All you can eat: evolution of feeding in the largest animals on Earth

所有你可以吃：地球上最大的动物的喂养进化

• 批准号: DE190101052
• 负责人: Dr Felix Marx
• 金额: $ 4.38万
• 依托单位: Monash University
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2019-07-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DE190101052
• 关键词: eat; evolution; feeding; largest; animals

This project aims to establish how Baleen whales, the largest animals on Earth and major ecosystem engineers, evolved their signature filter-feeding strategy. Unlike other mammals, whales are toothless, and instead use a keratinous, comb-like sieve to filter vast amounts of small prey from seawater. Various approaches, including biomechanics, three-dimensional imaging, geochemistry and quantitative palaeobiology will unravel how and when filter feeding emerged, how it diversified over time, and whether its evolution correlated with past environmental change. The project is expected to reveal clues on how whales became one of the greatest ecological actors in the sea, and will benefit conservation by providing a glimpse into their future.

该项目旨在确定地球上最大的动物和主要生态系统工程师长须鲸是如何进化出其标志性的滤食策略的。与其他哺乳动物不同，鲸鱼没有牙齿，而是用一种角质的梳子状筛子从海水中过滤大量的小猎物。各种方法，包括生物力学，三维成像，地球化学和定量古生物学将揭示如何以及何时出现滤食性，它如何随着时间的推移而多样化，以及它的演变是否与过去的环境变化相关。该项目预计将揭示鲸鱼如何成为海洋中最伟大的生态行为者之一的线索，并将通过提供对鲸鱼未来的一瞥而有利于保护。