Cruising the whale superhighway: The evolution, biomechanics, and ecological drivers of migration in cetaceans

巡航鲸鱼高速公路：鲸目动物迁徙的进化、生物力学和生态驱动因素

• 批准号: NE/Y000757/1
• 负责人: Katrina Elizabeth Jones
• 金额: $ 106.62万
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FY000757%2F1
• 关键词: Cruising; whale; superhighway; evolution; biomechanics

Whales are a diverse group of aquatic mammals that fill a wide range of important roles within marine communities. One surprising behaviour they exhibit is the remarkable ability to travel huge distances across the world every year in their annual migrations. They migrate from polar regions, where food is plentiful, to regions nearer the tropics where they can raise their young away from predators. Long-distance migration in whales is ecologically important because they transfer huge quantities of nutrients from the food they eat at the poles, which they then release in breeding regions through defecation or by dying. For example, a fallen whale body on the seabed provides the basis for an entire marine ecosystem. While fully-aquatic whales evolved over 40 million years ago, it is unclear when in their long evolutionary history migration began. It has been hypothesized that global climatic change, such as formation of the polar ice caps may have provided the environmental impetus for whale migration, but the link between behaviour, ecology, and evolution is poorly understood.This research will investigate long-distance migration in modern whales, then apply this knowledge to understanding how and when migratory behaviours evolved in ancient whales. We aim to investigate both the functional changes in morphology that enable long-distance migration and the environmental factors that drove the onset of these epic journeys. First, we will investigate how whale body shape has adapted to facilitate long-distance swimming in modern whales. We will ask: are migratory whales biomechanically optimized for swimming long distances? We will do this by measuring body shape variation in whales, and using computer models to estimate the fluid dynamics of whale swimming. Next, we will examine the environmental drivers that underlie whale migration and predict when they arose in earth history. We will ask: How do the environmental conditions in whale breeding and feeding grounds differ? And, when do these particular environments appear in the geological record? To do this, we will combine data from whale sightings around the world with environmental data, and state-of-the-art reconstructions of oceanic conditions throughout the Cenozoic. Finally, we will reconstruct the evolutionary history of both anatomical adaptations and ecology associated with migration. We will ask: When in whale evolution do we see the combination of swimming adaptations and ecological niches that indicate migratory behaviour? To do this, we will compare morphological and ecological features broadly across the phylogenetic tree of whales, reconstructing the most likely evolutionary sequence of events.This project proposes a unique combination of approaches to address an important evolutionary question. This will not only provide new insights into whales, their ecology, evolution, and behaviour; it will shed light on the deep-time origins of a process which is key to oceanic ecosystem function, and provide a case-study for the combination of anatomical and ecological evidence in studies of extinct species. By better understanding the relationship between whale migration and environmental change through time, we lay the groundwork for understanding the impact of anthropogenic changes on the future conservation risks of these iconic ocean giants.

鲸鱼是一组多样化的水生哺乳动物，填补了海洋社区中各种重要作用。他们表现出的一种令人惊讶的行为是每年在年度移民中每年在全球范围内旅行巨大距离的非凡能力。他们从粮食丰富的极地地区迁移到在热带地区附近的地区，他们可以将年轻人远离捕食者。鲸鱼中的长距离迁移在生态上很重要，因为它们从在两极食用的食物中转移大量营养素，然后通过排便或死亡在育种区域释放。例如，海床上的鲸鱼体为整个海洋生态系统提供了基础。虽然鲸鱼完全流动了4000万年前，但目前尚不清楚何时在漫长的进化史移民开始。已经假设的是，全球气候变化，例如形成极地冰盖可能为鲸鱼迁移提供了环境动力，但是行为，生态学和进化之间的联系很熟悉。这项研究将调查现代鲸鱼中的长距离迁移，然后将这种知识应用于迁移行为在古老的Whales中的发展以及何时迁移。我们旨在研究形态学的功能变化，以使长距离迁移以及推动这些史诗般旅程的开始的环境因素。首先，我们将研究鲸鱼的形状如何适应现代鲸鱼中的长途游泳。我们会问：迁徙鲸生物力学优化用于游泳长距离吗？我们将通过测量鲸鱼的体形变化，并使用计算机模型来估计鲸鱼游泳的流体动力学来做到这一点。接下来，我们将研究鲸鱼迁移并预测地球历史何时出现的环境驱动因素。我们会问：鲸鱼育种和饲养场的环境条件有何不同？而且，这些特定环境什么时候出现在地质记录中？为此，我们将将目击者的数据与环境数据以及整个新生代的海洋状况的最新重建相结合。最后，我们将重建与迁移相关的解剖适应和生态学的进化史。我们会问：何时在鲸鱼进化中，我们看到游泳适应和表明迁徙行为的生态壁ni的组合？为此，我们将比较鲸鱼系统发育树的形态和生态特征，重建最可能的事件进化序列。该项目提出了一种独特的方法来解决重要的进化问题。这不仅将提供有关鲸鱼，其生态，进化和行为的新见解；它将阐明一个过程的深度起源，这是海洋生态系统功能的关键，并为灭绝物种研究中解剖学和生态证据的结合提供了案例研究。通过更好地理解鲸鱼迁移与环境变化之间的关系，我们为理解人为变化对这些标志性海洋巨人的未来保护风险的影响奠定了基础。