biology Faculty Publications

Many species of birds that depend on grassland or savanna habitats have shown substantial overall population declines in North America. To understand the causes of these declines, we examined the habitat requirements of birds in six types of grassland in different regions of the continent. Open habitats were originally maintained by ecological drivers (continual and pervasive ecological processes) such as drought, grazing, and fire in tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, shortgrass prairie, desert grassland, and longleaf pine savanna. By contrast, grasslands were created by occasional disturbances (e.g., fires or beaver [Castor canadensis] activity) in much of northeastern North America. The relative …

Glow Sticks As Effective Bait For Capturing Aquatic Amphibians In Funnel Traps, Kristine L. Grayson, Andrew W. Roe

Biology Faculty Publications

Funnel traps of various designs have been used to capture adults and larvae of aquatic amphibians (e.g., Buech and Egeland 2002; Richter 1995). Most studies use unbaited funnel traps to capture amphibians while others have used shrimp or salmon eggs (Adams et al. 1997). Light traps and light sticks are commonly used in studies of fish, particularly larvae (Doherty 1987; Marchetti et al. 2004), but have not been widely used to capture amphibians. Glow sticks have been mentioned briefly in the literature as a means to increase capture rates of aquatic amphibians (Smith and Rettig 1996), but no studies have …

Maptogenome: A Comparative Genomic Tool That Aligns Transcript Maps To Sequenced Genomes, Srikrishna Putta, Jeramiah J. Smith, Chuck Staben, S. Randal Voss

Biology Faculty Publications

Efforts to generate whole genome assemblies and dense genetic maps have provided a wealth of gene positional information for several vertebrate species. Comparing the relative location of orthologous genes among these genomes provides perspective on genome evolution and can aid in translating genetic information between distantly related organisms. However, large-scale comparisons between genetic maps and genome assemblies can prove challenging because genetic markers are commonly derived from transcribed sequences that are incompletely and variably annotated. We developed the program MapToGenome as a tool for comparing transcript maps and genome assemblies. MapToGenome processes sequence alignments between mapped transcripts and whole genome …