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Examines the intersection of students' understanding and acceptance of evolution and their epistemological beliefs and cognitive dispositions. Hypothesizes that there would be a relationship between understanding and acceptance. Involves (n=93) undergraduate, non-major biology students in the study. Reports no relationship between students, epistemological beliefs, or their general acceptance of animal evolution or photosynthesis. (Contains 58 references.) (Author/YDS)

Blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale) are a widespread and relatively common species throughout northeastern North America. The distribution of this species is marked by a pair of peripherally isolated populations at the southwestern boundary of its range in Iowa, a state where these salamanders are endangered. Because small peripatric populations suffer greater risks of extinction, the genetic state of the isolates was compared to that of a reference population that appears to be in geographic contiguity with the primary distribution of the species. Five polymorphic microsatellite loci were used to examine population genetic structure. Whereas allelic richness exhibited by each locus was qualitatively similar across study populations, genetic data indicate that the scaled effective population sizes of the peripheral isolates were demonstrably smaller compared to that of the reference population. One of the Iowa isolates shows evidence of a recent bottleneck and of substantial inbreeding; this population may therefore be subject to a particularly heightened risk of extirpation.

We used starch-gel electrophoresis to analyze relationships among 13 species in the subfamily Cardinalinae. These results were compared to a morphometric analysis of 15 skeletal characters and to a previous morphometric analysis of the subfamily by Hellack and Schnell (1977). Our results supported the phenetic classification of Hellack and Schnell and were more consistent with the classification of Hellmayr (1938) than with that of Paynter (1970). Divergence in morphometrics of skeletal characters in the Cardinalinae has been primarily in size. Electrophoretic data suggest that the Yellow-shouldered Grosbeak (Caryothraustes humeralis) is not a member of the Cardinalinae. In addition, if the broad genus Saltator is to be retained, then the genus Pitylus should be merged into it, and the Dickcissel (Spiza americana) is the outgroup to all other Cardinalinae examined (excluding Caryothraustes humeralis).