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

在这篇博士论文中，马克·韦斯特奈特（Mark Westneat） 在杜克大学的约翰·伦德伯格博士的监督下， 将研究哺乳动物的摄食专门化的演变， 唇鱼是珊瑚礁中常见的鱼类 社区. Westneat应用了四杆的概念- 曲柄链模型，借用机械工程，以 分析了这些鱼类的颌骨结构和功能。韦斯特纳 他开发了一个计算机模拟的模型， 分析来自于濑鱼高速摄影的数据 喂食第二个并行项目是重建 使用现代支序学方法研究该群体的进化史。 分支分类法是一种数值方法， 性状分布（形态学、生化等）之间 该物种;密切相关的物种共享更多的衍生特征 远比远亲的物种要多分支系统程序可以是 被编入计算机，然后计算机用来 重建物种群的进化历史。 Lundberg和Westneat将研究许多物种的颌骨特化， 在进化历史的背景下， 确定四连杆曲柄链的基本方案 通过自然选择进化成许多觅食的专门化。 这项研究融合了现代技术， 模拟、分支方法、高速电影摄影等。 一个复杂系统进化的单一研究。研究 作为理解进化的范例 复杂的适应性。

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.