Copeia back issues from June 2008:
Niche Relationships and Interspecific Interactions in Antiguan Lizard Communities
Jun 04, 2008; ... Anolis lizards are the focus of most Caribbean lizard community ecology studies with few studies including other common species that might influence community structure. To study niche relationships and interspecific interactions in Antiguan lizard communities, we used five offshore islands with ...
A New Species of the Neotropical Catfish Genus Trichomycterus (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) Representing a New Body Shape for the Family
Jun 04, 2008; ... Trichomycterus crassicaudatus is described as a new species from the Rio Iguaçu basin in southern Brazil. The new species has an exceptionally deep posterior region of the body (caudal peduncle depth 22.8-25.4% SL), resulting in an overall shape which distinguishes it at once from all other ...
Reproductive Ecology of the Montpellier Snake, Malpolon monspessulanus (Colubridae), and Comparison with Other Sympatric Colubrids in the Iberian Peninsula
Jun 04, 2008; ... Two spermatogenetic cycles, vernal and aestival, have been described in temperate colubrid snakes. In both cycles, mating occurs in the spring, although vernal species produce spermatozoa in spring, just before mating, while aestival species use spermatozoa produced the previous summer. In this ...
Population Structure of Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium in Playa Wetlands: Landuse Influence and Variations in Polymorphism
Jun 04, 2008; ... Playa wetlands are the major habitat for amphibians in the Southern Great Plains, USA. Agricultural cultivation causes playa sedimentation and related hydroperiod reduction in this intensively-farmed region, which in turn affects amphibian community structure. The goals of our study were (1) to ...
A New Species of Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae) from Tributaries of the Kasai River in Northern Angola
Jun 04, 2008; ... Synodontis macropunctata, a new species of mochokid catfish, is described from tributaries of the Kasai River in northern Angola. Specimens of this species have been identified as S. zambesensis and more recently as S. nigromaculata. Synodontis macropunctata is distinguished from these species ...
Stomach Flushing Vs. Fecal Analysis: The Example of Phrynops rufipes (Testudines: Chelidae)
Jun 04, 2008; ... The following is a study of the trophic niche of Phrynops rufipes revealed by an investigation of stomach flushing and fecal samplings. We successfully stomach flushed all 31 adult turtles captured and collected feces from ten of the flushed turtles. Our results show that only an integrated ...
Terrestrial Activity of Chrysemys picta in Northern Virginia
Jun 04, 2008; ... The use of terrestrial habitat by freshwater turtles is receiving increased attention by herpetologists, driven in part by conservation efforts to protect critical upland habitat. I report on a high degree of non-nesting terrestrial activity by Chrysemys picta in Virginia. During a three-year ...
Longitudinal Zonation of Pacific Northwest (U.S.A.) Fish Assemblages and the Species-Discharge Relationship
Jun 04, 2008; ... Fish ecologists often use species-discharge relationships (SDRs) to understand how species richness varies with aquatic habitat availability, but few SDR studies have considered whether the reported SDRs are scale-dependent, or attributed the SDR to a specific causal mechanism. Here, we assessed ...
Testing the Accuracy of Fecal-Based Analyses in Studies of Trophic Ecology in Lizards
Jun 04, 2008; ... Trophic niche studies are essential for evaluating ecological interactions between and within species and their evolutionary implications. For example, fundamental aspects of a wide range of hypotheses concerning population divergence, evolution of sexual dimorphism, and adaptations to ...
Two New Species of Characidium (Characiformes: Crenuchidae) from Paraguay and Xingu River Basins, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil
Jun 04, 2008; ... Characidium nupelia, new species, is described from the upper Rio Paraguay basin, and C. xavante, new species, from the upper Rio Xingu basin, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The two species comprise a group diagnosed by a high number (12-18) of dark vertical bars on the body, each bar having the ...
Taxonomic Review of Rineloricaria (Loricariidae: Loricariinae) from the Laguna dos Patos Drainage, Southern Brazil, with the Descriptions of Two New Species and the Recognition of Two Species Groups
Jun 04, 2008; ... The species of Rineloricaria from the Laguna dos Patos drainage are reviewed. Four species are rediagnosed: R. strigilata, R. cadeae, R. microlepidogaster, and R. longicauda, and two new species are described: R. malabarbal and R. baliola. Rineloricaria malabarbal is distinguished from all other ...
Molecular Systematics of the Cyprinid Genus Campostoma (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes): Disassociation between Morphological and Mitochondrial Differentiation
Jun 04, 2008; ... Campostoma are ubiquitous across North America, yet relationships among members of the genus are poorly understood. Here we present phylogenetic hypotheses based on analyses of DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. All analyses consistently recovered nine clades of ...
Reptile Road Mortality around an Oasis in the Illinois Corn Desert with Emphasis on the Endangered Eastern Massasauga
Jun 04, 2008; ... Roads have numerous negative ecological effects on terrestrial fauna, and vehicular mortality can have significant demographic consequences for some species. We studied road mortality of reptiles around Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, Illinois, USA, from April 2000 through November 2002, to assess ...
The Trimorphodon biscutatus (Squamata: Colubridae) Species Complex Revisited: A Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Geographic Variation
Jun 04, 2008; ... The Western Lyresnake (Trimorphodon biscutatus) inhabits arid regions from the desert southwestern United States southward along the Pacific lowland versant to northwestern Costa Rica and exhibits substantial geographic variation in size, squamation, and color pattern across its range. We ...
Ecology of the Southeastern Crowned Snake, Tantilla coronata
Jun 04, 2008; ... There are very few comprehensive studies of the ecology of small-bodied snakes. Here, we describe the ecology and demography of the Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata) based on 1,640 captures on the Savannah River Site in the Upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, USA from 1951-2007 ....
A New Species of Catfish of the Genus Gogo from Northeastern Madagascar (Siluriformes: Anchariidae)
Jun 04, 2008; ... Gogo atratus is a new species of anchariid catfish described from the Mananara du Nord River drainage in northeastern Madagascar. It can be distinguished from congeners by a longer snout (54.8-56.4% HL, vs. 47.1-54.3 in congeners) and faintly mottled dark gray coloration (vs. uniform brown, ...
Astyanax armandoi, a Junior Synonym of Astyanax aeneus (Teleostei: Characidae)
Jun 04, 2008; ... Astyanax armandoi Lozano-Vilano and Contreras-Balderas, 1990, a characid described as endemic to a small stream in southern Mexico, is hereby synonymized with A. aeneus (Günther, 1860), a species widespread in northern Central America. Astyanax armandoi was diagnosed by its expanded lower lip, ...
The Type Localities of Sistrurus catenatus and Crotalus viridis (Serpentes: Viperidae), with the Unraveling of a Most Unfortunate Tangle of Names
Jun 04, 2008; ... The broad and imprecise type localities of Crotalinus catenatus Rafinesque, 1818 (now Sistrurus catenatus) and Crotalinus viridis Rafinesque, 1818 (now Crotalus viridis) are re-identified based on a published account of the collector's travels as well as an examination of the relationship and ...
Habitat Use by Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) on Alluvial Fans in the Sonoran Desert, South-Central Arizona
Jun 04, 2008; ... Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert typically occur on rocky slopes and bajadas and are absent from intermountain valley floors. Tortoises also occur along deeply incised washes emanating from rocky bajadas, using caliche caves as shelter sites. The Florence Military ...
Factors Affecting the Number of Caimans Seen during Spotlight Surveys in the Mamirauá Reserve, Brazilian Amazonia
Jun 04, 2008; ... Between 1995 and 1998 we studied the effects of water level, moon phase, and site on the number of caimans observed in spotlight surveys in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Brazilian Amazonia. Multiple linear regression analyses including water level of the Amazon River and the moon ...
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Color Pattern Morphology in the Tropical Frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui
Jun 04, 2008; ... We recorded the pattern morph for 9,950 frogs captured at nine locations in northeastern Puerto Rico over a 25-year period from 1978-2002. Data revealed 21 distinct pattern morphs including a variety of stripes, bars, and spots. Analysis of morph frequencies among plots showed significant ...
Population Dynamics of the Concho Water Snake in Rivers and Reservoirs
Jun 04, 2008; ... The Concho Water Snake (Nerodia harteri paucimaculata) is confined to the Concho-Colorado River valley of central Texas, thereby occupying one of the smallest geographic ranges of any North American snake. In 1986, N. h. paucimaculata was designated as a federally threatened species, in large ...
In-Situ Observations of a Deep-sea Ceratioid Anglerfish of the Genus Oneirodes (Lophiiformes: Oneirodidae)
Jun 04, 2008; ... On 6 June 2005, the ROV Tiburon of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captured approximately 24.4 min of footage (30 frames s^sup -1^) of a female ceratioid anglerfish, identified as a member of the genus Oneirodes, off the coast of Monterey, CA, at a depth of 1474 m. To gain insight ...
Description of Two New Species of the Genus Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Tokara and Amami Island Groups in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan
Jun 04, 2008; ... Populations of the genus Gekko from three southern islands of the Tokara Group, Ryukyu Archipelago are known to be unique in lacking distinct preanal pores even in adult males. Recently, we found an almost identical morphotype from five islands of the Amami Group, where only G. hokouensis, a ...
Mating System and Reproductive Biology of a Temperate Wrasse, Halichoeres semicinctus
Jun 04, 2008; ... The reproductive behavior and mating system of the Rock Wrasse (Halichoeres semicinctus) was recorded and monitored around Big Fisherman Cove, Santa Catalina Island, CA from April 2001 to September 2002. Four sites with different relative densities were visited daily throughout the summer ...
A New Species of Epibulus (Perciformes: Labridae) from the West Pacific
Jun 04, 2008; ... A new species of slingjaw wrasse, Epibulus brevis, is described from the tropical West Pacific. It is very similar to the common and wide-ranging E. insidiator, differing in the relatively drab coloration of the male, the presence of prominent black pigment on the pectoral fins of most females, ...
Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Altered Sand Salinity on Embryos of Beach-Spawning California Grunion
Jun 04, 2008; ... Embryos of beach-spawning California Grunion incubate terrestrially buried in sand above the tide line. Out of water, these marine teleosts may encounter osmotic challenges including dilution by rainfall or freshwater runoff, or hypersalinity from evaporation or human activities. To test the ...
Archival Records of American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Jun 04, 2008; ... The archival records of the ASIH are administered by the Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C. The records occupy 40 cubic feet of space and are maintained under optimal conditions in a remote storage facility in Boyers, PA. This paper describes the transfer of the Society's ...
Empirical Tests of Biased Body Size Distributions in Aquatic Snake Captures
Jun 04, 2008; ... Ecologists often rely on a suite of demographic parameters-such as age structure, body size distributions, population density, and sex ratios-to understand life history patterns, population dynamics, and community structure of snakes. Unfortunately, in many cases little consideration is given to ...