The Ecomorphology of Mammalian Frugivores: A Test of Congruence Between Cranial Morphology and Feeding Behavior

生态形态学是研究生物体的解剖学如何与其生态学相关联的学科。 行为，或者说动物如何使用它们的解剖结构，是动物和它们的环境之间的重要桥梁。 具体来说，比较动物执行某些任务的能力可以提供有关这些动物所扮演的生态角色的信息。 现代生态形态学研究结合了联合收割机对解剖学、性能和动物之间关系的分析，以了解当今世界生物多样性的潜在因素。 研究鸟类和鱼类的科学家们发现，头骨的解剖结构和进食行为之间存在很强的联系。 这项研究调查了这种强烈的关联是否是哺乳动物的典型特征。 通过调查这种关系，这项研究将测试头骨形状和头骨功能之间的基本联系，并阐明一组现代哺乳动物的生态多样性。 这项研究的对象是两个亲缘关系较远的果蝠群体-新世界果蝠和旧世界果蝠。之所以选择这些群体进行这项研究，是因为它们各自包含一系列物种，这些物种以相似的方式划分了它们所能获得的水果资源。 这两个群体的解剖和行为多样性使它们成为研究头骨形态，行为灵活性和进食性能之间相互作用的理想测试案例。 本研究的目的是探讨颅形态，摄食性能和饮食之间的关系，并评估这些因素在果食性哺乳动物的生态多样性中发挥的作用。这项研究将：1）提供一个评估的灵活性，在喂养行为的物种内和物种之间，2）确定在喂养性能的物种内的峰值，3）测试头骨形态和饮食习惯之间的基本关联; 4）评估身体大小在喂养性能的作用，和5）测试假设头骨形态和喂养行为是紧密相连的，反映了饮食的变化比进化历史。 这五个领域中的每一个都将通过使用特定的统计和系统技术测试明确的假设来探索。 这项研究的重要性在于测试头骨形态和哺乳动物的进食行为密切相关的命题。 虽然哺乳动物一般都有很好的研究，但摄食性能的变化与生态多样性之间的关系尚未得到研究。 本研究将评估形态，行为和性能的相关性，在两个生态相似，但远亲linages -一个设计，提供了一个自然的测试这些因素之间的关联强度。

Ecomorphology is the study of how an organism's anatomy is associated with its ecology. Behavior, or how animals use their anatomy, is an important bridge between animals and their environments. Specifically, comparing animals abilities to perform certain tasks can provide information about the ecological roles those animals play. Modern ecomorphology studies combine analyses of anatomy, performance and relationships among animals to understand the factors underlying the diversity of organisms in the world today. Scientists studying birds and fish have found a strong association between the anatomy of the skull and feeding behavior. This study investigates whether this same strong association is typical of mammals. By investigating this relationship, this study will test fundamental associations between skull form and skull function and shed light on the basis of ecological diversity within one group of modern mammals. The subjects of this study are two distantly related groups of fruit bats - New World fruit bats and Old World fruit bats. These groups were selected for this study because they each contain an array of species that divide the fruit resources available to them in similar ways. The anatomical and behavioral diversity within these two groups make them an ideal test case for studying the interplay between skull morphology, behavioral flexibility and feeding performance. The goal of this study is to explore the relationships among cranial morphology, feeding performance, and diet, and evaluate the roles that these factors play in the ecological diversity of fruit feeding mammals. This study will: 1) provide an assessment of flexibility in feeding behavior within and between species, 2) identify peaks in feeding performance within species, 3) test fundamental associations between skull morphology and dietary habits; 4) evaluate the role of body size in feeding performance, and 5) test the hypothesis that skull morphology and feeding behavior are tightly linked and reflect variation in diet more than evolutionary history. Each of these five areas will be explored through testing explicit hypotheses using specific statistical and systematic techniques. The importance of this study lies in testing the proposition that skull morphology and feeding behavior are tightly linked in mammals. Although mammals are generally well studied, the relationship between variation in feeding performance and ecological diversity has not been investigated. This study will assess the correlation of morphology, behavior, and performance in two ecologically similar but distantly related linages - a design that provides a natural test of the strength of association among these factors.