Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap
The extinct marsupial thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and placental grey wolf (Canis lupus) are commonly presented as an iconic example of convergence. However, various analyses suggest distinctly different behaviours and specialization towards either relatively small or large prey in the thylac...
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ftunivnewengland:oai:rune.une.edu.au:1959.11/30574 2023-08-27T04:08:52+02:00 Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap Wroe, Stephen School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0002-6365-5915 Clausen, Philip McHenry, Colin Moreno, Karen Cunningham, Eleanor 2007-11-22 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30574 en eng The Royal Society Publishing 10.1098/rspb.2007.0906 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30574 une:1959.11/30574 Biological Adaptation Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) Journal Article 2007 ftunivnewengland 2023-08-10T18:50:29Z The extinct marsupial thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and placental grey wolf (Canis lupus) are commonly presented as an iconic example of convergence. However, various analyses suggest distinctly different behaviours and specialization towards either relatively small or large prey in the thylacine, bringing the degree of apparent convergence into question. Here we apply a powerful engineering tool, three-dimensional finite element analysis incorporating multiple material properties for bone, to examine mechanical similarity and niche overlap in the thylacine and the wolf subspecies implicated in its extinction from mainland Australia, Canis lupus dingo. Comparisons of stress distributions not only reveal considerable similarity, but also informative differences. The thylacine's mandible performs relatively poorly where only the actions of the jaw muscles are considered, although this must be considered in the light of relatively high bite forces. Stresses are high in the posterior of the thylacine's cranium under loads that simulate struggling prey. We conclude that relative prey size may have been comparable where both species acted as solitary predators, but that the dingo is better adapted to withstand the high extrinsic loads likely to accompany social hunting of relatively large prey. It is probable that there was considerable ecological overlap. As a large mammalian hypercarnivore adapted to taking small-medium sized prey, the thylacine may have been particularly vulnerable to disturbance. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Research UNE - University of New England at Armidale, NSW Australia |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Research UNE - University of New England at Armidale, NSW Australia |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnewengland |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Adaptation Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) |
spellingShingle |
Biological Adaptation Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) Wroe, Stephen School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0002-6365-5915 Clausen, Philip McHenry, Colin Moreno, Karen Cunningham, Eleanor Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
topic_facet |
Biological Adaptation Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) |
description |
The extinct marsupial thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and placental grey wolf (Canis lupus) are commonly presented as an iconic example of convergence. However, various analyses suggest distinctly different behaviours and specialization towards either relatively small or large prey in the thylacine, bringing the degree of apparent convergence into question. Here we apply a powerful engineering tool, three-dimensional finite element analysis incorporating multiple material properties for bone, to examine mechanical similarity and niche overlap in the thylacine and the wolf subspecies implicated in its extinction from mainland Australia, Canis lupus dingo. Comparisons of stress distributions not only reveal considerable similarity, but also informative differences. The thylacine's mandible performs relatively poorly where only the actions of the jaw muscles are considered, although this must be considered in the light of relatively high bite forces. Stresses are high in the posterior of the thylacine's cranium under loads that simulate struggling prey. We conclude that relative prey size may have been comparable where both species acted as solitary predators, but that the dingo is better adapted to withstand the high extrinsic loads likely to accompany social hunting of relatively large prey. It is probable that there was considerable ecological overlap. As a large mammalian hypercarnivore adapted to taking small-medium sized prey, the thylacine may have been particularly vulnerable to disturbance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wroe, Stephen School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0002-6365-5915 Clausen, Philip McHenry, Colin Moreno, Karen Cunningham, Eleanor |
author_facet |
Wroe, Stephen School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0002-6365-5915 Clausen, Philip McHenry, Colin Moreno, Karen Cunningham, Eleanor |
author_sort |
Wroe, Stephen |
title |
Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
title_short |
Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
title_full |
Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
title_fullStr |
Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
title_full_unstemmed |
Computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
title_sort |
computer simulation of feeding behaviour in the thylacine and dingo as a novel test for convergence and niche overlap |
publisher |
The Royal Society Publishing |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30574 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
10.1098/rspb.2007.0906 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/30574 une:1959.11/30574 |
_version_ |
1775349793152827392 |