RIG/CAA: The Chimaera's Beak: the Mechanics and Performance Consequences of an Ancient Feeding Mechanism

PI：Lara A.费里-格雷厄姆奖编号：IOS-0641286嵌合体的喙：古代进食机制的力学和性能后果因为动物必须捕捉和处理猎物，与进食相关的特征很重要，并有望通过自然选择进化。 摄食性状的进化被认为是促进脊椎动物，特别是鱼类及其近缘种进化的重要因素。 在这些动物中，咬/压碎和撞击/抽吸是两套根本不同但同样突出的进食行为。 对放线菌和板鳃类这两个主要的、研究得很好的水生脊椎动物类群的研究表明，专门从事公羊或吸盘的物种具有灵活性。可生产的下巴和隐形攻击行为。 专门用于咬或压碎的物种往往有扩大的肌肉，加固的骨骼和坚固的牙齿。然而，这些趋势是在没有考虑第三组水生脊椎动物--银鲛亚目的情况下推断出来的。 这是一个古老的鱼类群体，通过进化喙状的齿板和继发性融合到脑颅的上颚来解决咬和压碎的问题-与其他水生脊椎动物的特征一致。 有人认为，最近进化的嵌合体成员是吸食动物，但这些动物保留了它们的咬/压碎祖先的形态。 本研究将以实验方式探讨这第三类水生脊椎动物摄食机制的表现与功能。 由于对其他两大类水生脊椎动物有大量的信息，这项研究将提供有关脊椎动物摄食机制起源和进化的关键信息。这项工作结合了生物学和工程学的原则，并将在少数民族服务机构进行。 它将包括本科生和研究生的研究培训，其中许多人将来自生物学代表性不足的群体。 学生将接受最先进的技术培训，用于评估形态和性能，以及生物学和工程学的整合。

PI: Lara A. Ferry-Graham Award No.: IOS-0641286 The chimaera's beak: the mechanics and performance consequences of an ancient feeding mechanismBecause animals must catch and handle prey, traits associated with feeding are important, and expected to evolve through natural selection. The evolution of feeding traits is thought to be responsible for facilitating the evolution vertebrates, especially fishes and their relatives. Biting/crushing and ram/suction are two suites of fundamentally different, yet equally prominent feeding behaviors in these animals. Studies of actinopterygians and elasmobranchs, two major and well-studied groups of aquatic vertebrates, suggest that species specialized in ram or suction have flexible. producible jaws, and stealthy attack behaviors. Species that are specialized for biting or crushing tend to have enlarged muscles, reinforced skeletons, and robust teeth. However, these trends have been inferred without considering a third group of aquatic vertebrates, the Chimaeroidei. These are an ancient group of fishes that have dealt with the problem of biting and crushing by evolving beak-like tooth plates and an upper jaw secondarily fused to the neurocranium - traits consistent with those seen in other aquatic vertebrates. It has been suggested that the most recently evolved members of the chimaeroids are suction feeders, yet these animals retain the morphology of their biting/crushing ancestors. This study will experimentally investigate the performance and function of feeding mechanisms in this third group of aquatic vertebrates. As there is substantial information on the other two major groups of aquatic vertebrates, this study will provide pivotal information regarding the origin and evolution of the vertebrate feeding mechanism. This work integrates Biology and Engineering principles, and will be conducted at a minority serving institution. It will include the training of both undergraduate and graduate students in research, many of whom will be from groups underrepresented in Biology. Students will be trained in state-of-the-art techniques for assessing morphology and performance, as well as the integration of Biology and Engineering.