Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2009.1680
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发表时间：
2010-03-22
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Shadwick, Robert E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Goldbogen, Jeremy A.;Potvin, Jean;Shadwick, Robert E.
短尾鲸不仅代表了一些有史以来最大的动物，而且在种内和种间的身体大小上也表现出很大的差异。巴伦翅目昆虫的特征是它们极端的冲刺进食行为，这是一个动态的过程，涉及以高能量成本吞噬大量充满猎物的水。为了研究鳞片和形态对弓步捕食性能的影响，我们确定了长须鲸的身体尺寸和吞噬能力的异速生长方程。我们的分析表明，与身体大小相比，体型较大的长须鲸有更大的头骨和更大的口腔。总而言之，这些数据表明，吞噬体积也是异速生长的，随着体长的增加而增加，如L(身体)(3.5%)。头骨的正向异速生长伴随着尾部的负向异速生长。尾巴的相对缩短可能代表着将所有与生长相关的资源投资于身体前部的权衡。虽然增加吞噬体积将提高觅食效率，但在吞噬过程中加速被吞没的水团所需的功(能量)在较大的鱼群中将相对较高。如果一次突袭的质量比能量成本随着身体尺寸的增加而增加，这将对野生动物的觅食生态和进化产生重大影响。
Rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae) represent not only some of the largest animals of all time, but also exhibit a wide range in intraspecific and interspecific body size. Balaenopterids are characterized by their extreme lunge-feeding behaviour, a dynamic process that involves the engulfment of a large volume of prey-laden water at a high energetic cost. To investigate the consequences of scale and morphology on lunge-feeding performance, we determined allometric equations for fin whale body dimensions and engulfment capacity. Our analysis demonstrates that larger fin whales have larger skulls and larger buccal cavities relative to body size. Together, these data suggest that engulfment volume is also allometric, increasing with body length as L(body)(3.5). The positive allometry of the skull is accompanied by negative allometry in the tail region. The relative shortening of the tail may represent a trade-off for investing all growth-related resources in the anterior region of the body. Although enhanced engulfment volume will increase foraging efficiency, the work (energy) required to accelerate the engulfed water mass during engulfment will be relatively higher in larger rorquals. If the mass-specific energetic cost of a lunge increases with body size, it will have major consequences for rorqual foraging ecology and evolution.