Morphology captures diet and locomotor types in rodents

Abstract

To understand the functional meaning of morphological features, we need to relate what we know about morphology and ecology in a meaningful, quantitative framework. Closely related species usually share more phenotypic features than distant ones, but close relatives do not necessarily have the same ecologies. Rodents are the most diverse group of living mammals, with impressive ecomorphological diversification. We used museum collections and ecological literature to gather data on morphology, diet and locomotion for 208 species of rodents from different bioregions to investigate how morphological similarity and phylogenetic relatedness are associated with ecology. After considering differences in body size and shared evolutionary history, we find that unrelated species with similar ecologies can be characterized by a well-defined suite of morphological features. Our results validate the hypothesized ecological relevance of the chosen traits. These cranial, dental and external (e.g. ears) characters predicted diet and locomotion and showed consistent differences among species with different feeding and substrate use strategies. We conclude that when ecological characters do not show strong phylogenetic patterns, we cannot simply assume that close relatives are ecologically similar. Museum specimens are valuable records of species' phenotypes and with the characters proposed here, morphology can reflect functional similarity, an important component of community ecology and macroevolution.

Historical and ecological influence in the evolutionary diversification of external morphology of neotropical spiny rats (Echimyidae, Rodentia)

“…Congruent, complex scenarios were found for explaining echimyid cranium and mandible evolution (Monteiro et al., ; Perez et al., ; Tavares, Pessôa, & Seuánez, ; Tavares et al., ), as well as in the cranial and postcranial skeleton of Caviomorpha (Álvarez, Perez, & Verzi, ; Álvarez et al., ; Candela & Picasso, ; Morgan, ; Morgan & Álvarez, ; Morgan & Verzi, ). Differently from the pattern found in muroid lineages (Verde Arregoitia et al., ), ecological pressures along echimyid evolution did not overshadow phylogenetic components of external morphology because ecological specializations, although more concentrated during early diversification, emerged gradually during the phyletic diversification of this family. This was consistent with a relatively small disparification of echimyid skulls respective to other closely related caviomorph families (Octodontidae and Abrocomidae) that were exposed to more stringent environmental pressures during diversification (Verzi et al., ).…”

“…As the species‐richest mammalian order, rodents show a wide range of morphological and ecological variation (Patton, Pardiñas, & D'Elía, ; Samuels & Van Valkenburgh, ). A recent study showed that a large amount of external morphological variation in this order were attributed to locomotory specializations with few phylogenetic components (Verde Arregoitia et al., ). This study, mainly on muroid lineages, did not clarify the association between morphology and locomotory habits in caviomorph families.…”

Tempo and mode of mandibular shape and size evolution reveal mixed support for incumbency effects in two clades of island‐endemic rodents (Muridae: Murinae)*

“…; Verde Arregoitia et al. ). Luzon is an oceanic island that began emerging as a continuously dry‐land area approximately 25 million years ago (Hall ).…”

Progress in the Use of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neural Cells for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries in Animal Populations: Meta-Analysis and Review

“…Regarding the animal recipient model, five out of the eight studies used mice, whereas the remaining three studies used rat models. Both rats and mice have been classified under the terrestrial locomotion category , and additionally, it has been reported that there are no statistical differences in functional motor recovery between rat and mouse animal models after cellular treatment for SCI . Therefore, our meta‐analysis demonstrated that even though there is heterogeneity present, the use of NSC/PCs from iPSCs has a significant benefit in the motor recovery.…”