Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences?
A well-known link exists between an organism's ecology and morphology. In the European eel, a dimorphic head has been linked to differences in feeding ecology, with broad-headed eels consuming harder prey items than narrow-headed ones. Consequently, we hypothesized that broad-heads should exhib...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:8563988 2023-06-11T04:03:46+02:00 Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? De Meyer, Jens Goethals, Tim Van Wassenbergh, Sam Augustijns, Tom Habraken, Joos Hellemans, Jorn Vandewiele, Vicky Dhaene, Jelle Bouilliart, Mathias Adriaens, Dominique 2018 application/pdf https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8563988 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988/file/8563989 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8563988 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988/file/8563989 No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess JOURNAL OF ANATOMY ISSN: 0021-8782 Biology and Life Sciences anguilliformes bite force cranial osteology feeding myology JAW MUSCLE SIZE ANGUILLA-ANGUILLA CRANIAL MORPHOLOGY FEEDING PERFORMANCE LACERTID LIZARDS FUNCTIONAL BASIS GLASS EELS ECOMORPHOLOGY MECHANICS journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 2023-05-10T22:41:42Z A well-known link exists between an organism's ecology and morphology. In the European eel, a dimorphic head has been linked to differences in feeding ecology, with broad-headed eels consuming harder prey items than narrow-headed ones. Consequently, we hypothesized that broad-heads should exhibit a cranial musculoskeletal system that increases bite force and facilitates the consumption of harder prey. Using 3D-reconstructions and a bite model, we tested this hypothesis in two life stages: the sub-adult yellow eel stage and its predecessor, the elver eel stage. This allowed us to test whether broad- and narrow-headed phenotypes show similar trait differences in both life stages and whether the dimorphism becomes more pronounced during ontogeny. We show that broad-headed eels in both stages have larger jaw muscles and a taller coronoid, which are associated with higher bite forces. This increased bite force together with the elongated upper and lower jaws in broad-headed eels can also improve grip during spinning behavior, which is used to manipulate hard prey. Head shape variation in European eel is therefore associated with musculoskeletal variation that can be linked to feeding ecology. However, although differences in muscle volume become more pronounced during ontogeny, this was not the case for skeletal features. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anguilla anguilla Ghent University Academic Bibliography Journal of Anatomy 233 3 289 301 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology and Life Sciences anguilliformes bite force cranial osteology feeding myology JAW MUSCLE SIZE ANGUILLA-ANGUILLA CRANIAL MORPHOLOGY FEEDING PERFORMANCE LACERTID LIZARDS FUNCTIONAL BASIS GLASS EELS ECOMORPHOLOGY MECHANICS |
spellingShingle |
Biology and Life Sciences anguilliformes bite force cranial osteology feeding myology JAW MUSCLE SIZE ANGUILLA-ANGUILLA CRANIAL MORPHOLOGY FEEDING PERFORMANCE LACERTID LIZARDS FUNCTIONAL BASIS GLASS EELS ECOMORPHOLOGY MECHANICS De Meyer, Jens Goethals, Tim Van Wassenbergh, Sam Augustijns, Tom Habraken, Joos Hellemans, Jorn Vandewiele, Vicky Dhaene, Jelle Bouilliart, Mathias Adriaens, Dominique Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
topic_facet |
Biology and Life Sciences anguilliformes bite force cranial osteology feeding myology JAW MUSCLE SIZE ANGUILLA-ANGUILLA CRANIAL MORPHOLOGY FEEDING PERFORMANCE LACERTID LIZARDS FUNCTIONAL BASIS GLASS EELS ECOMORPHOLOGY MECHANICS |
description |
A well-known link exists between an organism's ecology and morphology. In the European eel, a dimorphic head has been linked to differences in feeding ecology, with broad-headed eels consuming harder prey items than narrow-headed ones. Consequently, we hypothesized that broad-heads should exhibit a cranial musculoskeletal system that increases bite force and facilitates the consumption of harder prey. Using 3D-reconstructions and a bite model, we tested this hypothesis in two life stages: the sub-adult yellow eel stage and its predecessor, the elver eel stage. This allowed us to test whether broad- and narrow-headed phenotypes show similar trait differences in both life stages and whether the dimorphism becomes more pronounced during ontogeny. We show that broad-headed eels in both stages have larger jaw muscles and a taller coronoid, which are associated with higher bite forces. This increased bite force together with the elongated upper and lower jaws in broad-headed eels can also improve grip during spinning behavior, which is used to manipulate hard prey. Head shape variation in European eel is therefore associated with musculoskeletal variation that can be linked to feeding ecology. However, although differences in muscle volume become more pronounced during ontogeny, this was not the case for skeletal features. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
De Meyer, Jens Goethals, Tim Van Wassenbergh, Sam Augustijns, Tom Habraken, Joos Hellemans, Jorn Vandewiele, Vicky Dhaene, Jelle Bouilliart, Mathias Adriaens, Dominique |
author_facet |
De Meyer, Jens Goethals, Tim Van Wassenbergh, Sam Augustijns, Tom Habraken, Joos Hellemans, Jorn Vandewiele, Vicky Dhaene, Jelle Bouilliart, Mathias Adriaens, Dominique |
author_sort |
De Meyer, Jens |
title |
Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
title_short |
Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
title_full |
Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
title_fullStr |
Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dimorphism throughout the European eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
title_sort |
dimorphism throughout the european eel's life cycle : are ontogenetic changes in head shape related to dietary differences? |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8563988 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988/file/8563989 |
genre |
Anguilla anguilla |
genre_facet |
Anguilla anguilla |
op_source |
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY ISSN: 0021-8782 |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8563988 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8563988/file/8563989 |
op_rights |
No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12836 |
container_title |
Journal of Anatomy |
container_volume |
233 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
289 |
op_container_end_page |
301 |
_version_ |
1768383090318639104 |