Functional Microanatomy of the Feather-Bearing Integument: Implications for the Evolution of Birds and Avian Flight

Homberger, Dominique G.; Silva, Kumudini N.D.E.

doi:10.1093/icb/40.4.553

Cited by 36 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…1-4) (Osborne, '68;Lucas and Stettenheim, '72;de Silva, '95;Homberger and de Silva, 2000;Homberger, 2002). The following morphological descriptions and analyses are based on the conditions observed in the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) (for details, see de Silva, '95).…”

Section: The Functional Morphology Of the Feather Musculaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This variability notwithstanding, all contour feathers are moved by a minimum of two main types of feather muscles, namely the erector and depressor muscles, which are aligned diagonally to the longitudinal and transverse axes of the body and its parts (Figs. 1 and 5A) (de Silva, '95;Homberger and de Silva, 2000;Homberger 2002). In certain areas, retractor (or ''diagonal'') feather muscles connect two feather follicles along the longitudinal or transverse body axes (for details, see Lucas and Stettenheim,'72).…”

Section: Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Complicating factors in this undertaking arise from the fact that the avian skin is a highly complex hydraulic skeleto-muscular apparatus that is subjected to a wide array of internal and external mechanical strains and stresses. These forces arise not only in adult birds through their interactions with the environment, for example, during flight (Homberger and de Silva, 2000;Homberger, 2002), but also in developing embryos through their own growth and movements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of mechanical forces on the patterning of the avian feather‐bearing skin: A biomechanical analysis of the integumentary musculature in birds

Homberger

Silva

2003

J Exp Zool Pt B

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The integumentary musculature of birds consists of three distinct components. The smooth musculature comprises feather and apterial muscles, which form a continuous musculo-elastic layer within the dermis. The feather muscles, which consistently include at least erectors and depressors, interconnect contour feathers within pterylae (i.e., feather tracts) along gridlines that are oriented diagonally to the longitudinal and transverse axes of the body. The apterial muscles interconnect pterylae by attaching to the contour feathers along their peripheries. The striated musculature is composed of individual subcutaneous muscles, most of which attach to contour feathers along the caudal periphery of pterylae A new integrative functional analysis of the integumentary musculature proposes how apterial muscles stabilize the pterylae and modulate the tension of the musculo-elastic layer, and how subcutaneous muscles provide the initial stimulus for erector muscles being able to ruffle the contour feathers within pterylae. It also shows how the arrangement of the contour feathers and integumentary muscles reflects the stresses and strains that act on the avian skin. These mechanical forces are in effect not only in the adult, especially during flight, but may also be active during feather morphogenesis. The avian integument with its complex structural organization may, therefore, represent an excellent model for analyzing the nature of interactions between the environment and genetic material. The predictions of our model are testable, and our study demonstrates the relevance of integrated analyses of complex organs as mechanically coherent systems for evolutionary and developmental biology.

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Section: The Functional Morphology Of the Feather Musculaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of mechanical forces on the patterning of the avian feather‐bearing skin: A biomechanical analysis of the integumentary musculature in birds

Homberger

Silva

2003

J Exp Zool Pt B

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“…This level of integration can be understood only if the various organ systems of an organism have been analyzed and integrated into a mechanically coherent model of the organism. For example, the loss of teeth and the formation of a cornified beak in birds was driven by a selective regime favoring aerodynamically streamlined body contours, which are characteristic of avian flight (Homberger, '99, 2002;Homberger and de Silva, 2000). With the development of teeth and integumentary appendages being under similar molecular control, it is plausible to imagine that the overall regimen of mechanical forces arising from the interactions between a bird and its environment during flight may impose coordinating constraints on the expression of genes.…”

Section: The Need For An Integrative and Comparative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evolution of the amniote integument: Current landscape and future horizon

Chuong

Homberger

2003

J Exp Zool Pt B

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This special issue on the development and evolution of the amniote integument begins with a discussion of the adaptations to terrestrial conditions, the acquisition of water-impermeability by the reptilian integument, and the initial formation of filamentous integumentary appendages that pave the way towards avian flight. Recent feather fossils are reviewed and a definition of feathers is developed. Hierarchical models are proposed for the formation of complex structures, such as feathers. Molecular signals that alter the phenotype of integumentary appendages at different levels of the hierarchy are presented. Tissue interactions and the roles of keratins in evolution are discussed and linked to their bio-mechanical properties. The role of mechanical forces on patterning is explored. Elaborate extant feather variants are introduced. The regeneration/gene mis-expression protocol for the chicken feather is established as a testable model for the study of biological structures. The adaptations of the mammalian distal limb end organs to terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic conditions are discussed. The development and cycling of hair are reviewed from a molecular perspective. These contributions reveal that the structure and function of diverse integumentary appendages are variations superimposed on a common theme, and that their formation is modular, hierarchical, and cyclical. They further reveal that these mechanisms can be understood at the molecular level, and that an integrative and organismal approach to studying integumentary appendages is needed. We propose that future research should foster interdisciplinary approaches, pursue understanding at the cellular and molecular level, analyze interactions between the environment and genome, and recognize the contributions of variation in morphogenesis and evolution.

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“…3 This particular fascination for birds is present in the different studies dedicated to them. [4][5][6][7][8] The bird's flight has attracted the attention and imagination of human kind who has dedicated pictures, poems, and the like to sophisticated mechanical devices which tried to reproduce their flight ability. The study of this phenomenon has been developed at different levels of detail along human history.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interferometric study on birds’ feathers

Torre-Ibarra

Santoyo

2013

J. Biomed. Opt

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Abstract. Optical techniques such as speckle pattern interferometry are well known in the nondestructive testing measurement community. They can be used, for instance, as a predictor of the mechanical behavior of a sample under study. However, in almost all circumstances, a mathematical model has to be applied in order to make sense of these measurements. This is a critical issue when an organic sample is studied, mainly due to its complex deformation response. A good example of this is observed in the birds' feathers. They have extraordinary mechanical and aerodynamic properties thanks to their stiffness and lightness. A couple of live birds are safely situated in front of an out-of-plane sensitive digital holographic interferometer (DHI), an optical system capable of recovering the optical phase in this type of nonrepeatable or unpredictable experiment. In order to recover the backscattering signal and its interferometric response, several images are recorded from different sections of the plumage. Displacement maps are obtained from what is, as far as is known, the first time that full field microdisplacement maps are presented over a hummingbird and a parakeet plumage.

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Functional Microanatomy of the Feather-Bearing Integument: Implications for the Evolution of Birds and Avian Flight

Cited by 36 publications

References 77 publications

The role of mechanical forces on the patterning of the avian feather‐bearing skin: A biomechanical analysis of the integumentary musculature in birds

The role of mechanical forces on the patterning of the avian feather‐bearing skin: A biomechanical analysis of the integumentary musculature in birds

Development and evolution of the amniote integument: Current landscape and future horizon

Interferometric study on birds’ feathers

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