scholarly journals Axial morphology and 3D neurocranial kinematics in suction-feeding fishes

Biology Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. bio036335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yordano E. Jimenez ◽  
Ariel L. Camp ◽  
Jonathan D. Grindall ◽  
Elizabeth L. Brainerd
Keyword(s):  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Axial Morphology

scholarly journals The benefits of planar circular mouths on suction feeding performance

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (73) ◽  
pp. 1767-1773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler Skorczewski ◽  
Angela Cheer ◽  
Peter C. Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Peak Flow ◽  
Mouth Opening ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Enhance Efficiency ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Hydrodynamic Effects

Suction feeding is the most common form of prey capture across aquatic feeding vertebrates and many adaptations that enhance efficiency and performance are expected. Many suction feeders have mechanisms that allow the mouth to form a planar and near-circular opening that is believed to have beneficial hydrodynamic effects. We explore the effects of the flattened and circular mouth opening through computational fluid dynamics simulations that allow comparisons with other mouth profiles. Compared to mouths with lateral notches, we find that the planar mouth opening results in higher flow rates into the mouth and a region of highest flow that is positioned at the centre of the mouth aperture. Planar mouths provide not only for better total fluid flow rates through the mouth but also through the centre of the mouth near where suction feeders position their prey. Circular mouths are shown to provide the quickest capture times for spherical and elliptical prey because they expose the prey item to a large region of high flow. Planar and circular mouths result in higher flow velocities with peak flow located at the centre of the mouth opening and they maximize the capacity of the suction feeders to exert hydrodynamic forces on the prey.

scholarly journals More than Meets the Eye: Functionally Salient Changes in Internal Bone Architecture Accompany Divergence in Cichlid Feeding Mode

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Craig Albertson ◽  
W. James Cooper ◽  
Kenneth A. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Bone Architecture ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Craniofacial Skeleton ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Foraging Mode ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
Adaptive Radiations ◽  
African Cichlids

African cichlids have undergone extensive and repeated adaptive radiations in foraging habitat. While the external morphology of the cichlid craniofacial skeleton has been studied extensively, biomechanically relevant changes to internal bone architecture have been largely overlooked. Here we explore two fundamental questions: (1) Do changes in the internal architecture of bone accompany shifts in foraging mode? (2) What is the genetic basis for this trait? We focus on the maxilla, which is an integral part of the feeding apparatus and an element that should be subjected to significant bending forces during biting. Analyses of μCT scans revealed clear differences between the maxilla of two species that employ alternative foraging strategies (i.e., biting versus suction feeding). Hybrids between the two species exhibit maxillary geometries that closely resemble those of the suction feeding species, consistent with a dominant mode of inheritance. This was supported by the results of a genetic mapping experiment, where suction feeding alleles were dominant to biting alleles at two loci that affect bone architecture. Overall, these data suggest that the internal structure of the cichlid maxilla has a tractable genetic basis and that discrete shifts in this trait have accompanied the evolution of alternate feeding modes.

Hox genes and the evolution of vertebrate axial morphology

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.C. Burke ◽  
C.E. Nelson ◽  
B.A. Morgan ◽  
C. Tabin
Keyword(s):  
Hox Genes ◽  
Cervical Vertebrae ◽  
Homeobox Gene ◽  
Paraxial Mesoderm ◽  
Thoracic Vertebrae ◽  
Homeotic Genes ◽  
Evolutionary Variation ◽  
Axial Morphology ◽  
Anterior Posterior ◽  
Anterior Posterior Axis

A common form of evolutionary variation between vertebrate taxa is the different numbers of segments that contribute to various regions of the anterior-posterior axis; cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, etc. The term ‘transposition’ is used to describe this phenomenon. Genetic experiments with homeotic genes in mice have demonstrated that Hox genes are in part responsible for the specification of segmental identity along the anterior-posterior axis, and it has been proposed that an axial Hox code determines the morphology of individual vertebrae (Kessel, M. and Gruss, P. (1990) Science 249, 347–379). This paper presents a comparative study of the developmental patterns of homeobox gene expression and developmental morphology between animals that have homologous regulatory genes but different morphologies. The axial expression boundaries of 23 Hox genes were examined in the paraxial mesoderm of chick, and 16 in mouse embryos by in situ hybridization and immunolocalization techniques. Hox gene anterior expression boundaries were found to be transposed in concert with morphological boundaries. This data contributes a mechanistic level to the assumed homology of these regions in vertebrates. The recognition of mechanistic homology supports the historical homology of basic patterning mechanisms between all organisms that share these genes.

Evaluating the use of ram and suction during prey capture by cichlid fishes

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (17) ◽  
pp. 3039-3051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Wainwright ◽  
Lara A. Ferry-Graham ◽  
Thomas B. Waltzek ◽  
Andrew M. Carroll ◽  
C. Darrin Hulsey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Cichlid Fishes ◽  
Major Constraint ◽  
Exponential Decline ◽  
Astronotus Ocellatus ◽  
Limited Variation ◽  
Jaw Protrusion

SUMMARYWe characterized prey-capture strategies in seven species of cichlid fishes representing diverse trophic habits and anticipated feeding abilities. The species examined were Petenia splendida, Cichla ocellaris, Cichlasoma minckleyi, Astronotus ocellatus, Crenicichla geayi, Heros severus (formerly Cichlasoma severum) and Cyprichromis leptosoma. Three individuals per species were filmed with video at 500Hz as they captured live adult Artemia sp. and Poecilia reticulata. For each feeding sequence, we measured the contribution of predator movement towards the prey (i.e. ram) and the movement of prey towards the predator due to suction. The use of ram differed significantly among prey types and predator species, varying as much as sixfold across predator species. High values of ram resulted in high attack velocities. Jaw protrusion contributed as much as 50% to overall ram values in some species, verifying its role in enhancing attack velocity. Suction distance did not vary significantly among species. Diversity in prey-capture behavior was therefore found to reflect differences among species in the strategy used to approach prey. Limited variation in the distance from which prey were sucked into the mouth is interpreted as the result of an expected exponential decline in water velocity with distance from the mouth of the suction-feeding predator. We propose that this relationship represents a major constraint on the distance over which suction feeding is effective for all aquatic-feeding predators.

scholarly journals Hydrodynamic modelling of aquatic suction performance and intra-oral pressures: limitations for comparative studies

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Van Wassenbergh ◽  
Peter Aerts ◽  
Anthony Herrel
Keyword(s):  
Hydrodynamic Force ◽  
Ambient Pressure ◽  
Simple Relationship ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Aquatic Animals ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Pharyngeal Cavity ◽  
Oral Pressure ◽  
Direct Indication ◽  
Suction Performance

The magnitude of sub-ambient pressure inside the bucco-pharyngeal cavity of aquatic animals is generally considered a valuable metric of suction feeding performance. However, these pressures do not provide a direct indication of the effect of the suction act on the movement of the prey item. Especially when comparing suction performance of animals with differences in the shape of the expanding bucco-pharyngeal cavity, the link between speed of expansion, water velocity, force exerted on the prey and intra-oral pressure remains obscure. By using mathematical models of the heads of catfishes, a morphologically diverse group of aquatic suction feeders, these relationships were tested. The kinematics of these models were fine-tuned to transport a given prey towards the mouth in the same way. Next, the calculated pressures inside these models were compared. The results show that no simple relationship exists between the amount of generated sub-ambient pressure and the force exerted on the prey during suction feeding, unless animals of the same species are compared. Therefore, for evaluating suction performance in aquatic animals in future studies, the focus should be on the flow velocities in front of the mouth, for which a direct relationship exists with the hydrodynamic force exerted on prey.

Kinematic and Electromyographic Analysis of the functional role of the body axis during Terrestrial and Aquatic Locomotion in the Salamander Ambystoma Tigrinum

1992 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
LARRY M. FROLICH ◽  
ANDREW A. BIEWENER
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Functional Role ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Terrestrial Locomotion ◽  
Aquatic Locomotion ◽  
Wave Patterns ◽  
Axial Morphology ◽  
Electromyographic Analysis

Aquatic neotenic and terrestrial metamorphosed salamanders {Ambystoma tigrinum) were videotaped simultaneously with electromyographic (EMG) recording from five epaxial myotomes along the animal's trunk during swimming in a flow tank and trotting on a treadmill to investigate axial function during aquatic and terrestrial locomotion. Neotenic and metamorphosed individuals swim using very similar axial wave patterns, despite significant differences in axial morphology. During swimming, both forms exhibit traveling waves of axial flexion and muscle activity, with an increasing EMG-mechanical delay as these waves travel down the trunk. In contrast to swimming, during trotting metamorphosed individuals exhibit a standing wave of axial flexion produced by synchronous activation of ipsilateral epaxial myotomes along the trunk. Thus, metamorphosed individuals employ two distinct axial motor programs -- one used during swimming and one used during trotting. The transition from a traveling axial wave during swimming to a standing axial wave during trotting in A. tigrinum may be an appropriate analogy for similar transitions in axial locomotor function during theoriginal evolution of terrestriality in early tetrapods.

5. How amphibians feed

2021 ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
T. S. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Alternative Method

‘How amphibians feed’ studies how amphibians feed. Adult amphibians are all carnivores, mostly eating invertebrates. The most effective way for an amphibian to feed when it is under water is to get as close to its prey as possible, then open its mouth suddenly and widely to suck the food in with a stream of water. However, this kind of suction feeding is no use on land. Amphibians feeding on land must use an alternative method. The most common is to have a sticky tongue that can be protruded from the mouth to capture the prey. Another alternative method is to have strong jaws that can grasp the prey directly.

scholarly journals Suction Feeding by Small Organisms: Performance Limits in Larval Vertebrates and Carnivorous Plants

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 852-863
Author(s):  
Stephen M Deban ◽  
Roi Holzman ◽  
Ulrike K Müller
Keyword(s):  
High Power ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Performance Limits ◽  
Elastic Recoil ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Aquatic Vertebrates ◽  
Suction Flow

Abstract Suction feeding has evolved independently in two highly disparate animal and plant systems, aquatic vertebrates and carnivorous bladderworts. We review the suction performance of animal and plant suction feeders to explore biomechanical performance limits for aquatic feeders based on morphology and kinematics, in the context of current knowledge of suction feeding. While vertebrates have the greatest diversity and size range of suction feeders, bladderworts are the smallest and fastest known suction feeders. Body size has profound effects on aquatic organismal function, including suction feeding, particularly in the intermediate flow regime that tiny organisms can experience. A minority of tiny organisms suction feed, consistent with model predictions that generating effective suction flow is less energetically efficient and also requires more flow-rate specific power at small size. Although the speed of suction flows generally increases with body and gape size, some specialized tiny plant and animal predators generate suction flows greater than those of suction feeders 100 times larger. Bladderworts generate rapid flow via high-energy and high-power elastic recoil and suction feed for nutrients (relying on photosynthesis for energy). Small animals may be limited by available muscle energy and power, although mouth protrusion can offset the performance cost of not generating high suction pressure. We hypothesize that both the high energetic costs and high power requirements of generating rapid suction flow shape the biomechanics of small suction feeders, and that plants and animals have arrived at different solutions due in part to their different energy budgets.

scholarly journals Fishes can use axial muscles as anchors or motors for powerful suction feeding

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (18) ◽  
pp. jeb225649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel L. Camp ◽  
Aaron M. Olsen ◽  
L. Patricia Hernandez ◽  
Elizabeth L. Brainerd
Keyword(s):  
Ictalurus Punctatus ◽  
Micropterus Salmoides ◽  
The Body ◽  
Pectoral Girdle ◽  
Suction Feeding ◽  
Axial Muscles ◽  
X Ray Imaging ◽  
Oral Pressure ◽  
Volume Measurements ◽  
Epaxial Muscles

ABSTRACTSome fishes rely on large regions of the dorsal (epaxial) and ventral (hypaxial) body muscles to power suction feeding. Epaxial and hypaxial muscles are known to act as motors, powering rapid mouth expansion by shortening to elevate the neurocranium and retract the pectoral girdle, respectively. However, some species, like catfishes, use little cranial elevation. Are these fishes instead using the epaxial muscles to forcefully anchor the head, and if so, are they limited to lower-power strikes? We used X-ray imaging to measure epaxial and hypaxial length dynamics (fluoromicrometry) and associated skeletal motions (XROMM) during 24 suction feeding strikes from three channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). We also estimated the power required for suction feeding from oral pressure and dynamic endocast volume measurements. Cranial elevation relative to the body was small (<5 deg) and the epaxial muscles did not shorten during peak expansion power. In contrast, the hypaxial muscles consistently shortened by 4–8% to rotate the pectoral girdle 6–11 deg relative to the body. Despite only the hypaxial muscles generating power, catfish strikes were similar in power to those of other species, such as largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), that use epaxial and hypaxial muscles to power mouth expansion. These results show that the epaxial muscles are not used as motors in catfish, but suggest they position and stabilize the cranium while the hypaxial muscles power mouth expansion ventrally. Thus, axial muscles can serve fundamentally different mechanical roles in generating and controlling cranial motion during suction feeding in fishes.

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