Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores.
Morphological convergence is a well documented phenomenon in mammals, and adaptive explanations are commonly employed to infer similar functions for convergent characteristics. I present a study that adopts aspects of theoretical morphology and engineering optimization to test hypotheses about adapt...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3667121?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818511436491522048 |
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| author | Zhijie Jack Tseng |
| author_facet | Zhijie Jack Tseng |
| author_sort | Zhijie Jack Tseng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Morphological convergence is a well documented phenomenon in mammals, and adaptive explanations are commonly employed to infer similar functions for convergent characteristics. I present a study that adopts aspects of theoretical morphology and engineering optimization to test hypotheses about adaptive convergent evolution. Bone-cracking ecomorphologies in Carnivora were used as a case study. Previous research has shown that skull deepening and widening are major evolutionary patterns in convergent bone-cracking canids and hyaenids. A simple two-dimensional design space, with skull width-to-length and depth-to-length ratios as variables, was used to examine optimized shapes for two functional properties: mechanical advantage (MA) and strain energy (SE). Functionality of theoretical skull shapes was studied using finite element analysis (FEA) and visualized as functional landscapes. The distribution of actual skull shapes in the landscape showed a convergent trend of plesiomorphically low-MA and moderate-SE skulls evolving towards higher-MA and moderate-SE skulls; this is corroborated by FEA of 13 actual specimens. Nevertheless, regions exist in the landscape where high-MA and lower-SE shapes are not represented by existing species; their vacancy is observed even at higher taxonomic levels. Results highlight the interaction of biomechanical and non-biomechanical factors in constraining general skull dimensions to localized functional optima through evolution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:33:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff95378d0ef84f1da68ba87f4892b13b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:33:21Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff95378d0ef84f1da68ba87f4892b13b2022-12-22T01:29:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0185e6530510.1371/journal.pone.0065305Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores.Zhijie Jack TsengMorphological convergence is a well documented phenomenon in mammals, and adaptive explanations are commonly employed to infer similar functions for convergent characteristics. I present a study that adopts aspects of theoretical morphology and engineering optimization to test hypotheses about adaptive convergent evolution. Bone-cracking ecomorphologies in Carnivora were used as a case study. Previous research has shown that skull deepening and widening are major evolutionary patterns in convergent bone-cracking canids and hyaenids. A simple two-dimensional design space, with skull width-to-length and depth-to-length ratios as variables, was used to examine optimized shapes for two functional properties: mechanical advantage (MA) and strain energy (SE). Functionality of theoretical skull shapes was studied using finite element analysis (FEA) and visualized as functional landscapes. The distribution of actual skull shapes in the landscape showed a convergent trend of plesiomorphically low-MA and moderate-SE skulls evolving towards higher-MA and moderate-SE skulls; this is corroborated by FEA of 13 actual specimens. Nevertheless, regions exist in the landscape where high-MA and lower-SE shapes are not represented by existing species; their vacancy is observed even at higher taxonomic levels. Results highlight the interaction of biomechanical and non-biomechanical factors in constraining general skull dimensions to localized functional optima through evolution.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3667121?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Zhijie Jack Tseng Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. PLoS ONE |
| title | Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. |
| title_full | Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. |
| title_fullStr | Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. |
| title_short | Testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes: a case study of bone-cracking hypercarnivores. |
| title_sort | testing adaptive hypotheses of convergence with functional landscapes a case study of bone cracking hypercarnivores |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3667121?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhijiejacktseng testingadaptivehypothesesofconvergencewithfunctionallandscapesacasestudyofbonecrackinghypercarnivores |