2005 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

Contributed paper sessions will be held daily from the afternoon of 7 July through 11 July at the Marriott Tampa Waterside Hotel. Oral presentations that are not part of one of the symposia will be grouped by subject matter. Time limits will be strictly enforced: fifteen minutes total (twelve minutes for presentation and three minutes for questions).

Oral presentation awards for students include: The AES Samuel Gruber Award, The ASIH Stoye Award, The SSAR Henir Seiber Awards, and The HL Robert G. Jaeger Award for Graduate Research.

Each presentation room is equipped with LCD projectors and desktop computers. Each computer has a Zip Drive, PowerPoint 2000, Excel, and Windows XP 2000. Any other audio-visual equipment must have been requested in advance. If other equipment is needed email sharonb@k-state.edu.

Three presenter practice rooms are available each day. These rooms are in Meeting Rooms I, II, and III. A sign-up schedule sheet is posted outside the entrance door to each room. The practice rooms are available the following hours:

Thursday - Sunday, 7-10 July 7:00 am - 10:00 pm
Monday, 11 July, 7:00 am - 5:00pm

Because time for oral presentation is limited, so we encourage you to consider a poster exhibit, especially if you are making multiple presentations (i.e. invited symposia and submitted abstract). Poster exhibits offer an excellent opportunity for interaction between presenter and audience, allowing a more extensive exchange of ideas. A larger audience is likely to view a poster, and a poster allows greater flexibility in presentation. All poster presentations will be displayed in Salon F of the Grand Ballroom, adjacent to the exhibits, to provide maximum visibility.

Poster presentations require submission of an abstract, in the same format as for oral papers. Session assignments, and the time during which presenters must be present at the poster session, will be posted on the Web in early May. Maximum size is four feet (height) by eight feet (width). Poster boards will be gator foam boards and will be erected back to back. Presenters are responsible for bringing their own push pins and/or other materials to secure posters to the boards. Student presenters who are members of ASIH should consider registering for the ASIH Storer Awards for best student poster, or if a member of AES, registering for the Carrier Award for best student poster.

Age and growth of chondrichthyan fishes: new methods, techniques, and analyses

Thursday afternoon, July 7 & Friday morning, July 8; Salon VI

The world’s oceans support a great diversity of chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, skates, rays, chimeras), all of which play an important role in marine ecosystems. Chondrichthyan fishes are, however, particularly vulnerable to overexploitation because they grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young. However, shark conservation and management is hindered by a lack of basic biological and population status information for most species. An understanding of the age structure and growth dynamics of a population is fundamental for effective conservation and management. Age and growth information is often utilized for determination of natural mortality and longevity and, ultimately for calculation of vital rates in demographic models. Moreover, successful fisheries management and conservation requires precise and accurate age information in order to make informed decisions because inaccurate age estimates can lead to serious errors in population assessments and, potentially overexploitation Novel approaches to ageing various chondrichthyan fishes continue to arise. There is currently a great deal of research being conducted, some of which is truly “pushing the envelope,” in attempts to assess the life history parameters of numerous chondrichthyan fishes. Over 20 speakers from 7 countries with expertise in various statistical analyses and modeling techniques have been invited and will present information about recent approaches that can used to better assess and model the growth of chondrichthyan fishes. The papers for this symposium will include topics on potential hard parts to retain from specimens and how to process and analyze them, laboratory techniques for enhancing rings such as staining and laboratory techniques for validation such as bomb carbon, as well as a variety of statistical analyses that are used to determine such things as systematic reader error (i.e. bias), appropriate back-calculation methods, and the use and comparison of various growth models. The final outcome of the symposium will be a peer-reviewed publication in Environmental Biology of Fishes from all papers presented.

Organizers:
John K. Carlson, Ph.D.
NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service
john.carlson@noaa.gov

Kenneth J. Goldman, Ph.D.
Jackson State University
kenneth.j.goldman@jsums.edu

Interrelationships of Fishes III: towards a synthesis of morphology and molecules

Friday, July 8; Salon IV

The symposium will feature presentations of the latest higher taxonomic-level phylogenies based on complete mitochondrial genomes, nuclear genes, and critical morphological and paleontological evidence. Given the extraordinary diversity of fishes, several case studies spanning the major groups of ray-finned fishes will be presented where a synthesis of the composite evidence has been attempted or is currently underway. The goal is to explore ways to reconcile and further develop our understanding of potentially conflicting data. One of the main goals of the symposium is to foster communication between practitioners of molecular and morphological approaches. Current effots to promoted these interactions by the DeepFin Research coordination Network (www.deepfin.org) will be highlighted throughout the symposium. Experts in molecular and morphological systematics will be discussing the critical evidence necessary toe stablish and test the branching pattern of the tree of life of all fishes.

Organizers:
Guillermo Orti
School of Biological Sciences
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68588

www.deepfin.org
gorti1@unl.edu

Evolution & Ecology of the Centrarchidae

Sunday morning, July 10; Salon V

Centrarchid fishes are prominent members of the modern North American fish communities and have a rich legacy as model organisms in studies of community ecology, reproductive behavior, functional morphology, and systematics. Recent major advances in centrarchid phylogenetics and molecular ecology have fueled progress in several areas of evolutionary biology and ecology that will be the focus of this symposium. Speakers will present the most current research on centrarchids related to systematics, fossil-calibration of the centrarchid phylogeny, paleontology, paleoecology, speciation, reproductive ecology, sexual selection, community ecology, functional morphology, development, and evolutionary morphology.

Organizers:
Peter Wainwright
University of California - Davis
PCWainwright@ucdavis.edu

Tom Near

Dan Bolnick

A New Generation of Research on Amphibian Declines

Monday, July 11; Salon AB

Global amphibian population declines are a major source of concern in the environmental sciences, conservation biology, and herpetological communities. To date, amphibian declines have been associated with climate and landscape change, habitat loss, introductions of exotic species, UV-B radiation, chemical contaminants, and infectious diseases with causes often acting synergistically. Despite advances in the field, we have yet to fully understand the underlying processes and the complex interactions among factors leading to population crashes. This symposium will provide multidisciplinary, multinational, and collaborative perspectives on amphibian decline research, gathering an international group of graduate and post-doctoral students conducting research in Africa, Asia, and Central, North and South America. The diversity of cultural backgrounds of the speakers in this symposium provides a model of collaborative, multi-gender and multi-cultural work to meeting attendees. Twenty-three talks will be given by 11 female and 12 male presenters. Additionally, half of the presenters are of Latino heritage representing Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

Presentations will include innovative approaches to the study of pathogens in model systems and wild populations, links between chytridiomycosis and the pet trade, pesticide effects and declining populations, skin peptides and disease susceptibility, new perspectives on the effects of human-induced landscape and environmental change on natural populations, and novel monitoring approaches of pathogen-exposed populations. New data on the status of populations at risk in several Latin American countries will also be made public for the first time. Our hope is that this symposium will help to (1) identify gaps in our understanding of amphibian declines, (2) initiate collaborative research among audience members and presenters, and (3) further motivate international, interdisciplinary research.

Co-Organizers:
Ana Carnaval
Field Museum (Chicago) and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, UC Berkeley
carolcarnaval@hotmail.com
(312) 320-8686

Stephen Richter
Eastern Kentucky University
stephen.richter@eku.edu
(859) 622-8688

Introduced Amphibian and Reptile Research: From Case Studies to Solutions

Monday, July 11; Salon GH

Introduced species are second only to habitat destruction in their impacts on native species and systems. Basic research on the distribution, abundance, and impacts of introduced amphibians and reptiles is needed, but given the recent flurry of new introductions worldwide, researchers should be shifting their focus toward preventing introductions or eradicating introduced species before they become firmly established. Unfortunately, all too often, the phrase “too little, too late” applies to introduced species policy, law, and eradication efforts. Slow, impotent responses to species introductions are inevitable given the fragmented nature of research questions and published literature on introduced species and the unfortunate disconnect between basic and applied genres. Problems of this magnitude require constant attention and frequent interaction between scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers, and assurance that follow-up occurs after novel ideas are proposed in the literature or at scientific meetings. Solutions will only be found if we look beyond single-species case studies to find some common patterns across space, time, and taxa.

This symposium will feature presentations from biologists spanning a wide range of professional, taxonomic, and geographical expertise. The presentation schedule will flow logically from individual case studies to management issues to large-scale patterns and solutions. A panel discussion at the end of the symposium will allow more in-depth questions from the audience, will promote the sharing of information and methods, and hopefully instigate collaborative research that will identify some general solutions to this massive problem.

Organizer:
Todd S. Campbell
University of Tampa
tcampbell@ut.edu
(813) 253-3333

The Biology of Boas, Pythons, and Related Taxa

Monday, July 11; Salon CD

Papers (oral and poster) presented during the one-day SSAR symposium, "The Biology of Boas, Pythons, and Related Taxa," will focus on the phylogeny, evolution, biogeography, ecology, behavior, physiology, and reproductive biology of a broad taxonomic range of boas and pythons. Countries represented by symposium participants include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Honduras, South Africa, Sweden, and the U.S. A discussion on various topics related to boa and python biology will follow the formal presentations.

Organizers:
Bob Henderson
rh@mpm.edu
(414) 278-2774

Bob Powell

Gordon Schuett

Plenary Session

9:00 Call to Order -- Henry R. Mushinsky and Phillip J. Motta

9:10 -- Welcome -- Dr. Renu Khator, Provost, University of South Florida

9:20 -- Dr. Patrick Gregory, Immediate Past President, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists -- "Natural History Mysteries: Drama and Misadventure in the Lives of Snakes."

10:10 -- Dr. Roy McDiarmid, The Herpetologists' League Distinguished Herpetologist -- "Mystery, Motivation, and Science: A Herpetologist's Perspective."

11:00 -- Ms. Sonja V. Fordham, American Elasmobranch Society -- "Elasmobranch Conservation in the 21st Century: Milestones, Outlook, and the Role of Scientists."

11:30 -- Group Photograph

President's Travelogue

Wednesday, July 6, 7:30-10:00pm
Grand Ballrooms G-J

"From Tropical Drylands to Forest: Amphibians and Reptiles of Brazil"

by Laurie J. Vitt and Janalee P. Caldwell