Evolutionary integration and modularity in the diversity of the suckermouth armoured catfishes

Black, Corinthia R.; Armbruster, Jonathan W.

doi:10.1098/rsos.220713

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 72 publications

(116 reference statements)

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“…For example, a strongly laterally or dorsoventrally compressed body shape would reduce the maneuverability of the undulatory-based swimming of Gymnotiformes in highly complex systems (Lannoo and Lannoo 1993). Another example is the high modularization in body shape in catfishes of the family Loricariidae (Black and Armbruster 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes is constrained by phylogenetic relationships

Soares,

Benone,

Leitão

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Phylogenetic history and environmental conditions determine the trait diversity of species pools. Stream fishes have diversified into a wide range of body and oral shapes that allow a similarly wide range of functional traits, but that can be determined by habitat type and taxon. Herein, we analyzed 16 ecomorphological traits of nearly 400 fishes inhabiting streams distributed across the Brazilian Amazon to (i) describe the main axes of ecomorphological variation of Amazonian stream fishes; (ii) quantify the proportion of the potential combination of traits that is displayed by the regional pool of species; (iii) evaluate the distribution of different taxonomic groups in those axes; (iii) determine the overall contributions of the taxonomic groups to regional ecomorphological diversity. Our results show that Amazonian stream fishes concentrate around multiple combinations of traits defined by five axes of ecomorphological variation. The benthic-nektonic axis segregates fishes with upper-positioned eyes and wide mouth gapes from fishes with lower-positioned eyes and narrow mouth gapes related to narrower body shapes. Benthic fishes further differ in three groups of species depending on ecomorphological traits coupling different strategies for feeding and swimming. Taxonomic order and family constrained species position along these axes of variation and consequently determined their contribution to overall ecomorphological variation. Overall, we show that five axes related to habitat and food partitioning explain most of the ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes, but taxonomic identity determines species suite of traits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes is constrained by phylogenetic relationships

Soares,

Benone,

Leitão

et al. 2023

Preprint

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How to tuna fish: constraint, convergence, and integration in the neurocranium of pelagiarian fishes

et al. 2023

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Morphological evolution of the vertebrate skull has been explored across a wide range of tetrapod clades using geometric morphometrics, but the application of these methods to teleost fishes, accounting for roughly half of all vertebrate species, has been limited. Here we present the results of a study investigating three-dimensional morphological evolution of the neurocranium across 114 species of Pelagiaria, a diverse clade of open-ocean teleost fishes that includes tuna and mackerel. Despite showing high shape disparity overall, taxa from all families fall into three distinct morphological clusters. Convergence in shape within clusters is high, and phylogenetic signal in shape data is significant but low. Neurocranium shape is significantly correlated with body elongation and significantly but weakly correlated with size. Diet and habitat depth are weakly correlated with shape, and non-significant after accounting for phylogeny. Evolutionary integration in the neurocranium is high, suggesting that convergence in skull shape and the evolution of extreme morphologies are associated with the correlated evolution of neurocranial elements. These results suggest that shape evolution in the pelagiarian neurocranium reflects the extremes in elongation found in body shape but is constrained along relatively few axes of variation, resulting in repeated evolution towards a restricted range of morphologies.

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Evolutionary integration and modularity in the diversity of the suckermouth armoured catfishes

Black

Armbruster

2022

R. Soc. open sci.

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The evolution of morphological diversity has held a long-standing fascination among scientists. In particular, do bodies evolve as single, integrated units or do different body parts evolve semi-independently (modules)? Suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae) have a morphology that lends nicely to evolutionary modularity and integration studies. In addition to a ventrally facing oral jaw that directly contacts surfaces, the neurocranium and pectoral girdle are fused, which limits movement of the anterior part of the body. Functional constraints suggest it is likely the head and post-cranial body act as separate modules that can evolve independently. If true, one would expect to see a two- or three-module system where the head and post-cranial body are morphologically distinct. To test this hypothesis, we quantified shape using geometric morphometric analysis and assessed the degree of modularity across functionally important regions. We found the armoured catfish body is highly modularized, with varying degrees of integration between each module. Within subfamilies, there are different patterns of evolutionary modularity and integration, suggesting that the various patterns may have driven diversification along a single trajectory in each subfamily. This study suggests the evolution of armoured catfish diversification is complex, with morphological evolution influenced by interactions within and between modules.

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Evolutionary integration and modularity in the diversity of the suckermouth armoured catfishes

Cited by 5 publications

References 72 publications

The ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes is constrained by phylogenetic relationships

The ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes is constrained by phylogenetic relationships

How to tuna fish: constraint, convergence, and integration in the neurocranium of pelagiarian fishes

Evolutionary integration and modularity in the diversity of the suckermouth armoured catfishes

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