Facultative parthenogenesis (FP) - asexual reproduction by bisexual species - has been genetically confirmed in a variety of multicellular organisms but only recently in snakes, varanid lizards, birds, and sharks. Unlike the approximately eighty taxa of unisexual (obligate parthenogenetic) reptiles, amphibians, and fishes that exist in nature, FP has only recently been documented in wild vertebrate populations. Here, using microsatellite DNA genotyping and litter characteristics, we report progress on determining the prevalence of FP in a wild population of North American pit viper snakes from which the first case of FP was documented (copperhead snake, Agkistrodon contortrix).
Dept of Biology, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
P38 • Edward D. Mills
Spectral Characteristics of Hatchling Chinese Blue-Breasted Quail (Coturnix chinensis) Vocalizations
Galliform birds can produce as many as twenty different vocalizations that range from contact calls to alarm calls. Many of these calls are believed to be innate, although they may become modified as the bird ages. Chinese Blue-breasted Quail (Coturnix chinensis) generate an A-shaped vocalization immediately after hatching that is likely a contact call that maintains the cohesiveness of the precocial family group while foraging. C. chinensis is a territorial quail that produces as many as thirteen eggs in a clutch, and when the young hatch, they begin calling immediately. The vocalizations of hatchlings were digitally recorded directly after being placed in a brooder. Their A-shaped calls exhibit harmonic stacks with the fundamental frequency around 3700 Hz and three harmonics at approximately 9000, 14,000 and 18,600 Hz. Eleven spectral properties were measured to form a baseline to examine developmental changes that occur as the juvenile birds age. These measurements include call length, sound frequencies produced (Hz), and call decibels (average and maximum power, dB).
Dept of Biology; 2 Wingate University; 3 Wingate; 4 NC
|
P39 • Charles L. Kimmel1, Alexander Krings1, Jon Stucky1, David Crouse2
The Vascular Flora of William B. Umstead State Park
William B. Umstead State Park (5,439 ac) is one of the most heavily visited parks in North Carolina. Since the last floristic inventory of the park, 46 years have passed and the park has expanded by roughly 1300 acres. The aim of this project is to provide an updated inventory, through intensive survey of the newly acquired acreage, as well as to provide a user-friendly taxonomic guide to the flora of the entire park. Over the past year, plant vouchers were collected during the growing season twice a week and during the off season at most biweekly. Vouchers are stored in the North Carolina State University herbarium, along with tissue samples, preserved in silica gel, for future DNA analysis. So far, over 600 specimens have been collected (in duplicate). In addition to field collections resulting from this effort, pertinent herbarium specimens from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Coker College, Duke University and North Carolina State University will be examined and cited. Park soils and topography will also be included in the guide using the Wake County GIS data service. Three species are newly reported for the park Cryptomeria japonica, Magnolia grandiflora and Taxodium distichum.
1 Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; 2 Soil Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
|
P40 • Amanda Garrison, Gerald L. Smith
Populational Investigation of Spider-Lilies Distributed in the Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Hymenocallis treatment in Flora North America (vol. 26) recognizes two species inhabiting the Atlantic Coastal Plain, H. crassifolia Herb. and H. pygmaea Traub. Hymenocallis crassifolia is distributed from the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas to Northeastern Florida; H. pygmaea is endemic to the Waccamaw River drainage and possibly in other adjacent drainages. We conducted an ISSR finger-printing study of several populations of H. crassifolia and H. pygmaea. The gels were scored and the data used to build a matrix which was analyzed in PAUP* 4.0b2. The tree that was generated from the matrix in MacClade 4.0 revealed that the populations of these two species sorted into separate clades. We regard these results as supporting the distinctiveness of these two species. In the analysis, we also included several other species of Traub’s Caroliniana alliance to see if we could get an indication of sister relationships.
Biology Dept, High Point University, High Point, NC
|
P41 • Allison N. Welborn, Conley K. McMullen
A Floristic Survey of Smith Creek Restoration Area, Rockingham County, Virginia
Smith Creek Restoration Area, in Rockingham County, Virginia, comprises a 1.5 mi section of creek and a 66 ft buffer zone along either side. Prior to the beginning of this study, for ca. 200 years, the property had been used for agriculture/pasture. As a result, the creek had become unsuitable as a habitat for native brook trout, and most of the native plants in the immediate area were lost. In 2006, the land bordering the creek was made available for a restoration study, and thousands of trees were planted in the hopes of eventually returning the area to its natural condition. The purpose of the research described here is to catalog the native vascular plant species that occur in this area, thus providing baseline data for future studies that might occur as the landscape changes due to the tree plantings and the absence of agricultural and grazing pressures. Results thus far will be discussed.
Dept of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
|
P42 • Casie L. Reed, Alexander Krings, David L. Lindbo, Jon M. Stucky
|
Share with your friends: |
