The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae)
One adaptation crucial to the survival of mammalian lineages that secondarily transitioned from land to water environments was the ability to capture and consume prey underwater. Phocid seals have evolved diverse feeding strategies to feed in the marine environment, and the objectives of this study...
Published in: | Journal of Anatomy |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
John Wiley and Sons Inc.
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341551/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26646351 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5341551 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5341551 2023-05-15T15:56:55+02:00 The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) Kienle, Sarah S. Berta, Annalisa 2015-12-09 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341551/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26646351 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 en eng John Wiley and Sons Inc. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341551/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26646351 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 © 2015 Anatomical Society Original Articles Text 2015 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 2018-03-04T01:12:21Z One adaptation crucial to the survival of mammalian lineages that secondarily transitioned from land to water environments was the ability to capture and consume prey underwater. Phocid seals have evolved diverse feeding strategies to feed in the marine environment, and the objectives of this study were to document the specialized feeding morphologies and identify feeding strategies used by extant phocids. This study used principal component analysis (PCA) to determine the major axes of diversification in the skull for all extant phocid taxa and the recently extinct Caribbean monk seal (n = 19). Prey data gathered from the literature and musculoskeletal data from dissections were included to provide a comprehensive description of each feeding strategy. Random Forest analysis was used to determine the morphological, ecological and phylogenetic variables that best described each feeding strategy. There is morphological evidence for four feeding strategies in phocids: filter; grip and tear; suction; and pierce feeding. These feeding strategies are supported by quantitative cranial and mandibular characters, dietary information, musculoskeletal data and, for some species, behavioral observations. Most phocid species are pierce feeders, using a combination of biting and suction to opportunistically catch prey. Grip and tear and filter feeding are specialized strategies with specific morphological adaptations. These unique adaptations have allowed leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) and crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) to exploit novel ecological niches and prey types. This study provides the first cranial and mandibular morphological evidence for the use of specialized suction feeding in hooded seals (Cystophora cristata), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). The most important variables in determining the feeding strategy of a given phocid species were cranial and mandibular shape, diet, and phylogeny. These results provide a framework for ... Text Crabeater Seals Cystophora cristata Elephant Seals Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals PubMed Central (PMC) Hydrurga ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) Journal of Anatomy 228 3 396 413 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Original Articles |
spellingShingle |
Original Articles Kienle, Sarah S. Berta, Annalisa The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
topic_facet |
Original Articles |
description |
One adaptation crucial to the survival of mammalian lineages that secondarily transitioned from land to water environments was the ability to capture and consume prey underwater. Phocid seals have evolved diverse feeding strategies to feed in the marine environment, and the objectives of this study were to document the specialized feeding morphologies and identify feeding strategies used by extant phocids. This study used principal component analysis (PCA) to determine the major axes of diversification in the skull for all extant phocid taxa and the recently extinct Caribbean monk seal (n = 19). Prey data gathered from the literature and musculoskeletal data from dissections were included to provide a comprehensive description of each feeding strategy. Random Forest analysis was used to determine the morphological, ecological and phylogenetic variables that best described each feeding strategy. There is morphological evidence for four feeding strategies in phocids: filter; grip and tear; suction; and pierce feeding. These feeding strategies are supported by quantitative cranial and mandibular characters, dietary information, musculoskeletal data and, for some species, behavioral observations. Most phocid species are pierce feeders, using a combination of biting and suction to opportunistically catch prey. Grip and tear and filter feeding are specialized strategies with specific morphological adaptations. These unique adaptations have allowed leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) and crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) to exploit novel ecological niches and prey types. This study provides the first cranial and mandibular morphological evidence for the use of specialized suction feeding in hooded seals (Cystophora cristata), northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina). The most important variables in determining the feeding strategy of a given phocid species were cranial and mandibular shape, diet, and phylogeny. These results provide a framework for ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Kienle, Sarah S. Berta, Annalisa |
author_facet |
Kienle, Sarah S. Berta, Annalisa |
author_sort |
Kienle, Sarah S. |
title |
The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
title_short |
The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
title_full |
The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
title_fullStr |
The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
The better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) |
title_sort |
better to eat you with: the comparative feeding morphology of phocid seals (pinnipedia, phocidae) |
publisher |
John Wiley and Sons Inc. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341551/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26646351 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) |
geographic |
Hydrurga |
geographic_facet |
Hydrurga |
genre |
Crabeater Seals Cystophora cristata Elephant Seals Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Crabeater Seals Cystophora cristata Elephant Seals Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5341551/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26646351 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 |
op_rights |
© 2015 Anatomical Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12410 |
container_title |
Journal of Anatomy |
container_volume |
228 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
396 |
op_container_end_page |
413 |
_version_ |
1766392567464722432 |