Dissertation Research: Systematics and Mechanisms of Jaw Protrusion in Cheiline Wrasses (Family Labridae)

在这篇博士论文中，马克·韦斯特内特在杜克大学约翰·伦德伯格博士的指导下工作，将研究鲸鱼摄食专门化的演变。鲸鱼是珊瑚礁群落中常见的一种鱼类。Westneat借鉴了机械工程学中的四杆曲柄链条模型的概念，对这些鱼的颌骨结构和功能进行了分析。Westneat已经开发了这个模型的计算机模拟，他使用该模型来分析从高速摄取鲸鱼的电影中获得的数据。第二个平行项目是使用现代分支学方法重建该群体的进化史。分支方法是检验性状(形态、生化等)分布的数值方法。在物种中，近亲物种比远亲物种分享更多的派生特征。分支程序可以被编程到计算机中，然后计算机可以用来重建物种群体的进化史。Lundberg和Westneat将在这一进化史的背景下研究许多物种的下巴专门化，以确定四杆曲柄链条的基本方案如何通过自然选择修改为许多饲料专门化。这项研究融合了计算机模拟、分支方法、高速电影摄影等现代技术，成为一项关于复杂系统演化的单一研究。这种性质的研究为理解复杂适应的进化提供了范例。

In this doctoral dissertation study Mark Westneat, working under the supervision of Dr. John Lundberg at Duke University, will study the evolution of feeding specializations in the cheiline wrasses, a group of fish species common in coral reef communities. Westneat has applied the concept of a four-bar- crank-chain model, borrowed from mechanical engineering, to the analysis of jaw structure and function in these fishes. Westneat has developed a computer simulation of this model which he uses to analyze data derived from high speed cinematography of wrasses feeding. A second parallel project is to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the group using modern cladistic methods. Cladistic methods are numerical procedures that examine the distributions of traits (morphological, biochemical, etc.) among the species; closely related species share more derived traits than do distantly related species. Cladistic procedures can be programmed into computers and the computers then used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the group of species. Lundberg and Westneat will study the jaw specializations in many species of wrasses against this backdrop of evolutionary history to determine how the basic plan of the four-bar-crank-chain is modified by natural selection into many feeding specializations. This study melds modern technologies such as computer simulation, cladistic methods, high speed cinematography, etc. into a single study of the evolution of a complex system. Studies of this nature serve as paradigms for understanding the evolution of complex adaptations.