Evolutionary Convergence in Foraging Niche and Flight Morphology in Insectivorous Aerial-Hawking Birds and Bats

1986 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla M. Norberg
Keyword(s):  
Flight Morphology ◽  
Foraging Niche ◽  
Evolutionary Convergence

scholarly journals Evolutionary Convergence of Cell-Specific Gene Expression in Independent Lineages of C4 Grasses

2014 ◽  
Vol 165 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. John ◽  
Richard D. Smith-Unna ◽  
Helen Woodfield ◽  
Sarah Covshoff ◽  
Julian M. Hibberd
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
C4 Grasses ◽  
Specific Gene Expression ◽  
Evolutionary Convergence

scholarly journals The influence of cactus spine surface structure on puncture performance and anchoring ability is tuned for ecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1891) ◽  
pp. 20182280 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. B. Crofts ◽  
P. S. L. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Surface Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Biological Materials ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
Defensive Mechanisms ◽  
Evolutionary Convergence ◽  
Almost All

Spines are common morphological features found in almost all major biological groups offering an opportunity to explore large-scale evolutionary convergence across disparate clades. As an example, opuntioid cacti have spines with barbed ornamentation that is remarkably similar in form and scale to that found on porcupine quills, suggesting specific biomechanical convergence across the animal and plant kingdoms. While the mechanics of porcupine quills as defensive mechanisms has been previously tested, the mechanics of cactus spines (which have evolved to fill a number of functions including defence, climbing and dispersal) has not been characterized. Here we study the puncturing and anchoring ability of six species of cactus, including both barbed and non-barbed spines. We found that barbed spines require less work to puncture a variety of targets than non-barbed spines. Barbed spines also require more work than non-barbed spines to withdraw from biological materials, owing to their barbs engaging with tissue fibres. These results closely match those found previously for barbed versus non-barbed porcupine quills, implying biomechanical convergence. The variation in performance of barbed versus non-barbed spines, as well as between barbed spines from different species, is probably tied to the diversity of ecological functions of cactus spines.

scholarly journals Strong evolutionary convergence of receptor-binding protein spike between COVID-19 and SARS-related coronaviruses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghua Wu
Keyword(s):  
Receptor Binding ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Acid Sites ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Receptor Binding Domain ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Partner Protein ◽  
Evolutionary Convergence ◽  
Genome Level ◽  
Phenotypic Convergence

AbstractCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related coronaviruses (e.g., 2019-nCoV and SARS-CoV) are phylogenetically distantly related, but both are capable of infecting human hosts via the same receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, and cause similar clinical and pathological features, suggesting their phenotypic convergence. Yet, the molecular basis that underlies their phenotypic convergence remains unknown. Here, we used a recently developed molecular phyloecological approach to examine the molecular basis leading to their phenotypic convergence. Our genome-level analyses show that the spike protein, which is responsible for receptor binding, has undergone significant Darwinian selection along the branches related to 2019-nCoV and SARS-CoV. Further examination shows an unusually high proportion of evolutionary convergent amino acid sites in the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein between COVID-19 and SARS-related CoV clades, leading to the phylogenetic uniting of their RBD protein sequences. In addition to the spike protein, we also find the evolutionary convergence of its partner protein, ORF3a, suggesting their possible co-evolutionary convergence. Our results demonstrate a strong adaptive evolutionary convergence between COVID-19 and SARS-related CoV, possibly facilitating their adaptation to similar or identical receptors. Finally, it should be noted that many observed bat SARS-like CoVs that have an evolutionary convergent RBD sequence with 2019-nCoV and SARS-CoV may be pre-adapted to human host receptor ACE2, and hence would be potential new coronavirus sources to infect humans in the future.

scholarly journals First results on the feeding ecology of the Transcaucasian water shrew Neomys teres (Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from Armenia

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
pp. 1853-1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Churchfield ◽  
Leszek Rychlik ◽  
Eduard Yavrouyan ◽  
Kris Turlejski
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Composition ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
Morphological Similarity ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Species Of Conservation Concern ◽  
Unknown Species ◽  
First Results ◽  
Foraging Niche ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Neomys Fodiens

Microscopic examination of alimentary tracts of 14 Neomys teres Miller, 1908 from a mountainous region in northern Armenia produced the first data on the diet of this almost unknown species of conservation concern. Twenty-three different prey types were distinguished in summer-caught shrews, all of which were invertebrates (14 terrestrial and 9 aquatic in origin). The dominant dietary items were Coleoptera and Diptera adults, Araneae, Opiliones, and Lumbricidae, as well as freshwater crustaceans and Trichoptera larvae. Prey ranged from <3 to >16 mm in length, but those eaten most frequently were 6–10 mm in length. Although N. teres was captured beside streams and rivers, aquatic prey comprised only 27% of the dietary composition. Despite the morphological similarity of N. teres to Neomys fodiens (Pennant, 1771), its foraging niche more closely resembles that of upland populations of Neomys anomalus Cabrera, 1907 and its reliance on aquatic habitats remains equivocal.

scholarly journals Complex multicellularity in fungi: evolutionary convergence, single origin, or both?

2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 1778-1794 ◽  
Author(s):  
László G. Nagy ◽  
Gábor M. Kovács ◽  
Krisztina Krizsán
Keyword(s):  
Single Origin ◽  
Evolutionary Convergence

Flight Morphology and Flight Muscles

2021 ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
N. Chari ◽  
A. Ravi ◽  
Ponna Srinivas ◽  
A. Uma
Keyword(s):  
Flight Morphology ◽  
Flight Muscles
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