Physiological Mechanisms of Prey Capture in Lower Vertebrates

本提案的总体目标是调查 动物的肌肉功能模式是可以改变的。 本研究涉及的主要一般性问题包括 以下. (1)肌肉功能模式在多大程度上 在发展过程中的变化，以及是什么导致了这些变化， 发现发生？ (2)在多大程度上 近亲和远亲的功能不同 动物的种类？ (3)肌肉的形态 对动物生存环境的影响 这些 将使用定量技术研究问题， 测量肌肉功能并进行差异统计学检验 在物种之间，在发展阶段之间，在实验之间， 治疗。 蝾螈和海龟的头骨肌肉组织 作为一个实验系统来研究这些问题。 选择这些生物是因为它们可以比较 肌肉功能在不同的环境和肌肉功能可以 在整个发展过程中进行研究。 这项研究将有助于 我们对肌肉工作的生物力学的理解， 脊椎动物复杂运动序列的生理学， 低等脊椎动物进食行为的进化。

The overall goal of this proposal is to investigate the extent to which patterns of muscle function in animals can be modified. Key general questions addressed by this research include the following. (1) To what extent do patterns of muscle function change during development, and what causes the changes that are found to occur? (2) To what extent do patterns of muscle function differ among both closely related and distantly related species of animals? (3) How dependent are patterns of muscle function on the environment that animals are found in? These questions will be studied using quantitative techniques to measure muscle function and statistically test for differences among species, among developmental stages, and among experimental treatments. The skull musculature in salamanders and turtles is used as an experimental system to investigate these questions. These organisms were chosen because they allow comparisons of muscle function in different environments and muscle function can be studied throughout development. This research will contribute to our understanding of he biomechanics of muscle work in vertebrates the physiology of complex movement sequences and the evolution of feeding behavior in lower vertebrates.