Dissertation Research: Linking Phylogeny and Functional Morphology to Assess the Evolution of Gill Ventilation Systems in Teleost Fishes

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To explore the evolution of complex functional anatomical systems, the researchers will study the respiratory apparatus in a diverse group of bottom-dwelling fishes (sculpins and allies). They will develop a new phylogenetic tree of relationships among 27 representative cottoid species based on DNA sequence data from four nuclear genes. The researchers will use dissection and computed tomographic (CT) scans to study anatomy of the respiratory apparatus and reconstruct its patterns of evolution. Functional consequences of these evolutionary anatomical changes will be studied using (1) an easily modified robotic model to simulate different types of fish breathing; and (2) pressure recordings from five representative species to assess the predictive power of the robotic model.This research will contribute to the graduate education of doctoral candidate Stacy Farina. The robot will be used in a workshop for the Expanding Your Horizons conference at Cornell University, which provides STEM experiences for 7-9th grade girls. While the focus of this study is on sculpins and allies, variation in cottoid anatomy is such that findings will be broadly applicable to many other groups of fishes. This project will also contribute to the development of techniques for using robotic models to study evolution of complex biomechanical systems.