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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals, William Gearty, Craig R. Mcclain, Jonathan Payne
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals, William Gearty, Craig R. Mcclain, Jonathan Payne
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Four extant lineages of mammals have invaded and diversified in the water: Sirenia, Cetacea, Pinnipedia, and Lutrinae. Most of these aquatic clades are larger bodied, on average, than their closest land-dwelling relatives, but the extent to which potential ecological, biomechanical, and physiological controls contributed to this pattern remains untested quantitatively. Here, we use previously published data on the body masses of 3,859 living and 2,999 fossil mammal species to examine the evolutionary trajectories of body size in aquatic mammals through both comparative phylogenetic analysis and examination of the fossil record. Both methods indicate that the evolution of an aquatic lifestyle …
Olfactory Learning Capabilities Of Paraphrynus Laevifrons, John Perez
Olfactory Learning Capabilities Of Paraphrynus Laevifrons, John Perez
Honors Theses
Amblypygids, a species of nocturnal arachnids from the tropics and subtropics are incredibly intelligent and are able to not only navigate through difficult tropical terrain but also, it is believed, possess olfactory learning capabilities that aid in navigation and recollection of environments. It is hypothesized that through sensitive olfactory receptors on their antenniform legs and highly developed mushroom bodies, Amblypygi can not only learn smells but also learn to associate smells with certain stimuli such as a crevice to take refuge in. To test this hypothesis, Paraphrynus laevifrons, a species of amplypygid was subjected to four different learning treatment groups …
Convergent Body Size Evolution Of Crocodyliformes Upon Entering The Aquatic Realm, William Gearty, Jonathan Payne
Convergent Body Size Evolution Of Crocodyliformes Upon Entering The Aquatic Realm, William Gearty, Jonathan Payne
School of Biological Sciences: Posters and Presentations
Twenty-four species of crocodile populate the globe today, but this richness represents a minute fraction of the diversity and disparity of Crocodyliformes since their origin early in the Triassic. Across this clade, three major diversification events into the aquatic realm have occurred. Aquatic and terrestrial habitats impose differing selective pressures on body size. However, previous research on this topic in Crocodyliformes remains qualitative in nature. In this study, our goal was to quantify the influence of habitat (terrestrial versus aquatic) on the evolution of body size in Crocodyliformes. We find a history of repeated body size increase and convergence following …