The Evolution of Cranial Forms in Anguilliform Fishes: Does Extreme Biting Promote or Constrain Morphological Diversity?

鳗鱼颅骨形态的进化：极端咬合会促进还是限制形态多样性？

• 批准号: 1063286
• 负责人: Rita Mehta
• 金额: $ 13.53万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1063286&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evolution; Cranial; Forms; Anguilliform; Fishes

The diversification of novel body forms and behavior patterns is of central interest in biology. One factor that may guide or constrain diversity in organismal design is the correlation of traits: individual trait diversity may be limited by their associations with other traits. Alternatively, a large change in one character or in a suite of functionally related traits may have far-reaching consequences on the integration of complex systems, greatly affecting the outcome of system design and behavior. Fish skulls are highly complex musculoskeletal systems that are used for critical survival behaviors such as prey capture, prey transport (swallowing), and respiration. Our knowledge of skull design in teleost fishes is derived almost entirely from studies of suction feeding, the dominant mode of prey capture, prey transport, and respiration for the majority of fishes. However, biting is an alternative prey capture behavior that has evolved across many fish groups and the evolutionary dynamics of morphological and behavioral evolution in biting lineages is poorly understood. This study will test the idea that the evolution of biting has promoted diversification in behavior and morphology in one of the most prominent groups of biting fishes: eels and their allies. Fishes that bite their prey rather than use suction, have modified their jaws in diverse ways. In some cases, jaw modification has had cascading effects on the transport and respiratory complex for some of these fish species that capture their prey by biting. For example, moray eels, a species rich group belonging to a larger group of fishes known as the anguilliforms, or true eels, do not rely on suction for capturing or swallowing their prey. Morays capture their prey by sinking their teeth into them. Once the prey is captured, morays protract their pharyngeal jaws, a second set of jaws in their throat, into their mouths to grab the prey item and transport the prey into their esophagus. This swallowing behavior is unlike any other fish transport behavior and presents the first alternative method for transporting prey without the use of suction in the aquatic environment. This novelty in moray transport behavior provides an opportunity to examine how functional innovations in integrated systems arise. This study will be the first comparative analysis on the functional implications of biting on teleost skull diversity. This work will also improve our understanding of eel relationships and will integrate fossil information with newly collected genetic data to produce the first time tree for the group. With this tree we propose to identify broad patterns of trait associations and trait modularity in the skull of eels to illustrate how a change in the oral jaws has had cascading effects on systems used for prey transport, and respiration. The principal investigator is a first time investigator who is committed to recruiting and encouraging young scientists, especially women. The collective efforts of this grant will provide training for graduate students and undergraduates in a variety of anatomical techniques, while also providing opportunities for these developing scientists to attend scientific meetings.

新的身体形态和行为模式的多样化是生物学的核心兴趣。 可能引导或限制生物体设计多样性的一个因素是性状的相关性：个体性状多样性可能受到其与其他性状的关联的限制。或者，一个性格或一套功能相关特征的巨大变化可能对复杂系统的整合产生深远的影响，极大地影响系统设计和行为的结果。鱼类头骨是高度复杂的肌肉骨骼系统，用于关键的生存行为，如猎物捕获，猎物运输（吞咽）和呼吸。我们对硬骨鱼头骨设计的认识几乎完全来自于对吸食的研究，吸食是大多数鱼类捕获猎物、运输猎物和呼吸的主要方式。然而，咬是一种替代的猎物捕获行为，已经在许多鱼类种群中进化，并且对咬谱系中形态和行为进化的进化动力学知之甚少。这项研究将测试的想法，咬的进化促进了多样化的行为和形态在一个最突出的群体咬鱼：鳗鱼和他们的盟友。鱼咬猎物而不是使用吸力，以各种方式修改它们的下巴。在某些情况下，颌骨的改造对这些鱼类的运输和呼吸复合体产生了级联效应，这些鱼类通过叮咬捕获猎物。例如，海鳗，一个物种丰富的群体，属于一个更大的群体，被称为鳗形鱼，或真正的鳗鱼，不依赖于吸力捕捉或吞咽他们的猎物。海鳗用牙齿咬住猎物。一旦猎物被捕获，海鳗会伸出它们的咽颚，喉咙里的第二组颚，进入嘴里抓住猎物并将猎物运送到食道。这种吞咽行为不同于任何其他鱼类的运输行为，并且是在水生环境中不使用吸力运输猎物的第一种替代方法。海鳗运输行为的这种新奇提供了一个机会，研究如何在集成系统中出现功能创新。这项研究将是第一个比较分析的功能意义上的咬硬骨鱼头骨的多样性。这项工作还将提高我们对鳗鱼关系的理解，并将化石信息与新收集的遗传数据相结合，为该群体制作第一个时间树。有了这棵树，我们建议确定广泛的模式的特征协会和特征模块化的头骨鳗鱼，以说明如何在口腔颌骨的变化有级联效应的系统用于猎物运输和呼吸。首席研究员是第一次研究谁是致力于招募和鼓励年轻科学家，特别是妇女。这项赠款的集体努力将为研究生和本科生提供各种解剖技术的培训，同时也为这些发展中的科学家提供参加科学会议的机会。