A possible relationship between aspects of dentition and feeding in the centrarchid and anabantoid fishes

Certain components of dentition — teeth on the third basibranchial in the Centrarchidae and on the parasphenoid in the anabantoids (sensu lato) — are very rare elsewhere in higher teleostean fishes. Though these basibranchial and parasphenoid teeth in the two fish groups are on opposite sides of the oral cavity, it is hypothesized that they both developed as adaptations for gripping a particular category of food items, namely strong-clawed, hard-shelled, active animals that, once within the oral cavity, would try to crawl out again. A corollary to this hypothesis is that higher teleosts with extensive dentition in the central part of the oral cavity have a grasping jaw bite, which, unlike a piercing, shearing, or crushing jaw bite, does not necessarily kill the prey that is taken into the oral cavity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42630/1/10641_2004_Article_BF00005147.pd

Cavity nesting and male nest defense by the ornate minnow, \u3cem\u3eCodoma ornata\u3c/em\u3e (Pisces: Cyprinidae)

Work published in Copei

Autumn spawning and other reproductive notes on loach minnow, a threatened cyprinid fish of the American Southwest

Published in the The Southwestern Naturalis

Ciénegas - Vanishing Climax Communities of the American Southwest

The term is here applied to mid-elevation (1,000-2,000 m) wetlands characterized by permanently saturated, highly organic, reducing soils. A depauperate flora dominated by low sedges highly adapted to such soils characterizes these habitats. Progression to ciénega is dependent on a complex association of factors most likely found in headwater areas. Once achieved, the community appears stable and persistent since paleoecological data indicate long periods of ciénega conditions, with infrequent cycles of incision. We hypothesize the ciénega to be an aquatic climax community. Ciénegas and other marshland habitats have decreased greatly in Arizona in the past century. Cultural impacts have been diverse and not well documented. While factors such as grazing and streambed modifications contributed to their destruction, the role of climate must also be considered. Ciénega conditions could be restored at historic sites by provision of constant water supply and amelioration of catastrophic flooding events.Integrative Biolog