Feeding in Amphibians: Evolutionary Transformations and Phenotypic Diversity as Drivers of Feeding System Diversity

Herrel, Anthony; O’Reilly, James C.; Fabre, Anne‐Claire; Bardua, Carla; Lowie, Aurélien; Boistel, Renaud; Gorb, Stanislav N.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_12

Cited by 9 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 149 publications

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“…Trends toward reduced curvature of the semicircular canals are also observed in fossorial caecilians with reduced visual systems (Maddin and Sherratt 2014). The fossorial species incorporated in this study are visual predators that hunt using protrusible or freely projectile tongues (Lombard and Wake 1977;Herrel et al 2019); therefore, retaining a keen vestibulo-ocular reflex, demonstrated by robustly curved semicircular canals, may be beneficial to coordinate head movement and gaze stabilization in these species. Caecilians demonstrate strong morphological adaptations to support a burrowing lifestyle, including hyperossification of the cranial bones, degenerated eyes covered by skin or bone, and reduced visual innervation (Wake 1985).…”

Section: In Vestibular Functionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Feeding mode is a notable trait distinguishing the sensory ecology of surface-dwelling direct developers and permanently aquatic paedomorphic species: the ballistic tongue projection mechanism observed in many direct developing plethodontids requires a robust vestibular capacity to coordinate vision and head posture, which likely plays a less significant role in aquatic suction feeding among paedomorphic species (Roth 1987;Wake and Deban 2000). Additionally, paedomorphic cave and surface species tend to possess dorso-ventrally flattened skulls that may represent morphological homoplasies to support the biomechanical requirements of suction feeding in an aquatic habitat (Heiss et al 2013(Heiss et al , 2018Herrel et al 2019). Although the relationship of cranial depth with inner ear morphology has not been explored in this study, the shape and depth of the salamander skull may further influence the shape of the inner ear and constrain the degree of curvature of the semicircular canals.…”

Section: Inner Ear Is Influenced By Heterochronymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossorial salamanders, in contrast, often retain well developed eyes. The fossorial species incorporated in this study are visual predators that hunt using protrusible or freely projectile tongues (Lombard and Wake 1977;Herrel et al 2019); therefore, retaining a keen vestibulo-ocular reflex, demonstrated by robustly curved semicircular canals, may be beneficial to coordinate head movement and gaze stabilization in these species.…”

Section: In Vestibular Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bony labyrinth morphometry reveals hidden diversity in lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae): Structural correlates of ecology, development, and vision in the inner ear

2019

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Lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae) form a highly speciose group that has undergone spectacular adaptive radiation to colonize a multitude of habitats. Substantial morphological variation in the otic region coupled with great ecological diversity within this clade make plethodontids an excellent model for exploring the ecomorphology of the amphibian ear. We examined the influence of habitat, development, and vision on inner ear morphology in 52 plethodontid species. We collected traditional and 3D geometric morphometric measurements to characterize variation in size and shape of the otic endocast and peripheral structures of the salamander ear. Phylogenetic comparative analyses demonstrate structural convergence in the inner ear across ecologically similar species. Species that dwell in spatially complex microhabitats exhibit robust, highly curved semicircular canals suggesting enhanced vestibular sense, whereas species with reduced visual systems demonstrate reduced canal curvature indicative of relaxed selection on the vestibulo‐ocular reflex. Cave specialists show parallel enlargement of auditory‐associated structures. The morphological correlates of ecology among diverse species reveal underlying evidence of habitat specialization in the inner ear and suggest that there exists physiological variation in the function of the salamander ear even in the apparent absence of selective pressures on the auditory system to support acoustic behavior.

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Section: In Vestibular Functionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Inner Ear Is Influenced By Heterochronymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: In Vestibular Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bony labyrinth morphometry reveals hidden diversity in lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae): Structural correlates of ecology, development, and vision in the inner ear

2019

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“…In frogs, the root of the tongue is usually attached at the anterior portion of the mouth's floor ( Figure 1C). When feeding, frogs flip out their tongues, stick to the prey, and flip back along with the prey into the mouth (Nishikawa, 2000;Herrel et al, 2019;Iwasaki et al, 2019). The subsequent swallowing is believed to be primarily driven by tongue retraction, but also substantially aided by head elevations and even retraction of eyeballs, which help push the food into the esophagus (Regal and Gans, 1976;Ritter and Nishikawa, 1995;Tso et al, 1995;Levine et al, 2004).…”

Section: Terrestrial Food Transportationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertebrate Evolution Conserves Hindbrain Circuits despite Diverse Feeding and Breathing Modes

Wang

2021

eNeuro

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Feeding and breathing are two functions vital to the survival of all vertebrate species. Throughout the evolution, vertebrates living in different environments have evolved drastically different modes of feeding and breathing through utilizing diversified orofacial and pharyngeal (oropharyngeal) muscles. The oropharyngeal structures are controlled by hindbrain neural circuits. The developing hindbrain shares strikingly conserved organizations and gene expression patterns across vertebrates, thus begs the question of how a highly conserved hindbrain generates circuits subserving diverse feeding/breathing patterns. In this review, we summarize major modes of feeding and breathing and principles underlying their coordination in many vertebrate species. We provide a hypothesis for the existence of a common hindbrain circuit at the phylotypic embryonic stage controlling oropharyngeal movements that is shared across vertebrate species; and reconfiguration and repurposing of this conserved circuit give rise to more complex behaviors in adult higher vertebrates. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding how a highly conserved hindbrain generates diverse feeding/breathing patterns is important for elucidating neural mechanisms underlying the execution and coordination of these two vital behaviors. Here, we first briefly summarize key modes of vertebrates feeding/breathing, discuss main principles coordinating feeding/breathing, and provide a unifying hypothesis for the existence of a shared oropharyngeal movement control circuit across species. By synthesizing behavior, structural and neural mechanisms for feeding/breathing functions across evolution, we believe that this review and our hypothesis can open new research avenues for elucidating the precise hindbrain circuits controlling feeding, breathing and other oropharyngeal functions.

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“…With over 700 species, salamanders have diversified extensively across the Northern Hemisphere into northern South America, and occupy a correspondingly wide range of climatic regimes, microhabitats, and feeding ecologies ( Wake 2009 ). Salamanders employ a variety of prey capture modes, which vary somewhat predictably with habitat ( Herrel et al. 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Thermally Robust Ballistic Mechanisms on Climatic Niche in Salamanders

Friedman

Muñoz

2022

Integrative Organismal Biology

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Many organismal functions are temperature dependent due to the contractile properties of muscle. Spring-based mechanisms offer a thermally robust alternative to temperature-sensitive muscular movements and may correspondingly expand species’ climatic niche by partially decoupling the relationship between temperature and performance. Using the ballistic tongues of salamanders as a case study, we explore whether the thermal robustness of elastic feeding mechanisms increases climatic niche breath, expands geographic range size, and alters the dynamics of niche evolution. Combining phylogenetic comparative methods with global climate data, we find that feeding mechanism imparts no discernable signal on either climatic niche properties or on the evolutionary dynamics of most climatic niche parameters. Although biomechanical innovation in feeding influences many features of whole-organism performance, it does not appear to drive macro-climatic niche evolution in salamanders. We recommend that future work incorporate micro-scale environmental data to better capture the conditions that salamanders experience, and we discuss a few outstanding questions in this regard. Overall, this study lays the groundwork for investigation into the evolutionary relationships between climatic niche and biomechanical traits in ectotherms.

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Feeding in Amphibians: Evolutionary Transformations and Phenotypic Diversity as Drivers of Feeding System Diversity

Cited by 9 publications

References 149 publications

Bony labyrinth morphometry reveals hidden diversity in lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae): Structural correlates of ecology, development, and vision in the inner ear

Bony labyrinth morphometry reveals hidden diversity in lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae): Structural correlates of ecology, development, and vision in the inner ear

Vertebrate Evolution Conserves Hindbrain Circuits despite Diverse Feeding and Breathing Modes

The Effect of Thermally Robust Ballistic Mechanisms on Climatic Niche in Salamanders

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