Animal Sciences Commons^™

Do Larval Traits Re-Evolve? Evidence From The Embryogenesis Of A Direct-Developing Salamander, Plethodon Cinereus, Ryan Kerney, David Blackburn, Hendrik Muller, James Hanken

Ryan Kerney

Recent molecular phylogenies suggest the surprising reacquisition of posthatching metamorphosis within an otherwise directdeveloping clade of lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae). Metamorphosis was long regarded as plesiomorphic for plethodontids, yet the genus Desmognathus, which primarily includes metamorphosing species, is now nested within a much larger clade of direct-developing species. The extent to which the putative reacquisition of metamorphosis in Desmognathus represents a true evolutionary reversal is contingent upon the extent to which both larva-specific features and metamorphosis were actually lost during the evolution of direct development. In this study we analyze development of the hyobranchial skeleton, which is dramatically remodeled during …

Laboratory Studies In Animal Diversity, Lee Kats, Cleveland Hickman, Susan Keen

Lee Kats

Laboratory Studies in Animal Diversity offers students hands-on experience in learning about the diversity of life. It provides students the opportunity to become acquainted with the principal groups of animals and to recognize the unique anatomical features that characterize each group as well as the patterns that link animal groups to each other.

Autotomy Of The Posterior Foot In Agaronia Propatula (Caenogastropoda: Olividae) Occurs In Animals That Are Fully Withdrawn Into Their Shells, Samantha D. Rupert, Winfried S. Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Description Of The Larva And Female Genitalia Of Trechus Gamae With Data On Its Ecology, Ana Reboleira, Vicente Ortuño

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

The third instar larva and the female genitalia of Trechus gamae Reboleira et Serrano (Coleoptera Carabidae Trechini) are described, illustrated and commented. Larvae and imagos were collected in deep parts of caves from Estremenho karstic massif in the centre Portugal. The work provides the first study on hypogean beetle larvae from Portugal, increasing the knowledge about hypogean microendemic species from the Lusitanic district of the Iberian Peninsula. The morphological diagnostic characters of the female genitalia corroborate the inclusion of T. gamae in the “T. fulvus-group”. Some new data on the ecology of this species are also given.

On The Iberian Endemic Subgenus Lathromene (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae): Description Of The First Hypogean Domene Fauvel, From Portugal, Ana Reboleira, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Domene (Lathromene) lusitanica n. sp. from Sicó karstic massif in Portugal is described and compared with other species of the subgenus, representing the first hypogean rove beetle from mainland Portugal. A comparison between Domene lusitanica n. sp. and the other species of the Iberian endemic subgenus Lathromene is made using diagnostic characters. An identification key for the males of Lathromene species is presented, and biogeographical and ecological comments are also included. The species of Domene known from the Iberian Peninsula are listed and their distributions are mapped.

Intracellular Invasion Of Green Algae In A Salamander Host, Ryan Kerney, Eunsoo Kim, Roger Hangater, Aaron Heiss, Cory Bishop, Brian Hall

Ryan Kerney

The association between embryos of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and green algae (“Oophila amblystomatis” Lamber ex Printz) has been considered an ectosymbiotic mutualism. We show here, however, that this symbiosis is more intimate than previously reported. A combination of imaging and algal 18S rDNA amplification reveals algal invasion of embryonic salamander tissues and cells during development. Algal cells are detectable from embryonic and larval Stages 26–44 through chlorophyll autofluorescence and algal 18S rDNA amplification. Algal cell ultrastructure indicates both degradation and putative encystment during the process of tissue and cellular invasion. Fewer algal cells were detected in later-stage larvae …

Symbioses Between Salamander Embryos And Green Algae, Ryan Kerney

Ryan Kerney

The symbiosis between Ambystoma maculatum (spotted salamander) embryos and green algae was initially described over 120 years ago. Algae populate the egg capsules that surround individual A. maculatum embryos, giving the intracapsular fluid a characteristic green hue. Early work established this symbiosis to be a mutualism, while subsequent studies sought to identify the material benefits of this association to both symbiont and host. These studies have shown that salamander embryos benefit from increased oxygen concentrations provided by their symbiotic algae. The algae, in turn, may benefit from ammonia excreted by the embryos. All of these early studies considered the associ- …

Development Of Temperature Regulation In Nestling Tree Swallows, Richard Marsh

Richard Marsh

No abstract provided.

Adaptations Of The Gray Catbird Dumetella Carolinensis To Long Distance Migration: Energy Stores And Substrate Concentrations In Plasma, Richard Marsh

Richard Marsh

The major body components (water, lean dry, and fat) were measured in the carcasses of Gray Catbirds from which the flight muscles had been removed. Birds were collected from May through October near Ann Arbor, Michigan and during September and October near Gainesville, Florida. Additionally, the glycogen content of muscle and liver and the concentrations of glucose and triglycerides in plasma were determined in catbirds sampled during fall migration in Florida. Catbirds attained maximum body masses of ∼50 g in Florida, largely due to the addition of fat. Relatively lean birds (∼3-4% body fat) in spring through fall weighed approximately …

Seasonal And Geographic Variation Of Cold Resistance In House Finches Carpodacus Mexicanus, William Dawson, Richard Marsh, William Buttemer, Cynthia Carey

Richard Marsh

The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is resident in tropical and subtropical regions as well as in localities having relatively severe winters. The extent of its winter acclimatization was assessed in freshly captured individuals of this species from southern California and Colorado. In severe cold stress tests involving exposure to Tₐ < −60 C, the former did not remain homeothermic any longer in winter than in late spring, whereas the Colorado birds did (8.8 vs. 97.5 min; P < .001). The capacity for winter acclimatization evident in these Colorado individuals was correlated with modest winter fattening, a response lacking in those from southern …

The First Hypogean Dipluran From Portugal: Description Of A New Species Of The Genus Litocampa (Diplura: Campodeidae), Ana Reboleira, Alberto Sendra, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

A new species of subterranean Campodeid Dipluran of the genus Litocampa mendesi n. sp. is described. Despite the presence of this genus in Spain, this is the first record in Portugal, and it is also the first Portuguese species of hypogean Diplura. The new species combines unique characters absent in the European and American species of the genus. Litocampa mendesi n. sp. was collected only in one part of a cave of the Jurassic karstic massif of Algarve, the southwesternmost part of the Iberian Peninsula. The morphological features of this species show some adaptations to hypogean life but not a …

A Hypogean New Species Of Trechus Clairville, 1806 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) From Portugal And Considerations About The T. Fulvus Species Group, Ana Reboleira, Vicente Ortuño, Fernando Gonçalves, Pedro Oromí

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

A new hypogean ground beetle species, Trechus tatai n. sp. from the Montejunto karstic massif in Portugal is described. Morphological diagnostic characters of the imago are provided and the new species is included in the Trechus fulvus-group. Comments on the biogeography of hypogean carabid beetles in karstic areas of Portugal and an illustrated key to the males of the T. fulvus-group in the Iberian Peninsula are also included.

Laboratory Studies In Integrated Principles Of Zoology, Lee Kats, Cleveland Hickman, Susan Keen

Lee Kats

The 15th Edition of Laboratory Studies in Integrated Principles of Zoology uses a comprehensive, phylogenetic approach in emphasizing basic biological principles, animal form and function, and evolutionary concepts. This introductory lab manual is ideal for a one- or two-semester course. The new edition expertly combines up-to-date coverage with the clear writing style and dissection guides that have distinguished this manual from edition to edition.

Nestling Tree Swallow (Tachycineta Bicolor) Diets In An Upland Old Field In Western Michigan, Matthew Johnson, Michael Lombardo

Michael P Lombardo

We collected and identified 1852 prey items from 89 boluses delivered to 62 nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at 14 nests in an upland old field in western Michigan. We found that 90.8% of nestling diets was insects from the Orders Diptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. We also found clam and snail shells in boluses. Over the most common brood sizes of 4-6 nestlings, brood size was inversely proportional to the number of items per bolus delivered to nestlings although mean dry and mean organic weight of boluses did not differ. Bolus composition was not influenced by weather …

Effect Of Feathers As Nest Insulation On Incubation Behavior And Reproductive Performance Of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor), Michael Lombardo, Ruth Bosman, Christine Faro, Stephen Houtteman, Timothy Kluisza

Michael P Lombardo

Many species of birds line their nests with feathers, presumably because of the insulative qualities of feathers and because feathers may act as a barrier between nest parasites and nestlings. In 1993, we experimentally examined the role of feathers as nest insulation on the incubation behavior, nestling growth, and reproductive performance of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in boxes in western Michigan. There were no significant differences between the incubation rhythms of females with experimental nests (i.e. no feathers) and females with control nests (i.e. with feathers). Nestlings that were reared in control nests had significantly longer right tarsi and …

Repeated Sampling Affects Tree Swallow Semen Characteristics, Michael Lombardo, M.L. Green, P.A. Thorpe, M.R. Czarnowski, H.W. Power

Michael P Lombardo

Male Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) face intense sperm competition because mated pairs copulate frequently, extra-pair copulations are common, and females store sperm. We examined the effects of repeated sampling on the characteristics of Tree Swallow semen by manually expressing semen from 15 males immediately after capture (T₀) and then hourly for 4 h (T₁-T₄). The semen characteristics of individual males varied in response to repeated sampling. The total number of sperm cells we obtained from each male over the 4-h sampling period varied from 10⁴-10⁷. Semen samples lacking …

Communities Of Cloacal Bacteria In Tree Swallow Families, Michael Lombardo, Patrick Thorpe, R. Cichewicz, M. Henshaw, C. Millard, C. Steen, T. Zeller

Michael P Lombardo

Our aim in this study was to survey the communities of bacteria found in the cloacae of adult and nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), determine if there were familial patterns of prevalence, and determine if there were relationships between bacteria loads and nestling size when 12 days old and fledging success.

Left-Sided Directional Bias Of Cloacal Contacts During House Sparrow Copulations, Karen Nyland, Michael Lombardo, Patrick Thorpe

Michael P Lombardo

Most female birds have only a left ovary and associated oviduct. The entry to the oviduct is on the left side of the urodeum of the cloaca. This arrangement may favor males that mount females from the left during copulation if it results in sperm being placed closer to the opening of the oviduct. Therefore, we predicted a left-sided directional bias of cloacal contacts during House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) copulations. Cloacal contacts from the left outnumbered those from the right 74 to 25 (3:1) during 25 bouts of copulation at 11 House Sparrow nests. While this pattern suggests that a …

Individual, Temporal, And Seasonal Variation In Sperm Concentration In Tree Swallows, Michael Lombardo, Armetris Forman, Matthew Czarnowski, Patrick Thorpe

Michael P Lombardo

We determined sperm concentrations in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) by manually expressing semen samples from males during prelaying, egg-laying, incubation, and nestling periods. Sperm concentrations varied by orders of magnitude (0-109 sperm mL-1) among males. Sperm concentrations were highest during the incubation period and lowest during the prelaying period. None of the samples collected during the prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods were devoid of sperm. In contrast, 45% of samples collected during the nestling period lacked sperm. Sperm concentrations (1) did not vary over the course of the morning during prelaying, egg-laying, and incubation periods but significantly increased during the …

Microbial Colonization Of The Cloacae Of Nestling Tree Swallows, Tamara Mills, Michael Lombardo, Patrick Thorpe

Michael P Lombardo

Microbes have the potential to be important selective forces in many aspects of avian biology. Microbes can affect fitness as a result of either their pathogenic or beneficial effects on host health. Little is known about the chronology of microbial colonization of nestlings or the effects of microbes on fledgling condition. We set out to (1) characterize the time course of microbial colonization of the cloacae of nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), (2) examine the relationship between cloacal microbes and fledgling condition, and (3) determine if nest mates had similar assemblages of cloacal microbes. We repeatedly measured nestlings and sampled …

Within-Pair Copulations: Are Female Tree Swallows Feathering Their Own Nests?, Michael Lombardo

Michael P Lombardo

A variety of hypotheses has been proposed to explain why socially monogamous birds copulate repeatedly with their mates when only a single copulation is necessary to fertilize an entire clutch (Birkhead and Møller 1992, Petrie 1992, Hunter et al. 1993). Petrie (1992) hypothesized that a female should copulate frequently with her mate so as to reduce her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations. By reducing her mate’s involvement in extrapair copulations, a female may: (1) avoid the transmission of parasites and sexually transmitted diseases (Hamilton 1990); (2) may avoid sperm depletion by her mate; and (3) may monopolize her mate’s paternal …

On The Evolution Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Birds, Michael Lombardo

Michael P Lombardo

"The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com".

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in animals are caused by pathogens that are transmitted during copulation. Birds have played an important role in the development of STD-centered theories of mating behavior. However, it is not known whether STDs exist in wild bird populations. While the avian cloaca with its dual functions of gamete transfer and excretion seemingly predisposes birds for the evolution of STDs, the life history patterns of most birds (i.e., seasonal breeders with relatively brief annual periods of sexual activity) suggest otherwise. The importance of STDs as selective forces that shape host …

Left-Sided Directional Bias Of Cloacal Contacts During Tree Swallow Copulations, Aaron Petersen, Michael Lombardo, Harry Power

Michael P Lombardo

Most female birds have only a left ovary and associated oviduct with entry to the oviduct on the left side of the urodeum of the cloaca. We hypothesized that male cloacal contacts during copulation would occur from the left side of females because this would put sperm closer to the entrance of the oviduct. We observed that cloacal contacts from the left outnumbered those from the right by a margin of 3:1 during tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, copulations at nestboxes in western Michigan in 1999. The directional bias of cloacal contacts may have an adaptive function.

The Beneficial Sexually Transmitted Microbe Hypothesis Of Avian Copulation, Michael Lombardo, Patrick Thorpe, Harry Power

Michael P Lombardo

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain why female birds either copulate repeatedly with a single mate or copulate with multiple partners even though only a single copulation may be sufficient to fertilize an entire clutch. We hypothesize that females may directly benefit from high frequencies of copulation and multiple copulation partners if they receive a cloacal inoculation of beneficial sexually transmitted microbes (STMs) that can either protect them against future encounters with pathogens and/or serve as therapy against present infections. Experiments in domestic animal production, wildlife rehabilitation, and clinical medicine indicate that inoculations of beneficial microbes derived from the …

Description Of The Third Instar Larva Of A Hypogean Ground Beetle, Trechus Alicantinus (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae), Vicente Ortuño, Ana Reboleira

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Description and illustrations are provided for the third instar larva of Trechus alicantinus Español, 1971 obtained from a laboratory breeding. This paper aims to contribute to increase the general knowledge about microendemic hypogean species of the east of the Iberian Peninsula. Besides, it expands the existing knowledge about the preimaginal stages of the genus Trechus and the whole tribe Trechini (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Larvae can give additional information about the life style of the species. Larvae can also express, even more than the imagos, some apomorphic characters, traditionally considered a result of adaptation to the hypogean habitat, such as the regression …

Sexual Size Dimorphism (Ssd) Is The Most Consistent Explanation For The Body Size Spectrum Of Confuciusornis Sanctus, Winfried S. Peters, Dieter Stefan Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Early Cranial Patterning In The Direct-Developing Frog Eleutherodactylus Coqui Revealed Through Gene Expression, Ryan Kerney, Joshua Gross, James Hanken

Ryan Kerney

Genetic and developmental alterations associated with the evolution of amphibian direct development remain largely unexplored. Specifically, little is known of the underlying expression of skeletal regulatory genes, which may reveal early modifications to cranial ontogeny in direct-developing species. We describe expression patterns of three key skeletal regulators (runx2, sox9, and bmp4) along with the cartilage-dominant collagen 2a1 gene (col2a1) during cranial development in the direct- developing anuran, Eleutherodactylus coqui. Expression patterns of these regulators reveal transient skeletogenic anlagen that correspond to larval cartilages, but which never fully form in E. coqui. Suprarostral anlagen in the frontonasal processes are detected through …

Life History, Sexual Dimorphism And 'Ornamental' Feathers In The Mesozoic Bird Confuciusornis Sanctus., Winfried S. Peters, Dieter Stefan Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Two New Species Of Cave-Dwelling Beetles Trechus Clairville Of Fulvus-Group In Portugal, Ana Reboleira, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur Serrano

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Two new cave-dwelling ground beetle species, Trechus gamae sp. n. and Trechus lunai sp. n., from Portugal, are described. The new species are included in the Trechus fulvus-group by their morphological characters. The work provides diagnostic characters in particular those of the structure of male genitalia, and the distribution of the hypogean species of the fulvus -group at the Estremenho Karstic Massif is mapped. Some comments on the seasonal activity of T. gamae sp. n. are also given. An identification key to the males of the T. fulvus-group species from the Estremenho Karstic Massif is presented, and biogeographical comments are …

Gene Expression Reveals Unique Skeletal Patterning In The Limb Of The Direct-Developing Frog, Eleutherodactylus Coqui, Ryan Kerney, James Hanken

Ryan Kerney

The growing field of skeletal developmental biology provides new molecular markers for the cellular pre- cursors of cartilage and bone. These markers enable resolution of early features of skeletal development that are otherwise undetectable through conventional staining tech- niques. This study investigates mRNA distributions of skeletal regulators runx2 and sox9 along with the cartilage-dominant collagen 2a1 (col2a1) in embryonic limbs of the direct- developing anuran, Eleutherodactylus coqui. To date, distri- butions of these genes in the limb have only been examined in studies of the two primary amniote models, mouse and chicken. In E. coqui, expression of transcription factors runx2 …