scholarly journals Trophic convergence drives morphological convergence in marine tetrapods

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 20140709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil P. Kelley ◽  
Ryosuke Motani
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Tooth Morphology ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Morphological Convergence ◽  
Dietary Data

Marine tetrapod clades (e.g. seals, whales) independently adapted to marine life through the Mesozoic and Caenozoic, and provide iconic examples of convergent evolution. Apparent morphological convergence is often explained as the result of adaptation to similar ecological niches. However, quantitative tests of this hypothesis are uncommon. We use dietary data to classify the feeding ecology of extant marine tetrapods and identify patterns in skull and tooth morphology that discriminate trophic groups across clades. Mapping these patterns onto phylogeny reveals coordinated evolutionary shifts in diet and morphology in different marine tetrapod lineages. Similarities in morphology between species with similar diets—even across large phylogenetic distances—are consistent with previous hypotheses that shared functional constraints drive convergent evolution in marine tetrapods.

scholarly journals The limits of convergence: the roles of phylogeny and dietary ecology in shaping non-avian amniote crania

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 202145
Author(s):  
Keegan M. Melstrom ◽  
Kenneth D. Angielczyk ◽  
Kathleen A. Ritterbush ◽  
Randall B. Irmis
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Skull Shape ◽  
Morphological Convergence ◽  
Morphometric Methods ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
Dietary Ecology ◽  
Amniote Phylogeny ◽  
Cranial Shape

Cranial morphology is remarkably varied in living amniotes and the diversity of shapes is thought to correspond with feeding ecology, a relationship repeatedly demonstrated at smaller phylogenetic scales, but one that remains untested across amniote phylogeny. Using a combination of morphometric methods, we investigate the links between phylogenetic relationships, diet and skull shape in an expansive dataset of extant toothed amniotes: mammals, lepidosaurs and crocodylians. We find that both phylogeny and dietary ecology have statistically significant effects on cranial shape. The three major clades largely partition morphospace with limited overlap. Dietary generalists often occupy clade-specific central regions of morphospace. Some parallel changes in cranial shape occur in clades with distinct evolutionary histories but similar diets. However, members of a given clade often present distinct cranial shape solutions for a given diet, and the vast majority of species retain the unique aspects of their ancestral skull plan, underscoring the limits of morphological convergence due to ecology in amniotes. These data demonstrate that certain cranial shapes may provide functional advantages suited to particular dietary ecologies, but accounting for both phylogenetic history and ecology can provide a more nuanced approach to inferring the ecology and functional morphology of cryptic or extinct amniotes.

scholarly journals Functional constraints on tooth morphology in carnivorous mammals

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D Smits ◽  
Alistair R Evans
Keyword(s):  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Tooth Morphology

scholarly journals Morphological convergence in ‘river dolphin’ skulls: a disparate grouping justified

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte E Page ◽  
Natalie Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Morphometrics ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Shape Variation ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
River Dolphin ◽  
Morphological Convergence ◽  
Inia Geoffrensis ◽  
Pontoporia Blainvillei ◽  
Future Work

Convergent evolution can provide insights into the predictability of, and constraints on, the evolution of biodiversity. One striking example of convergence is seen in the ‘river dolphins’. The four dolphin genera that make up the ‘river dolphins’ (Inia geoffrensis, Pontoporia blainvillei, Platanista gangetica and Lipotes vexillifer) do not represent a monophyletic group, despite being very similar in morphology. This has led many to using the ‘river dolphins’ as an example of convergent evolution. However, these morphological similarities have never been quantified. We investigate whether the skulls of the four ‘river dolphin’ genera are convergent when compared to other toothed dolphin taxa. We use geometric morphometrics to uncover shape variation in the skulls of the ‘river dolphins’ and then apply a number of phylogenetic techniques to test for convergence. We find significant convergence in the skull morphology of the ‘river dolphins’. The four genera seem to have experienced evolution in the same direction, leading to a convergent morphotype characterised by elongation of skull features. The cause of this morphological convergence remains unclear, but our results support hypotheses of shared feeding mode or diet and thus provide the foundation for future work into convergence within the Odontoceti.

scholarly journals Trophic divergence despite morphological convergence in a continental radiation of snakes

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1787) ◽  
pp. 20140413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Grundler ◽  
Daniel L. Rabosky
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
North American ◽  
Foraging Mode ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The North ◽  
Biogeographic History ◽  
Morphological Convergence ◽  
Phenotypic Convergence

Ecological and phenotypic convergence is a potential outcome of adaptive radiation in response to ecological opportunity. However, a number of factors may limit convergence during evolutionary radiations, including interregional differences in biogeographic history and clade-specific constraints on form and function. Here, we demonstrate that a single clade of terrestrial snakes from Australia—the oxyuranine elapids—exhibits widespread morphological convergence with a phylogenetically diverse and distantly related assemblage of snakes from North America. Australian elapids have evolved nearly the full spectrum of phenotypic modalities that occurs among North American snakes. Much of the convergence appears to involve the recurrent evolution of stereotyped morphologies associated with foraging mode, locomotion and habitat use. By contrast, analysis of snake diets indicates striking divergence in feeding ecology between these faunas, partially reflecting regional differences in ecological allometry between Australia and North America. Widespread phenotypic convergence with the North American snake fauna coupled with divergence in feeding ecology are clear examples of how independent continental radiations may converge along some ecological axes yet differ profoundly along others.

scholarly journals Diet studies of seabirds: a review and recommendations

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1675-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Barrett ◽  
Kees (C. J.) Camphuysen ◽  
Tycho Anker-Nilssen ◽  
John W. Chardine ◽  
Robert W. Furness ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Marine Birds ◽  
Critical Data ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Dietary Data

AbstractBarrett, R. T., Camphuysen, C. J., Anker-Nilssen, T., Chardine, J. W., Furness, R. W., Garthe, S., Hüppop, O., Leopold, M. F., Montevecchi, W. A., and Veit, R. R. 2007. Diet studies of seabirds: a review and recommendations. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64. We review the different methods that are used to collect dietary data from marine birds. We consider their limitations and practicalities and emphasize critical data gaps in our knowledge of the feeding ecology of seabirds (na mely diets outside breeding seasons). To enhance comparability of findings among studies, species, and oceanographic regions, we make recommendations on standards for the reporting of results in the literature.

scholarly journals Preliminary studies of fungi in the Biebrza National Park (NE Poland). I. Micromycetes

2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Ruszkiewicz-Michalska ◽  
Cezary Tkaczuk ◽  
Maria Dynowska ◽  
Ewa Sucharzewska ◽  
Jarosław Szkodzik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Fungicolous Fungi ◽  
Ne Poland ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Scientific Project

This paper presents the results of the first short-term inventory of fungi species occurring in the Biebrza National Park, one of the biggest and best preserved protected areas of Poland. The paper is focused on a survey of microfungi. Fungi were collected in early autumn 2012, within the framework of a scientific project by the Polish Mycological Society. The results are published in two parts containing micro- and macromycetes, respectively. An annotated list of 188 identified taxa covers true fungi including 33 zygomycetes, 130 ascomycetes (including anamorphs) and 22 basidiomycetes, as well as two chromistan and one protozoan fungal analogues. The identified fungi taxa, inhabiting diverse ecological niches, represent a wide range of trophic groups including saprotrophs, biotrofic and necrotrophic parasites of plants, pathogens of arthropods, fungicolous fungi and species isolated from soil and organic matter. From 188 annotated taxa, 89% (167 species) have not been recorded in the Biebrza National Park until now and four species are newly reported for Poland (<em>Alternaria nobilis, Clonostachys solani, Mariannaea elegans, Metasphaeria cumana</em>). Data on the species richness and taxonomic diversity of the identified fungi are briefly commented in terms of micromycetes role in managing nature conservation.

scholarly journals Investigating zinc toxicity responses in marine Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus

Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Indrani Sarker ◽  
Lisa R. Moore ◽  
Sasha G. Tetu
Keyword(s):  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Zinc Toxicity ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marine Life ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Oxygenic Phototrophs

Marine plastic pollution is a growing concern worldwide and has the potential to impact marine life via leaching of chemicals, with zinc (Zn), a common plastic additive, observed at particularly high levels in plastic leachates in previous studies. At this time, however, little is known regarding how elevated Zn affects key groups of marine primary producers. Marine cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are considered to be some of the most abundant oxygenic phototrophs on earth, and together contribute significantly to oceanic primary productivity. Here we set out to investigate how two Prochlorococcus (MIT9312 and NATL2A) and two Synechococcus (CC9311 and WH8102) strains, representative of diverse ecological niches, respond to exposure to high Zn concentrations. The two genera showed differences in the timing and degree of growth and physiological responses to elevated Zn levels, with Prochlorococcus strains showing declines in their growth rate and photophysiology following exposure to 27 µg l−1 Zn, while Synechococcus CC9311 and WH8102 growth rates declined significantly on exposure to 52 and 152 µg l−1 Zn, respectively. Differences were also observed in each strain’s capacity to maintain cell wall integrity on exposure to different levels of Zn. Our results indicate that excess Zn has the potential to pose a challenge to some marine picocyanobacteria and highlights the need to better understand how different marine Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus strains may respond to increasing concentrations of Zn in some marine regions.

CONVERGENT EVOLUTION IN TOOTH MORPHOLOGY OF FILTER FEEDING LAMNIFORM SHARKS

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Huelsman ◽  
◽  
Michaela G. Mitchell ◽  
Charles N. Ciampaglio ◽  
Stephen J. Jacquemin
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Filter Feeding ◽  
Tooth Morphology

Conodont size, trophic level, and the evolution of platform elements

Paleobiology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Ginot ◽  
Nicolas Goudemand
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Level ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Developmental Constraints ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Limited Impact ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Character Matrix

AbstractConodonts are among the first vertebrates to have evolved mineralized tooth-like structures. Among these, the so-called P1 elements are known to have been used to break down food and display a wide variety of morphologies. In particular, the repeated independent evolution of platform-like P1 elements have been suggested to correspond to similar functional constraints linked to diet. To test this hypothesis of convergence, we measured size (as element length) for various conodont taxa and used it as a proxy for trophic level. We then tested the correlation between size and platform presence/absence, both on raw data and in a phylogenetic context. Retaining or excluding the platform traits from the character matrix has limited impact on the resulting phylogeny. Contrary to platform presence/absence, size shows no phylogenetic signal. Using the raw data, size and platform presence appear positively correlated. That correlation, however, is no longer significant if one corrects for the phylogeny. We conclude that platform presence cannot be explained by an enlargement of the conodont element, be it via a trophic-level change or developmental constraints. This suggests that conodonts as a whole, and in particular platform-bearing conodonts, were an ecologically diverse group and that the various known platform types are likely to reflect different, rather than convergent, ecological niches.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document