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Full-Text Articles in Physiology

There’S More Than One Way To Climb A Tree: Limb Length And Microhabitat Use In Lizards With Toe Pads, Travis J. Hagey, Scott Hart, Matthew Vickers, Luke J. Harmon, Lin Schwarzkopf Sep 2017

There’S More Than One Way To Climb A Tree: Limb Length And Microhabitat Use In Lizards With Toe Pads, Travis J. Hagey, Scott Hart, Matthew Vickers, Luke J. Harmon, Lin Schwarzkopf

Biology

Ecomorphology links microhabitat and morphology. By comparing ecomorphological associations across clades, we can investigate the extent to which evolution can produce similar solutions in response to similar challenges. While Anolis lizards represent a well-studied example of repeated convergent evolution, very few studies have investigated the ecomorphology of geckos. Similar to anoles, gekkonid lizards have independently evolved adhesive toe pads and many species are scansorial. We quantified gecko and anole limb length and microhabitat use, finding that geckos tend to have shorter limbs than anoles. Combining these measurements with microhabitat observations of geckos in Queensland, Australia, we observed geckos using similar …


Tempo And Mode Of Performance Evolution Across Multiple Independent Origins Of Adhesive Toe Pads In Lizards, Travis J. Hagey, Josef C. Uyeda, Kristen E. Crandell, Jorn A. Cheney, Kellar Autumn, Luke J. Harmon Jun 2017

Tempo And Mode Of Performance Evolution Across Multiple Independent Origins Of Adhesive Toe Pads In Lizards, Travis J. Hagey, Josef C. Uyeda, Kristen E. Crandell, Jorn A. Cheney, Kellar Autumn, Luke J. Harmon

Biology

Understanding macroevolutionary dynamics of trait evolution is an important endeavor in evolutionary biology. Ecological opportunity can liberate a trait as it diversifies through trait space, while genetic and selective constraints can limit diversification. While many studies have examined the dynamics of morphological traits, diverse morphological traits may yield the same or similar performance and as performance is often more proximately the target of selection, examining only morphology may give an incomplete understanding of evolutionary dynamics. Here, we ask whether convergent evolution of pad-bearing lizards has followed similar evolutionary dynamics, or whether independent origins are accompanied by unique constraints and selective …


Patterns Of Morphological And Molecular Evolution In The Antillean Tree Bat, Ardops Nichollsi (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), Roxanne J. Larsen, Peter A. Larsen, Caleb D. Phillips, Hugh H. Genoways, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Scott C. Pedersen, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker Mar 2017

Patterns Of Morphological And Molecular Evolution In The Antillean Tree Bat, Ardops Nichollsi (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), Roxanne J. Larsen, Peter A. Larsen, Caleb D. Phillips, Hugh H. Genoways, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Scott C. Pedersen, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Species endemic to oceanic islands offer unique insights into the mechanisms underlying evolution and have served as model systems for decades. Often these species show phenotypic variation that is correlated with the ecosystems in which they occur and such correlations may be a product of genetic drift, natural selection, and/or environmental factors. We explore the morphologic and genetic variation within Ardops nichollsi, a species of phyllostomid bat endemic to the Lesser Antillean islands. Ardops nichollsi is an ideal taxon to investigate the tempo of evolution in Chiroptera, as it: is a recently derived genus in the family Phyllostomidae; contains …


Gait Changes In A Line Of Mice Artificially Selected For Longer Limbs, Leah M. Sparrow, Emily Pellattt, Sabrina S. Yu, David A. Raichlen, Herman Pontzer, Campbell Rolian Feb 2017

Gait Changes In A Line Of Mice Artificially Selected For Longer Limbs, Leah M. Sparrow, Emily Pellattt, Sabrina S. Yu, David A. Raichlen, Herman Pontzer, Campbell Rolian

Publications and Research

In legged terrestrial locomotion, the duration of stance phase, i.e., when limbs are in contact with the substrate, is positively correlated with limb length, and negatively correlated with the metabolic cost of transport. These relationships are well documented at the interspecific level, across a broad range of body sizes and travel speeds. However, such relationships are harder to evaluate within species (i.e., where natural selection operates), largely for practical reasons, including low population variance in limb length, and the presence of confounding factors such as body mass, or training. Here, we compared spatiotemporal kinematics of gait in Longshanks, a long-legged …


Dental Biotribology: Final Thoughts And Future Directions, Zhongrong Zhou, Paul Constantino, Mark Hoffman, Mugino Kubo, Gildas Merceron, Mark Purnell, Mark F. Teaford Jan 2017

Dental Biotribology: Final Thoughts And Future Directions, Zhongrong Zhou, Paul Constantino, Mark Hoffman, Mugino Kubo, Gildas Merceron, Mark Purnell, Mark F. Teaford

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

No abstract provided.


In Vivo Rates Of Dental Microwear Formation In Laboratory Primates Fed Different Food Items, Mark F. Teaford, Peter S. Ungar, Andrea B. Taylor, Callum F. Ross, Christopher J. Vinyard Jan 2017

In Vivo Rates Of Dental Microwear Formation In Laboratory Primates Fed Different Food Items, Mark F. Teaford, Peter S. Ungar, Andrea B. Taylor, Callum F. Ross, Christopher J. Vinyard

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

No abstract provided.


Dental Topography And Microwear Texture In Sapajus Apella, Peter S. Ungar, Claire L. Hartgrove, Alexa N. Wimberly, Mark F. Teaford Jan 2017

Dental Topography And Microwear Texture In Sapajus Apella, Peter S. Ungar, Claire L. Hartgrove, Alexa N. Wimberly, Mark F. Teaford

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dental microwear texture pattern has been associated with aspects of diet for a broad range of mammalian taxa. The basic idea is that soft, tough foods are sheared with a steeper angle of approach between opposing occlusal surfaces, whereas hard, brittle items are crushed with forces perpendicular to those surfaces; and this difference is manifested in anisotropic, striated microwear textures for tough foods, and complex, pitted ones for hard objects. Other factors may, however, influence microwear texture pattern and confound diet signals. For example, if tooth surface slope influences angle of approach between opposing teeth, then perhaps wear-related changes in …