Dermal and systemic infections caused by the Chrysosporium anamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV) are highly prevalent in reptiles and may result in severe disease and high mortality. Due to the high incidence of therapeutic failures, optimizing treatment is required. We first determined in this study the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of itraconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B an...

Identifying perceptual thresholds is critical for understanding the mechanisms that underlie signal evolution. Using computer-animated stimuli, we examined visual speed sensitivity in the Jacky dragon Amphibolurus muricatus, a species that makes extensive use of rapid motor patterns in social communication. First, focal lizards were tested in discrimination trials using random-dot kinematograms...

Theory predicts the evolution of alternative male social tactics when intense competition coupled with the superior competitive ability of some individuals limits access to reproductive opportunities by others. How selection has shaped alternative social tactics may be especially interesting in long-lived species where size among sexually mature males varies markedly. We conducted experimental ...

DEDICATION To my family ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I come to the completion of one chapter of my life and prepare to begin the next, I reflect upon a quote I have carried with me throughout my graduate studies from the African-American educator and author Booker T. Washington-" Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles by which s(he) has ...

Mountain & Shah (2008, this issue) address an interesting issue – the relationship between what they term ‘the recovery approach’ and the ‘medical model’. As scientist–practitioners they acknow ledge a severe problem in their enterprise: the terms ‘recovery’ and ‘medical model’ are both poorly defined, so a systematic analysis of the relationship between the two presents formidable difficulties...

Many animals signal their resource holding potential (RHP) to deter competitors from engaging them in potentially costly fights. Studies of this opponent assessment function have generated important insights into signal design and evolution. In the case of sounds, rate of production is often a salient feature. We used digital video playback to conduct analogous experiments exploring the importa...

The positive contrast gastrointestinal study is a common non-invasive diagnostic technique that does not require anesthesia and enables good visualization of the digestive tract. Radiographic anatomy and reference intervals for gastrointestinal contrast transit time in inland bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were established using seven animals administered 15 ml/kg of a 35% w/v suspension of...