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

PI: Lara A. Ferry-Graham奖当前位置由于动物必须捕捉和处理猎物，因此与进食有关的特征很重要，并且有望通过自然选择进化。进食特征的进化被认为是促进脊椎动物，特别是鱼类及其近亲进化的原因。咬/咬碎和猛撞/吸是这些动物的两种根本不同但同样突出的进食行为。对两种主要的水生脊椎动物——放光鳍目动物和弹鳃目动物——的研究表明，专门从事撞击或吸力的物种具有柔韧性。可生产的颚，以及隐形的攻击行为。专门用于咬或咬碎的物种往往有扩大的肌肉，强化的骨骼和坚固的牙齿。然而，这些趋势是在没有考虑第三类水生脊椎动物——嵌合体的情况下推断出来的。这是一种古老的鱼类，它们通过进化出喙状的齿板和与神经头盖骨次要融合的上颚来解决咬和压的问题——这些特征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吮进食动物，但这些动物保留了它们咬/碾碎祖先的形态。本研究将对这第三类水生脊椎动物摄食机制的性能和功能进行实验研究。由于对水生脊椎动物的其他两个主要类群有大量的信息，本研究将为脊椎动物摄食机制的起源和进化提供关键信息。这项工作结合了生物学和工程学原理，并将在少数民族服务机构进行。它将包括对本科生和研究生的研究培训，其中许多人将来自生物学中代表性不足的群体。学生将接受最先进的形态学和性能评估技术的培训，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.