Coordination of Ventilation and Feeding in Sharks

鲨鱼呼吸和进食的协调罗德岛大学这项研究将调查鲨鱼呼吸和进食的协调，这两种行为对个体的生存至关重要。在功能和进化生物学中，一个重要的话题是解剖学对生物体执行特定任务的能力的影响。头部的解剖形状不仅影响特定鲨鱼的呼吸方式，从而影响其栖息的栖息地，而且在决定捕获和摄入猎物的种类方面也起着重要作用。将分析头部运动、肌肉活动和压力产生，以解决有关呼吸机制在休息和进食之间如何改变的功能假设。这项研究将提供一种定量的方法来衡量鲨鱼使用的呼吸机制（撞击或吸力）与捕获猎物的机制是如何协调的。这项研究将通过评估左右颚分离控制的能力来增加我们对脊椎动物摄食机制的了解，从而增加最古老的有颚的现存物种-鲨鱼摄食装置的多功能性。颚部的异步激活表明颚部肌肉有独立的神经控制，可以在进食时更好地操纵猎物。如果鲨鱼也具有双侧异步肌肉激活，那么这种特征就是脊椎动物的祖先特征。这项研究也将增加我们对进食通才和特殊鱼类调节进食行为的能力的认识，这一直是脊椎动物功能解剖学家和生态学家的兴趣所在。这项研究将增加我们对两种同居鲨鱼的摄食关系的理解，这将为更广泛地研究纳拉甘西特湾鲨鱼、鳐鱼和鳐鱼群落的生态学提供基础。两名女研究生和四至六名本科生，优先考虑代表性不足的群体，将在赠款期间在各级接受这项研究技术的指导。相关班级的学生也将通过体验式学习从这项研究中受益。这项关于呼吸的研究扩展了之前关于进食的研究，研究了一种新的行为，这种行为必须进化到既独立又与其他对鲨鱼生活史至关重要的行为合作。这项研究的结果将广泛传播，以增进对科学和技术的了解。在拯救海湾和神秘水族馆的鲨鱼栖息地附近，还将准备两个教育展览，以提高公众对这些迅速消失的动物的认识。

Coordination of Ventilation and Feeding In SharksCheryl A. D. WilgaUniversity Of Rhode IslandThis research will investigate the coordination of breathing and feeding in sharks, two behaviors that are critical to individual survival. A major topic of interest in functional and evolutionary biology is the effect that anatomy has on the ability of an organism to perform a certain task. Not only does the anatomical shape of the head influence the way that a particular shark breathes and thus what habitats it can inhabit, but it plays a major role in determining the kinds of prey that can be captured and ingested. Head movements, muscle activity and pressure generation will be analyzed to address functional hypotheses about the how the breathing mechanism is altered between resting and feeding. This study will provide a quantitative measure of how the type of breathing mechanism (ram or suction) that a shark species uses is coordinated with the mechanism of capturing prey. This research will increase our knowledge of feeding mechanisms in vertebrates by evaluating the ability to decouple control of the right and left sides of the jaws in order to increase the versatility of the feeding apparatus in the most ancestral living species with jaws - sharks. Asynchronous activation of the jaws suggests that the jaw muscles have independent neural control for greater manipulation of the prey during feeding. If sharks posses bilaterally asynchronous muscle activation as well, then the trait is an ancestral feature in vertebrates. This research will also increase our knowledge of the ability of a feeding generalist and specialist fish species to modulate feeding behavior, which has long been of interest to vertebrate functional anatomists and ecologists. This research will increase our understanding of feeding relationships in two cohabitating shark species, which will provide the basis for a broader study on the ecology of a community of sharks, skates and rays in Narragansett Bay, RI. Two female graduate students and four to six undergraduate students, with preference given to underrepresented groups, will be mentored in the techniques of this research at every level for the duration of the grant. Students in associated classes will also benefit by this research through experiential learning. This research on breathing expands on previous research in feeding by the study of a new behavior that must evolve to function both independently of, and cooperatively with, other behaviors critical to the life history of the shark. The results of this research will be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding. Two educational displays will also be prepared to be placed near the shark habitat at Save the Bay and Mystic Aquarium to increase public awareness about these rapidly disappearing animals.