Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system
The vertebrate head has undergone enormous modification from the features borne by early ancestors. The growth of skull bones has been well studied in many species, yet little is known about corresponding soft tissue development. Among mammals, some of the most unusual examples of cranial evolution...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 2024-06-02T08:15:16+00:00 Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system Koopman, Heather N Zahorodny, Zoey P 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 275, issue 1649, page 2327-2334 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2008 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 2024-05-07T14:16:17Z The vertebrate head has undergone enormous modification from the features borne by early ancestors. The growth of skull bones has been well studied in many species, yet little is known about corresponding soft tissue development. Among mammals, some of the most unusual examples of cranial evolution exist in the toothed whales (odontocetes). Specialized fat bodies in toothed whale heads play important roles in sound transmission and reception. These fat bodies contain unique endogenous lipids, with favourable acoustic properties, arranged in highly organized, three-dimensional patterns. We link variation in developmental rates of acoustic fats with life-history strategy, using bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises. Porpoise acoustic fats attain adult configurations earlier (less than 1 year) and at a faster pace than dolphins. The accelerated lipid accumulation in porpoises reflects the earlier need for fully functional echolocation systems. Dolphins enjoy 3–6 years of maternal care; porpoises must achieve total independence by approximately nine months. Further, a stereotypic ‘blueprint’ for the spatial distribution of lipids is established prior to birth, demonstrating the highly conserved nature of the intricate biochemical arrangement in acoustic tissues. This system illustrates an unusual case of soft tissue development being constrained by life history, rather than the more commonly observed mechanistic or phyletic constraints. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whale toothed whales The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275 1649 2327 2334 |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
The vertebrate head has undergone enormous modification from the features borne by early ancestors. The growth of skull bones has been well studied in many species, yet little is known about corresponding soft tissue development. Among mammals, some of the most unusual examples of cranial evolution exist in the toothed whales (odontocetes). Specialized fat bodies in toothed whale heads play important roles in sound transmission and reception. These fat bodies contain unique endogenous lipids, with favourable acoustic properties, arranged in highly organized, three-dimensional patterns. We link variation in developmental rates of acoustic fats with life-history strategy, using bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises. Porpoise acoustic fats attain adult configurations earlier (less than 1 year) and at a faster pace than dolphins. The accelerated lipid accumulation in porpoises reflects the earlier need for fully functional echolocation systems. Dolphins enjoy 3–6 years of maternal care; porpoises must achieve total independence by approximately nine months. Further, a stereotypic ‘blueprint’ for the spatial distribution of lipids is established prior to birth, demonstrating the highly conserved nature of the intricate biochemical arrangement in acoustic tissues. This system illustrates an unusual case of soft tissue development being constrained by life history, rather than the more commonly observed mechanistic or phyletic constraints. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Koopman, Heather N Zahorodny, Zoey P |
spellingShingle |
Koopman, Heather N Zahorodny, Zoey P Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
author_facet |
Koopman, Heather N Zahorodny, Zoey P |
author_sort |
Koopman, Heather N |
title |
Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
title_short |
Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
title_full |
Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
title_fullStr |
Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
title_full_unstemmed |
Life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
title_sort |
life history constrains biochemical development in the highly specialized odontocete echolocation system |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 |
genre |
toothed whale toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whale toothed whales |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 275, issue 1649, page 2327-2334 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0457 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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275 |
container_issue |
1649 |
container_start_page |
2327 |
op_container_end_page |
2334 |
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1800739387370110976 |