Digest: Evolution of shape and leverage of bird beaks reflects feeding ecology, but not as strongly as expected*

Wassenbergh, Sam Van; Baeckens, Simon

doi:10.1111/evo.13686

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…1997, Tattersall et al. 2017, van Wassenbergh and Baeckens 2019). Consequently, their cranio‐mandibular complexes are highly diverse, with several specializations for different functions.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Birds use their beaks to capture prey, manipulate and process food, drink, sing, preen, build nests, climb, thermoregulate, fight, defend themselves against predators, and during sexual displays (Zweers et al 1997, Tattersall et al 2017, van Wassenbergh and Baeckens 2019. Consequently, their craniomandibular complexes are highly diverse, with several specializations for different functions.…”

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“…Differences in beak morphology may result from different selective pressures based on feeding ecology (Felice et al. 2019), but also by their non‐feeding functions (van Wassenbergh and Baeckens 2019). Bite force, i.e., the force exerted by the adductor jaw muscles during occlusion, is an important parameter related to those functions.…”

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A low‐cost, easy‐to‐build, and portable bite‐force transducer for birds

Carril

Degrange

Mendoza

et al. 2021

J of Field Ornithology

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Few investigators have examined in vivo bite-force of birds, likely due, at least in part, to the difficulty in accessing suitable force transducers. We describe a low-cost, easy-to-build, and portable force transducer with the goal of encouraging ornithologists to improve our knowledge of in vivo bite forces of birds. We used a commercial piezo-resistive force sensor (Tekscan © ) to construct our transducer, and measure the bite forces of captive birds with different beak morphologies, including the following species: Greater Rhea (Rhea americana), Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus), King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco), and Graylag Goose (Anser anser). Bite forces ranged from 25.1 N for the Toco Toucan to 109.9 N for the King Vulture. By using the bite forces obtained in our study and those reported for other birds in the literature, a regression analysis was performed, revealing that half of the variation in bite force is explained by allometry, with other factors such as beak morphology likely explaining the remaining variation. Our bite-force transducer should allow researchers to obtain low-cost, reliable biteforce data, which will improve our understanding of the relationship between form and function of the avian cranio-mandibular complex. RESUMEN.Un transductor de fuerza de mordida para aves de bajo costo, fácil construcci ón y portátil Pocos investigadores han medido la fuerza de mordida in vivo de aves, principalmente debido a la dificultad para acceder a transductores de fuerza adecuados. Aquı ´se describe un transductor de fuerza de bajo costo, fácil construcción y portátil con el objetivo de incentivar a ornitólogos/as a incrementar el conocimiento sobre la fuerza de mordida real de las aves. Para la construcción del transductor se usó un sensor piezo-resistivo (Tekscan©). Se midió la fuerza de mordida de aves en cautiverio y con distintas morfologı ´as de pico, incluyendo al ñandú (Rhea americana), al águila mora (Geranoaetus melanoleucus), al jote real (Sarcoramphus papa), al tucán grande (Ramphastos toco) y al ganso doméstico (Anser anser). El rango de fuerzas de mordida obtenido fue de entre 25,1 N para el tucán grande y 109,9 N para el jote real. Con los valores de fuerza de mordida aquı ´obtenidos y con aquellos publicados en la bibliografı ´a para otras aves se realizó una regresión que reveló que la mitad de la variación en la fuerza de mordida es explicada por alometrı ´a y que otros factores como la morfologı ´a del pico probablemente explican la variación restante. El transductor de fuerza de mordida aquı ´descrito permitirá a los investigadores obtener datos de fuerza de mordida fiables y de manera económica, lo que mejorará nuestra comprensión de la relación entre la forma y la función del complejo cráneomandibular de las aves.

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A low‐cost, easy‐to‐build, and portable bite‐force transducer for birds

Carril

Degrange

Mendoza

et al. 2021

J of Field Ornithology

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“…However, food acquisition seems to explain only ca. 10% of beak shape variation when all birds are considered (Navalón et al, 2019;Van Wassenbergh and Baeckens, 2019). This point might be elucidated by (1) collecting morphological and behavioral data on a larger sample of species and (2) performing in-depth quantitative comparisons of morphological structures in a phylogenetic context.…”

Section: A Food Acquisition Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

Repertoire of food acquisition behaviors in Western Palearctic shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes)

Baguette,

Le Floch,

Hannier

et al. 2024

Front. Ethol.

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Shorebirds are iconic examples of food resource partitioning through use of contrasted morphological structures to acquire food. Differences in beak lengths and shapes allow species catching their food at various sediment depths. Contrasted leg lengths allow species foraging at distinct water depths. Despite these morphological differences, shorebirds use a small number of stereotyped behaviors for food acquisition. We classify these behaviors by analyzing video sequences of ca. two dozen species of Western Palearctic shorebirds, during migration or wintering. We suggest disassembling food acquisition in three successive stages: foraging, feeding, and swallowing. The foraging stage regroups the locomotion behaviors associated to food detection, and the behaviors used during food capture. The feeding stage encompasses the handling behaviors used to kill or stun the prey and to extract its edible parts, and the behaviors used to transport the prey from the distal part of the beak to the bird’s pharynx. In the swallowing stage, the edible parts of the prey enter the pharynx. We show that three of these behaviors (locomotion, capture and transport) are made up of stereotypical, mutually exclusive components, and can be considered as performances. Each of our study species use one or maximum two components of these three performances. Overall, our study provides insights on interspecific variation in shorebird food acquisition behaviors that we put in a phylogenetic perspective. We confirm the long-standing hypothesis that pecking is the plesiomorphic behavior of food capture, and we show that those locomotion and transport behaviors associated with pecking differ from those associated with derived capture behaviors, leading to a syndrome of food acquisition behaviors in shorebirds.

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“…Moreover, the structural modifications of the oropharyngeal cavity reveal wide variations among various avian species due to variation of consumed food, feeding habits, mode of food prehension, and ecology (Igwebuike & Eze, 2010;Jayachitra, Balasundaram, Iniyah, Sivagnanam, & Tamilselvan, 2015). Recently, the extreme morphological and behavioral flexibility of the beak in birds has been suggested as an exemplary feeding adaptation, where evolution of shape and leverage of bird beaks reflects feeding ecology (Naval on, Bright, Marugán-Lob on, & Rayfield, 2019;Van Wassenbergh & Baeckens, 2019).…”

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Recessive white plumage color mutation of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) revealed morphological variations in the oropharyngeal roof structures, accompanied by behavioral differences

Sayed

Shoukary

2021

Microscopy Res & Technique

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Genetic background of experimental animals contributes mainly to the variations in the experimental outcomes. Therefore, quails of two lines of plumage color (brown and recessive white) were studied to investigate the impact of plumage color mutations on the morphological structures of the oropharyngeal roof and also on the ingestive behavior and quail performance. Feeding intake and feed conversion ratio were higher in the brown quails, associated with nonsignificant increase of the live body weight and body weight gain. In the recessive white quails, ingestive behaviors revealed significant declines. The roof of the oropharynx roof was significantly longer in the recessive white quails; however, the upper beak was significantly longer and narrower in the brown ones. The length of the palate and pharynx showed nonsignificant increase in the recessive white quails. The median palatine ridge was formed of rostral continuous and caudal interrupted parts, and the lengths of these parts were slightly higher in the recessive white quails, meanwhile the lateral palatine ridge length showed a slight increase in the brown birds. Openings of intraepithelial glands were more numerous in the recessive white quails. The brown quails demonstrated more detectable and larger caudally directed conical shaped palatine and pharyngeal papillae, in addition to more considerable palatine salivary glands openings. The infundibular cleft was significantly wider in the recessive white quails, where its edges were characterized by lack of the pharyngeal papillae. The findings of this study will be beneficial for the breeders during selection the suitable quail lines for meat production purposes.

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Digest: Evolution of shape and leverage of bird beaks reflects feeding ecology, but not as strongly as expected*

Cited by 9 publications

References 5 publications

A low‐cost, easy‐to‐build, and portable bite‐force transducer for birds

A low‐cost, easy‐to‐build, and portable bite‐force transducer for birds

Repertoire of food acquisition behaviors in Western Palearctic shorebirds (Aves, Charadriiformes)

Recessive white plumage color mutation of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) revealed morphological variations in the oropharyngeal roof structures, accompanied by behavioral differences

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