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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Rapid Large-Scale Evolutionary Divergence In Morphology And Performance Associated With Exploitation Of A Different Dietary Resource, Duncan J. Irschick, A. Herrel, K. Huyghe, B. Vanhooydonck, T. Backeljau, K. Breugelmans, I. Grbac, R. Vandamme
Rapid Large-Scale Evolutionary Divergence In Morphology And Performance Associated With Exploitation Of A Different Dietary Resource, Duncan J. Irschick, A. Herrel, K. Huyghe, B. Vanhooydonck, T. Backeljau, K. Breugelmans, I. Grbac, R. Vandamme
Duncan J. Irschick
Although rapid adaptive changes in morphology on ecological time scales are now well documented in natural populations, the effects of such changes on whole-organism performance capacity and the consequences on ecological dynamics at the population level are often unclear. Here we show how lizards have rapidly evolved differences in head morphology, bite strength, and digestive tract structure after experimental introduction into a novel environment. Despite the short time scale (≈36 years) since this introduction, these changes in morphology and performance parallel those typically documented among species and even families of lizards in both the type and extent of their specialization. …
Effects Of Loading And Size On Maximum Power Output And Gait Characteristics In Geckos, Duncan J. Irschick, B. Vanhooydonck, A. Herrel, A. A. Andreosceu
Effects Of Loading And Size On Maximum Power Output And Gait Characteristics In Geckos, Duncan J. Irschick, B. Vanhooydonck, A. Herrel, A. A. Andreosceu
Duncan J. Irschick
Stride length, stride frequency and power output are all factors influencing locomotor performance. Here, we first test whether mass-specific power output limits climbing performance in two species of geckos (Hemidactylus garnoti and Gekko gecko) by adding external loads to their bodies. We then test whether body size has a negative effect on mass-specific power output. Finally, we test whether loading affects kinematics in both gecko species. Lizards were induced to run vertically on a smooth wooden surface with loads of 0-200% of body mass (BM) in H. garnoti and 0-100% BM in G. gecko. For each stride, we calculated angular …
Comparative Three-Dimensional Kinematics Of The Hindlimb For High-Speed Bipedal And Quadrupedal Locomotion Of Lizards, Duncan J. Irschick, B. C. Jayne
Comparative Three-Dimensional Kinematics Of The Hindlimb For High-Speed Bipedal And Quadrupedal Locomotion Of Lizards, Duncan J. Irschick, B. C. Jayne
Duncan J. Irschick
Although lizards have been model organisms for testing locomotor performance and in ecomorphological studies, the limb movements of lizards during high-speed locomotion are poorly understood. Thus, we quantified the three-dimensional kinematics of the hindlimb, body and tail for five morphologically distinct species of lizard during steady-speed locomotion near maximum sprinting speed (2–5 m s-1). The kinematics of different species had little multivariate overlap. More than half of the strides of all species had digitigrade foot posture, but the frequency of using digitigrade foot posture varied among species. The combination of digitigrade foot posture and large foot size of the lizards …
A Comparison Of Evolutionary Radiations In Mainland And West Indian Anolis Lizards. Ecology, Duncan J. Irschick, L. J. Vitt, P. Zani, J. B. Losos
A Comparison Of Evolutionary Radiations In Mainland And West Indian Anolis Lizards. Ecology, Duncan J. Irschick, L. J. Vitt, P. Zani, J. B. Losos
Duncan J. Irschick
Comparisons between closely related radiations in different environments provide a unique window into understanding how abiotic and biotic factors shape evolutionary pathways. Anolis lizards have radiated extensively in the West Indies, as well as mainland Central and South America. In the Caribbean, similar communities of anole species specialized for different habitats (ecomorphs) have evolved independently on each Greater Antillean island. We examined ecological and morphological data on 49 Anolis species (33 Caribbean, 16 mainland) to investigate whether the same set of ecomorphs has arisen in mainland regions. More generally, we investigated whether the relationship between ecology and morphology was similar …