Abstracts – 2008 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists Complied by M.A
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ABSTRACTS – 2008 JOINT MEETING OF ICHTHYOLOGISTS & HERPETOLOGISTS COMPLIED BY M.A. DONNELLY (underlined name = presenter) DeVaney to Kley 0037 Fish Systematics IV, Salon A&B, Monday July 28, 2008 Phylogeny of Elopomorpha Based on Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Shannon DeVaney, Stacey Payne University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States The clade Elopomorpha is composed of the bonefishes, ladyfishes, eels, and their allies. Adult elopomorphs vary enormously in body plan and ecology, but they are united based on the presence of a leptocephalus larval stage. Some authors, however, argue that the leptocephalus may be plesiomorphic and Elopomorpha may not be monophyletic. Furthermore, the relationships of elopomorph taxa (whether monophyletic or not) to other lower teleosts has been the subject of some debate. The object of the present study is twofold: first, to test the monophyly of Elopomorpha; second, to examine the relationships of elopomorph fishes to other extant lower teleost groups. Taxon sampling for this study includes 40 species, 17 of which are elopomorphs; the remaining taxa are other lower teleosts with Amia calva the designated outgroup. The character set includes DNA sequence data from three nuclear genes: the recombination activating gene RAG1, the zinc finger protein gene ZIC1, and the myosin heavy chain gene MYH6; and one mitochondrial gene: the cytochrome oxidase gene COI. Phylogenetic inference was performed using three different methods: parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. ___________________________________________________________________________ 0038 Poster Session I, Friday July 25, 2008 Phylogenetic Relationships of Myctophiformes Based on nDNA and mtDNA Shannon DeVaney, Fikri Birey, Edward Wiley University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States The order Myctophiformes (lanterfishes and allies) is generally considered to be the most basal member of the clade Ctenosquamata, sister to Acanthomorpha. While this placement is currently widely accepted, some recent analyses have recovered different relationships for this group. As the sister group relationships of Myctophiformes are important for subsequent analyses of intrarelationships of myctophiforms and of the phylogeny of Acanthomorpha, we are revisiting the question using new data. The character set includes DNA sequence data from three nuclear genes: the recombination activating gene RAG1, the ectodermal neural cortex gene ENC1, and the myosin heavy chain gene MYH6; and one mitochondrial gene: the cytochrome oxidase gene COI. Phylogenetic inference was performed using three different methods: parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. ___________________________________________________________________________ 0259 HL Graduate Research Award, Salon A&B, Sunday July 27, 2008; HL Asymmetrical Reproductive Isolation between Terminal Forms of the Salamander Ring Species Ensatina eschscholtzii Tom Devitt University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States Salamanders of the Ensatina eschscholtzii complex have featured prominently in evolutionary biology because they represent one of the few examples of a ring species. The nature and extent of reproductive isolation between the terminal forms (E. e. eschscholtzii and E. e. klauberi) is paramount to the ring species interpretation and to unresolved taxonomic debates about the number of species within the complex. Previous analyses of four contact zones between these taxa have revealed geographic variation in levels of hybridization, ranging from complete reproductive isolation to rare hybridization restricted to narrow hybrid zones. Here, I report frequent hybridization at one contact zone (Palomar Mountain, San Diego Co., USA) and document levels and direction of gene exchange and introgression. I genotyped 173 salamanders for nine microsatellites and one mitochondrial gene and used a Bayesian model-based clustering algorithm to classify individuals as belonging to pure parental or hybrid classes. A higher proportion of hybrids (37/173=21%) was detected than had been reported previously. No F1 hybrids were found; most hybrids were classified as F2s or backcrosses with eschscholtzii. All 37 hybrids possessed mitochondrial DNA from only one of the two parental forms (klauberi). The substantial frequency of hybrids along with mtDNA results indicate that reproductive isolation is incomplete and asymmetrical, with hybrids formed from female klauberi mating with male eschscholtzii (but not vice versa) and female hybrids mating with male eschscholtzii. These results inform ongoing debates about species boundaries in Ensatina, and provide predictions for patterns of behavioral isolation in this and other contact zones between the terminal forms of the ring. ___________________________________________________________________________ 0267 Herp Conservation, Salon 4&5, Sunday July 27, 2008; STOYE ECOLOGY & ETHOLOGY Reductions in Metamorphic Bufo americanus Survivorship Associated with Invasion by an Exotic Plant Jayna DeVore University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States Habitat loss is considered to be a key causal factor in losses of native biodiversity around the world, while the habitat that remains faces a growing threat from invasion by exotic species. Despite the fact that some of the most successful and widespread of these exotics are plant invaders, and the habitat alterations they initiate can be extensive, there is little information on the impact of plant invasions on native fauna. One common exotic plant in the eastern United States is the Asian grass Microstegium vimineum; this plant invades habitats where amphibians are commonly found, such as forests, wet meadows and bogs. In order to evaluate the effect of these invasions on amphibian survivorship we constructed 16 enclosures, one on either side of eight independent M. vimineum invasion fronts, into each of which we released 100 metamorphic American toads (Bufo americanus) in two cohorts of 50 toads each. These cohorts were separated based on time to metamorphosis, with the release of the second cohort occurring two weeks after that of the first. Survivorship estimates conducted six weeks later revealed that the survivorship of the first cohort was significantly lower in invaded pens (p=0.015), while there was no significant effect of invasion on the second cohort (p=0.515). Our results indicate that invasion by exotic plants can negatively affect amphibian survivorship, perhaps through the loss of food resources or changes in the environmental structure, but that these effects may be mediated by the timing or condition of these animals as they enter the terrestrial environment. As amphibian populations are especially sensitive to reductions in survivorship during their terrestrial life phases, increases in mortality occurring during these stages may represent a significant threat to amphibian biodiversity. ___________________________________________________________________________ 0626 AES Devil Ray Symposium, Jarry/Joyce, Friday July 25, 2008 Movements and Site Fidelity of Manta birostris in the Komodo Marine Park, Indonesia Heidi Dewar1, Peter Mous3, Michael Domeier2, Jos Pet3, Jeff Whitty4 1NOAA, La Jolla, CA, United States, 2Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research, Oceanside, CA, United States, 3The Nature Conservancy, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, 4Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia To examine the movements of manta rays in the Komodo Marine Park, Indonesia an acoustic array was installed at up to seven sites in the park between 2000 and 2003. A total of 41 acoustic tags were deployed in three separate deployments. Mantas were recorded in the park for up to 526 days with an average duration of 183 days (+136 days) when mantas made from 3 to 303 individual visits to different sites (median 58 visits). There was a clear preference for three sites that comprised over 90% of manta activity. The most popular site (German Flag) was off the southern tip of Komodo Island in an area with a high degree of bathymetric structure. Examination of the longest records suggests some site preference with 5 of 7 individuals spending greater than 90% of their time at the location where they were tagged. Using a general linear model it was possible to examine the effects of daytime, lunar phase, aggregation site, season and tidal phase on visitation patterns. The vast majority of visits were recorded during daylight hours at all sites. The strongest effects of both the lunar and tidal phase were apparent in the northern sites with the most visits occurring when tidal intensity was the greatest during full and new moons. The strongest seasonal pattern was observed in the south were no mantas were recorded during the first quarter in any year. This coincides with a regional increase in temperature and reduction of productivity associated with monsoonal shifts. This study improved the predictability of manta visitation patterns, which will increase the success of manta-based ecotourism. The long-term fidelity indicates that marine protected areas centered around aggregation sites is one tool that could help protect this species from overexploitation. ___________________________________________________________________________ 0669 Fish Morphology & Histology I, Salon 6&7, Thursday July 24, 2008 The Venn of Phenotype—Method to Fuse and Contrast Geometric and Traditional Morphometric Data, Exemplified with African Cichlids Thomas J. DeWitt1, Anthony Papadopoulos2, S. Bibiana Correa1, Juliet K. Brophy3, Lisa Berryhill1 1Dept.