1
|
The metabolic cost of turning right side up in the Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca). Sci Rep 2022; 12:431. [PMID: 35013453 PMCID: PMC8748805 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04273-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Armoured, rigid bodied animals, such as Testudines, must self-right should they find themselves in an inverted position. The ability to self-right is an essential biomechanical and physiological process that influences survival and ultimately fitness. Traits that enhance righting ability may consequently offer an evolutionary advantage. However, the energetic requirements of self-righting are unknown. Using respirometry and kinematic video analysis, we examined the metabolic cost of self-righting in the terrestrial Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise and compared this to the metabolic cost of locomotion at a moderate, easily sustainable speed. We found that self-righting is, relatively, metabolically expensive and costs around two times the mass-specific power required to walk. Rapid movements of the limbs and head facilitate successful righting however, combined with the constraints of breathing whilst upside down, contribute a significant metabolic cost. Consequently, in the wild, these animals should favour environments or behaviours where the risk of becoming inverted is reduced.
Collapse
|
2
|
Venous pressures and cardiac filling in turtles during apnoea and intermittent ventilation. J Comp Physiol B 2017; 188:481-490. [DOI: 10.1007/s00360-017-1132-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/15/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
3
|
Schmidt M, Mehlhorn M, Fischer MS. Shoulder girdle rotation, forelimb movement and the influence of carapace shape on locomotion in Testudo hermanni (Testudinidae). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:2693-703. [PMID: 27340203 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.137059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Studies into the function of structures are crucial for making connections between morphology and behaviour of organisms, but are still rare for the terrestrial Testudinidae. We investigated the kinematics of shoulder girdle and forelimb motion in Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni using biplanar X-ray fluoroscopy with a twofold aim: firstly, to understand how the derived shapes of shoulder girdle and carapace together influence rotation of the girdle; and, secondly, to understand how girdle rotation affects forelimb excursion. The total degree of shoulder rotation in the horizontal plane is similar to a species with a less domed shell, but because of the long and nearly vertically oriented scapular prong, shoulder girdle rotation contributes more than 30% to the horizontal arc of the humerus and nearly 40% to the rotational component of step length. The antebrachium and manus, which act as a functional unit, contribute roughly 50% to this component of the step length because of their large excursion almost parallel to the mid-sagittal plane. This large excursion is the result of the complex interplay between humerus long-axis rotation, counter-rotation of the antebrachium, and elbow flexion and extension. A significant proportion of forelimb step length results from body translation that is due to the propulsive effect of the other limbs during their stance phases. Traits that are similar to other tortoises and terrestrial or semi-aquatic turtles are the overall slow walk because of a low stride frequency, and the lateral-sequence, diagonally coupled footfall pattern with high duty factors. Intraspecific variation of carapace shape and shoulder girdle dimensions has a corresponding effect on forelimb kinematics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Schmidt
- Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Erbertstraße 1, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Martin Mehlhorn
- Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Erbertstraße 1, Jena 07743, Germany
| | - Martin S Fischer
- Institute of Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Erbertstraße 1, Jena 07743, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ventilation and gas exchange in two turtles: Podocnemis unifilis and Phrynops geoffroanus (Testudines: Pleurodira). Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2016; 224:125-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2014.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2014] [Revised: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 12/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
5
|
The metabolic cost of breathing in red-eared sliders: An attempt to resolve an old controversy. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2016; 224:114-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2015.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Revised: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
6
|
Lyson TR, Schachner ER, Botha-Brink J, Scheyer TM, Lambertz M, Bever GS, Rubidge BS, de Queiroz K. Origin of the unique ventilatory apparatus of turtles. Nat Commun 2014; 5:5211. [PMID: 25376734 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2014] [Accepted: 09/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The turtle body plan differs markedly from that of other vertebrates and serves as a model system for studying structural and developmental evolution. Incorporation of the ribs into the turtle shell negates the costal movements that effect lung ventilation in other air-breathing amniotes. Instead, turtles have a unique abdominal-muscle-based ventilatory apparatus whose evolutionary origins have remained mysterious. Here we show through broadly comparative anatomical and histological analyses that an early member of the turtle stem lineage has several turtle-specific ventilation characters: rigid ribcage, inferred loss of intercostal muscles and osteological correlates of the primary expiratory muscle. Our results suggest that the ventilation mechanism of turtles evolved through a division of labour between the ribs and muscles of the trunk in which the abdominal muscles took on the primary ventilatory function, whereas the broadened ribs became the primary means of stabilizing the trunk. These changes occurred approximately 50 million years before the evolution of the fully ossified shell.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tyler R Lyson
- 1] Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, Colorado 80205, USA [2] Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560, USA [3] Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Emma R Schachner
- 1] Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA [2] Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
| | - Jennifer Botha-Brink
- 1] Karoo Palaeontology, National Museum, Box 266, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa [2] Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
| | - Torsten M Scheyer
- Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zürich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Markus Lambertz
- Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloss, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - G S Bever
- 1] Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa [2] New York Institute of Technology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York 11568, USA [3] Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York 10024, USA
| | - Bruce S Rubidge
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Kevin de Queiroz
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 20560, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Hirasawa T, Pascual-Anaya J, Kamezaki N, Taniguchi M, Mine K, Kuratani S. The evolutionary origin of the turtle shell and its dependence on the axial arrest of the embryonic rib cage. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2014; 324:194-207. [PMID: 24898540 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2014] [Revised: 04/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/07/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Turtles are characterized by their possession of a shell with dorsal and ventral moieties: the carapace and the plastron, respectively. In this review, we try to provide answers to the question of the evolutionary origin of the carapace, by revising morphological, developmental, and paleontological comparative analyses. The turtle carapace is formed through modification of the thoracic ribs and vertebrae, which undergo extensive ossification to form a solid bony structure. Except for peripheral dermal elements, there are no signs of exoskeletal components ontogenetically added to the costal and neural bones, and thus the carapace is predominantly of endoskeletal nature. Due to the axial arrest of turtle rib growth, the axial part of the embryo expands laterally and the shoulder girdle becomes encapsulated in the rib cage, together with the inward folding of the lateral body wall in the late phase of embryogenesis. Along the line of this folding develops a ridge called the carapacial ridge (CR), a turtle-specific embryonic structure. The CR functions in the marginal growth of the carapacial primordium, in which Wnt signaling pathway might play a crucial role. Both paleontological and genomic evidence suggest that the axial arrest is the first step toward acquisition of the turtle body plan, which is estimated to have taken place after the divergence of a clade including turtles from archosaurs. The developmental relationship between the CR and the axial arrest remains a central issue to be solved in future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Hirasawa
- Laboratory for Evolutionary Morphology, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Mans C, Drees R, Sladky KK, Hatt JM, Kircher PR. Effects of body position and extension of the neck and extremities on lung volume measured via computed tomography in red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). J Am Vet Med Assoc 2013; 243:1190-6. [DOI: 10.2460/javma.243.8.1190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
9
|
Hsia CCW, Schmitz A, Lambertz M, Perry SF, Maina JN. Evolution of air breathing: oxygen homeostasis and the transitions from water to land and sky. Compr Physiol 2013; 3:849-915. [PMID: 23720333 PMCID: PMC3926130 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c120003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Life originated in anoxia, but many organisms came to depend upon oxygen for survival, independently evolving diverse respiratory systems for acquiring oxygen from the environment. Ambient oxygen tension (PO2) fluctuated through the ages in correlation with biodiversity and body size, enabling organisms to migrate from water to land and air and sometimes in the opposite direction. Habitat expansion compels the use of different gas exchangers, for example, skin, gills, tracheae, lungs, and their intermediate stages, that may coexist within the same species; coexistence may be temporally disjunct (e.g., larval gills vs. adult lungs) or simultaneous (e.g., skin, gills, and lungs in some salamanders). Disparate systems exhibit similar directions of adaptation: toward larger diffusion interfaces, thinner barriers, finer dynamic regulation, and reduced cost of breathing. Efficient respiratory gas exchange, coupled to downstream convective and diffusive resistances, comprise the "oxygen cascade"-step-down of PO2 that balances supply against toxicity. Here, we review the origin of oxygen homeostasis, a primal selection factor for all respiratory systems, which in turn function as gatekeepers of the cascade. Within an organism's lifespan, the respiratory apparatus adapts in various ways to upregulate oxygen uptake in hypoxia and restrict uptake in hyperoxia. In an evolutionary context, certain species also become adapted to environmental conditions or habitual organismic demands. We, therefore, survey the comparative anatomy and physiology of respiratory systems from invertebrates to vertebrates, water to air breathers, and terrestrial to aerial inhabitants. Through the evolutionary directions and variety of gas exchangers, their shared features and individual compromises may be appreciated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Connie C W Hsia
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Breathing and locomotion: Comparative anatomy, morphology and function. Respir Physiol Neurobiol 2010; 173 Suppl:S26-32. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2010.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2010] [Revised: 04/15/2010] [Accepted: 04/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|