American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Best Papers
The following papers were considered by a panel of Associate Editors and ASIH members selected by the Editor to be the best papers published in Ichthyology & Herpetology (formerly Copeia). There are three categories for both Ichthyology and Herpetology. The Best Paper Overall is chosen without regard to rank. The Best Paper Young Scholar is chosen when the lead author is either a postdoc or untenured at the time of submission. The Best Student Paper is chosen when the lead author is a student at the time of submission.
2021 Best Papers will be announced at the 2022 JMIH
2020
Best Papers Herpetology
Scott Lucas Melander and Rachel Lockridge Mueller. “Comprehensive analysis of salamander hybridization suggests a consistent relationship between genetic distance and reproductive isolation across tetrapods.” Copeia 108:987–1003.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Rochelle M. Stiles, Vanessa C. K. Terrell, John C. Maerz, and Michael J. Lannoo. “Density-dependent fitness attributes and carry-over effects in crawfish frogs (Rana areolata), a species of conservation concern.” Copeia 108:443–452.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Allison R. Litmer, Michael Freake, and Christopher M. Murray. “Neutrophil: lymphocyte ratios as a measure of chronic stress in populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a habitat quality gradient.” Copeia 108:403–415.
Best Paper, Ichthyology
Katie R. Nickles, Yinan Hu, John E. Majoris, Peter M. Buston, and Jacqueline F. Webb. “Organization and ontogeny of a complex lateral line system in a goby (Elacatinus lori), with a consideration of function and ecology.” Copeia 108:863–885.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Zachary T. Wood, Isaac D. Shepard, Stephen T. Hurley, Mitchell R. Paisker, Vanessa R. Hensley, and Michael T. Kinnison. “Sex-dependent cold tolerance at the northern invasive range limit of Gambusia affinis on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.” Copeia 108:670–678.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Alex J. Maile, Zachary A. May, Emily S. DeArmon, Rene P. Martin, and Matthew P. Davis. “Marine habitat transitions and body-shape evolution in lizardfishes and their allies (Aulopiformes).” Copeia 108:820–832.
2019
Best Paper, Herpetology
Cathy Brown, Lucas R. Wilkinson, Kathryn K. Wilkinson, Tate Tunstall, Ryan Foote, Brian D. Todd, and Vance T. Vredenburg. “Demography, habitat, and movements of the Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana sierrae) in streams.” Copeia 107:661–675.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Marco Suárez-Atilano, Alfredo D. Cuarón, and Ella Vázquez-Domínguez. “Deciphering geographical affinity and reconstructing invasion scenarios of Boa imperator on the Caribbean island of Cozumel.” Copeia 107:606–621.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Hunter J. Howell, Richard H. Legere Jr., David S. Holland, and Richard A. Seigel. “Long-term turtle declines: protected is a verb, not an outcome.” Copeia 107:493–501.
Best Paper, Ichthyology
Rikke Beckmann Dahl, Eva Egelyng Sigsgaard, Gorret Mwangi, Philip Francis Thomsen, René Dalsgaard Jørgensen, Felipe de Oliveira Torquato, Lars Olsen, and Peter Rask Møller. “The Sandy Zebra Shark: A new color morph of the Zebra Shark Stegostoma tigrinum, with a redescription of the species and a revision of its nomenclature.” Copeia 107:524–541.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Aaron D. Geheber. “Contemporary and historical species relationships reveal assembly mechanism intricacies among co-occurring darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae).” Copeia 107:464–474.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Rebecca Branconi, James G. Garner, Peter M. Buston, and Marian Y. L. Wong. “A new non-invasive technique for temporarily tagging coral reef fishes.” Copeia 107:85–91.
2018
Best Paper, Herpetology
Mark Merchant, Dusty Savage, Amos Cooper, Monique Slaughter, Joshuah S. Perkin, and Christopher M. Murray. “Nest attendance patterns in the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).” Copeia 106:421–426.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Will Selman and Peter V. Lindeman. “Spatial, seasonal, and sexual variation in the diet of Graptemys flavimaculata, a threatened turtle of the Pascagoula River system, Mississippi, USA.” Copeia 106:247–254.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Rhett M. Rautsaw, Scott A. Martin, Bridget A. Vincent, Katelyn Lanctot, M. Rebecca Bolt, Richard A. Seigel, and Christopher L. Parkinson. “Stopped dead in their tracks: The impact of railways on Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) movement and behavior.” Copeia 106:135–143.
Best Paper, Ichthyology
Terry C. Grande, W. Calvin Borden, Mark V. H. Wilson, and Lindsay Scarpitta. “Phylogenetic relationships among fishes in the order Zeiformes based on molecular and morphological data.” Copeia 106:20–48.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Javier Barrientos-Villalobos, Juan J. Schmitter-Soto, and Alejandro J. Espinosa de los Monteros. “Several subspecies or phenotypic plasticity? A geometric morphometric and molecular analysis of variability of the Mayan Cichlid Mayaheros urophthalmus in the Yucatan.” Copeia 106:268–278.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
David T. Camak and Kyle R. Piller. “Going with the flow: Testing the role of habitat isolation among three ecologically divergent darter species.” Copeia 106:375–387.
2017
Best Papers, Ichthyology
Jacqueline F. Webb and Jason B. Ramsay. “New interpretation of the 3-D configuration of lateral line scales and the lateral line canal contained within them.” Copeia 105:339–347.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Tiago P. Carvalho, Roberto E. Reis, and Mark H. Sabaj. “Description of a new blind and rare species of Xyliphius (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) from the Amazon Basin using high-resolution computed tomography.” Copeia 105:14–28.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
David C. Fryxell and Eric P. Palkovacs. “Warming strengthens the ecological role of intraspecific variation in a predator.” Copeia 105:523–532.
Best Paper, Herpetology
Edward Fernandez, Frances Irish, and David Cundall. “How a frog, Pipa pipa, succeeds or fails in catching fish.” Copeia 105:108–119.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Jennifer Y. Lamb. “Sexual isolation between two sympatric Desmognathus in the Gulf Coastal Plain.” Copeia 105:261–268.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Clint L. Bush, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Kelly M. Halloran, Meredith C. Swartwout, Chelsea S. Kross, and John D. Willson. “Distribution and abundance of introduced Seal Salamanders (Desmognathus monticola) in Northwest Arkansas, USA.” Copeia 105:678–688.
2016
Best Paper, Herpetology
Philip M. Wilkinson, Thomas R. Rainwater, Allan R. Woodward, Erin H. Leone, and Cameron Carter. “Determinate growth and reproductive lifespan in the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis): Evidence from long-term recaptures.” Copeia 104:843–852.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Shawn R. Kuchta and David B. Wake. “Wherefore and whither the ring species?” Copeia 104:189–201.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Noelikanto Ramamonjisoa, Noriko Iwai, and Yosihiro Natuhara. “Post-metamorphic costs of carnivorous diets in an omnivorous tadpole.” Copeia 104:808–815.
Best Papers, Ichthyology
Daniel L. Geldof and Nicholas J. Gidmark. “Heterochrony in two sculpins of the genus Psychrolutes: Growth outpaces skeletal development in an apex predator among ichthyoplankton.” Copeia 104:683–690.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Joshua K. Moyer and William E. Bemis. “Tooth microstructure and replacement in the Gulper Shark, Centrophorus granulosus (Squaliformes: Centrophoridae).” Copeia 104:529–538.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Jennifer R. Gardner, James W. Orr, Duane E. Stevenson, Ingrid Spies, and David A. Somerton. “Reproductive parasitism between distant phyla: Molecular identification of snailfish (Liparidae) egg masses in the gill cavities of king crabs (Lithodidae)” Copeia 104:645–657.
2015
Best Papers, Ichthyology
John G. Lundberg and Kyle R. Luckenbill. “The extraordinary occipito-vertebral skeleton and swim bladder of South American Hypophthalmus catfishes (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae): Improved illustration, description, and interpretation.” Copeia 103:806–820.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Nathan K. Lujan, Vanessa Meza-Vargas, Viviana Astudillo-Clavijo, Ramiro Barriga-Salazar, and Hernán López-Fernández. “A multilocus molecular phylogeny for Chaetostoma clade genera and species with a review of Chaetostoma (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Central Andes.” Copeia 103:664–701.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Katherine E. Bemis and William E. Bemis. “Functional and developmental morphology of tooth replacement in the Atlantic Wolffish, Anarhichas lupus (Teleostei: Zoarcoidei: Anarhichadidae).” Copeia 103:886–901.
Best Paper, Herpetology
Julia E. Earl and Howard H. Whiteman. “Are commonly used fitness predictors accurate? A meta-analysis of amphibian size and age at metamorphosis.” Copeia 103:297–309.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Julia E. Earl and Howard H. Whiteman. “Are commonly used fitness predictors accurate? A meta-analysis of amphibian size and age at metamorphosis.” Copeia 103:297–309.Adam D. Leaché and Charles W. Linkem. “Phylogenomics of horned lizards (genus: Phrynosoma) using targeted sequence capture data.” Copeia 103:586–594.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Christopher M. Murray, Michael Easter, Sergio Padilla, Davinia B. Garrigós, Julia Ann Stone, Juan Bolaños-Montero, Mahmood Sasa, and Craig Guyer. “Cohort-dependent sex ratio biases in the American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) of the Tempisque basin.” Copeia 103:541–545.
2014
Best Papers, Ichthyology
Eric J. Hilton, Peter Konstantinidis, Nalani K. Schnell, and Casey B. Dillman. “Identity of a unique cartilage in the buccal cavity of gars (Neopterygii: Lepisosteiformes: Lepisosteidae).” Copeia 2014:50−55.J. Ellen Marsden and Harrison Tobi, “Sculpin predation on Lake Trout eggs in interstices: Skull compression as a novel foraging mechanism.” Copeia 2014:654−658.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Christopher Izzo, Terry Bertozzi, Bronwyn M. Gillanders, and Stephen C. Donnellan. “Variation in telomere length of the Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio (Cyprinidae), in relation to body length.” Copeia 2014:87−94.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Muchu Zhou, Ashley M. Johnson, and Rebecca C. Fuller. “Patterns of male breeding color variation differ across species, populations, and body size in Rainbow and Orangethroat darters.” Copeia 2014:297−308.
Best Paper, Herpetology
Brian K. Sullivan, Marlis R. Douglas, James M. Walker, James E. Cordes, Mark A. Davis, Whitney J. B. Anthonysamy, Keith O. Sullivan, and Michael E. Douglas. “Conservation and management of polytypic species: The Little Striped Whiptail complex (Aspidoscelis inornata) as a case study.” Copeia 2014:519−529.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Dustin S. Siegel, Abigail E. Nicholson, Brian Rabe, Bradley Beran, and Stanley E. Trauth. “The evolution of the sperm transport complex in male plethodontid salamanders (Amphibia, Urodela, Plethodontidae).” Copeia 2014:489−502.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Marcie K. Reiter, Carl D. Anthony, and Cari-Ann M. Hickerson. “Territorial behavior and ecological divergence in a polymorphic salamander.” Copeia 2014:481−489.
2013
Best Paper, Herpetology
Richard C. Bruce. “Size-mediated tradeoffs in life-history traits in dusky salamanders.” Copeia 2013:262–268.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Herpetology
Vladimir Dinets. “Long-distance signaling in Crocodylia.” Copeia 2013:517–526.
Best Student Paper, Herpetology
Cheryl A. Bondi and Sharyn B. Marks. “Differences in flow regime influence the seasonal migrations, body size, and body condition of Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata) that inhabit perennial and intermittent riverine sites in northern California.” Copeia 2013:142–153.
Best Papers, Ichthyology
Donald J. Stewart. “Re-description of Arapaima agassizii (Valenciennes), a rare fish from Brazil (Osteoglossomorpha: Osteoglossidae).” Copeia 2013:38–51.
Best Paper Young Scholar, Ichthyology
Windsor E. Aguirre, Virginia R. Shervette, Ronald Navarrete, Paola Calle, and Stergiani Agorastos. “Morphological and genetic divergence of Hoplias microlepis (Characiformes: Erythrinidae) in rivers and impoundments of western Ecuador.” Copeia 2013:312–323.
Best Student Paper, Ichthyology
Sarah Z. Gibson. “Biodiversity and evolutionary history of †Lophionotus (Neopterygii: †Semionotiformes) from the western United States.” Copeia 2013:582–603.