Abstracts - Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft

44 Evolutionary Biology SymposiumO EB.12 (Sa) - ENHow do mice cope with limitations in water resources? An analysis of the molecularbasis of differences between mice from arid and humid environmentsMeike Teschke 1 , Tobias Heinen 21Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön; 2 Institut für Genetik, Universität KölnOrganisms with a broad distribution over different environments have to cope with various limitationsin resources. One resource with obvious differences in availability is water. Individuals fromarid environments will have less opportunity to assess water than those that live in humid areas. Differencesin the ability of water re-absorption from primary urine could be expected between thoseindividuals. We investigated gene expression profiles of kidneys between mice from Western Europeand from Iran. Applying standard statistics we were able to show that there are significant differencesin expression level of genes coding for salt- and water-channels between the two populations.These genes are good candidates to be involved in different water re-adsorption abilities. We arefurther investigating these loci from an evolutionary perspective by analyzing patterns of selectionand protein sequence differences.O EB.13 (Mo) - ENConvergent evolution and adaptive radiations in stick insects (Phasmatodea)Sven Bradler 1 , Thomas Buckley 21Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institut für Zoologie und Anthropologie, Abteilung Neurobiologie,Universität Göttingen; 2 Landcare Research, Auckland, New ZealandLanceocercata is one of the most remarkable hypotheses in stick insect evolution. It suggests thata wide array of Phasmatodea conventionally thought to be unrelated to one another form an ancientgroup that evolved in the Australasian region. Among Phasmatodea the Lanceocercata exhibitmorphological and ecological parallelisms comparable to those found between placental mammalsand marsupials. Our molecular analysis provides strong evidence that the Lanceocercata and theremaining stick and leaf insects underwent parallel adaptive radiations that resulted in astoundingexamples of convergence, e.g., the repeated evolution of the tree lobster ecomorph, ground dwelling,flightless phasmids with a robust body form and enlarged, powerfully armed hind legs in themale. Tree lobsters, including Dryococelus and Canachus among Lanceocercata and Eurycantha inEurycanthomorpha, are outstanding examples of repetitive evolution, raising questions of generalrelevance regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms. Such phenotypic similarity between unrelatedspecies is most probably generated by extrinsic selective pressure as well as by intrinsic factors,such as shared trajectories in the developmental architecture, which might provide constraintson the direction of stick insect evolution.