Resolving within- and between-Population Variation in Feeding Ecology with a Biomechanical Model

Studies of phenotypic plasticity have emphasized the effect of the environment on the phenotype, but plasticity can also be used as a tool to study the functional significance of key traits. By inducing variation in phenotypes and testing quantitative models that predict performance based on biologi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Oecologia Vol. 141; no. 1; pp. 57 - 65
Main Authors:	Osenberg, Craig W., Huckins, Casey J F., Kaltenberg, Anthony, Martinez, Ari
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin Springer-Verlag 01-09-2004 Springer Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Analysis of Variance Animal and plant ecology Animal morphology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Biological and medical sciences Biomechanical Phenomena Body Weights and Measures Branchial Region - anatomy & histology Crushing Ecological genetics Ecological modeling Ecology Environmental effects Feeding Behavior Fish Fish feeding Foraging Fresh Water Freshwater fishes Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects Lakes Lepomis gibbosus Michigan Models, Biological Muscle, Skeletal - anatomy & histology Muscles Perciformes - anatomy & histology Perciformes - physiology Phenotype Plasticity Population Ecology Snails Sunfish Michigan USA, Florida USA, Michigan, Wintergreen L Phenotypic plasticity Ecology Feeding performance Gastropoda Lepomis Feeding Biomechanics Molluscivory Gastropods Models Invertebrata Mollusca Performance
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Summary:	Studies of phenotypic plasticity have emphasized the effect of the environment on the phenotype, but plasticity can also be used as a tool to study the functional significance of key traits. By inducing variation in phenotypes and testing quantitative models that predict performance based on biological mechanisms, we can develop functionally general models of performance. Pumpkinseed sunfish from lakes with high snail availability have large levator posterior muscles (which are used to crush snail shells), whereas fish from lakes with few snails have relatively small muscles. Here we: (1) quantify differences in the feeding ability of an ontogenetic series of pumpkinseed from two populations; and (2) evaluate whether a biomechanical model can resolve the observed ontogenetic and between-population variation in feeding ecology. Mass, but not length, of the levator posterior muscle in fish from Three Lakes (a lake rich in snails) was greater than for comparably sized fish from Wintergreen Lake (a lake with few snails). Handling times were shorter, crushing strengths were 71% greater, and foraging rate (snail tissue mass consumed per time) and the fraction of thick-shelled snails in the diet were approximately 100% greater for fish from Three Lakes compared to comparably sized fish from Wintergreen. These between-lake differences were not significant after adjusting for variation in pharyngeal morphology, suggesting that the biomechanical model of snail crushing resolved observed ontogenetic and population-level variation in the feeding ecology of pumpkinseed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0029-8549 1432-1939
DOI:	10.1007/s00442-004-1650-z