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Anatomical Correlates of Cursoriality are Compromised by Body Size and Propensity to Burrow in a Group of Small Mammals (Lagomorpha). Evol Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-022-09584-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractHighly cursorial animals are specialised for fast, sustained running via specific morphological adaptations, notably including changes in limb segment length and mechanical advantage. Members of the order Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits and pikas) vary in cursorial ability; hares are generally highly cursorial, rabbits more frequently saltate, and pikas predominantly trot. Previous investigations of lagomorphs have identified anatomical trends correlated with this ‘cursoriality gradient’, however, the phylogenetic sampling of such investigations has been limited to three American species, namely the American pika (Ochotona princeps), brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), and black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus). Here, we expand the phylogenetic sample and body size range by including novel data from Australian samples of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and European hare (L. europaeus), alongside unpublished data on the Eastern cottontail (S. floridanus). X-ray Computed Tomography and digital landmarking were used to capture proportions within the appendicular skeleton of ~ 40 specimens of each European species. In doubling the number of species studied, we find the previously-identified morphological gradients associated with cursorial behaviour are complicated when evaluated in the larger sample. The relative length and joint velocity of limbs was found to be lower than predicted in European rabbits and hares. Furthermore, we present a novel assessment of morphological integration in the lagomorph appendicular skeleton, finding between-limb covariation patterns that are generally similar to those of other mammals. Broadly, these results suggest cursoriality is only one of many selective forces driving lagomorph skeletal evolution, with variations in body size and fossoriality potentially having measurable impacts.
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Mahar JE, Hall RN, Shi M, Mourant R, Huang N, Strive T, Holmes EC. The discovery of three new hare lagoviruses reveals unexplored viral diversity in this genus. Virus Evol 2019; 5:vez005. [PMID: 30997155 PMCID: PMC6456799 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vez005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Our knowledge of mammalian viruses has been strongly skewed toward those that cause disease in humans and animals. However, recent metagenomic studies indicate that most apparently healthy organisms carry viruses, and that these seemingly benign viruses may comprise the bulk of virus diversity. The bias toward studying viruses associated with overt disease is apparent in the lagoviruses (family Caliciviridae) that infect rabbits and hares: although most attention has been directed toward the highly pathogenic members of this genus—rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus and European brown hare syndrome virus—a number of benign lagoviruses have also been identified. To determine whether wild European brown hares in Australia might also carry undetected benign viruses, we used a meta-transcriptomics approach to explore the gut and liver RNA viromes of these invasive animals. This led to the discovery of three new lagoviruses. While one was only detected in a single hare, the other two viruses were detected in 20 per cent of all animals tested. All three viruses were most closely related to other hare lagoviruses, but were phylogenetically distinct from both known viruses and from each other, indicating that lagoviruses have circulated for longer than previously assumed. Their evolution was also characterised by complex recombination events. Mapping mutations onto the lagovirus phylogeny revealed no amino acid changes that were consistently associated with virulence phenotype. Overall, our study points to extensive unsampled diversity in this genus, such that additional metagenomic studies are needed to fill gaps in the lagovirus phylogeny and better understand the evolutionary history of this important group of mammalian viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackie E Mahar
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Robyn N Hall
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Clunies Ross St, Black Mountain, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Building 22, University Drive South, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Mang Shi
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Roslyn Mourant
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Clunies Ross St, Black Mountain, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Nina Huang
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Clunies Ross St, Black Mountain, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Building 22, University Drive South, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Tanja Strive
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Clunies Ross St, Black Mountain, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Building 22, University Drive South, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Edward C Holmes
- Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Hall RN, Peacock DE, Kovaliski J, Mahar JE, Mourant R, Piper M, Strive T. Detection of RHDV2 in European brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in Australia. Vet Rec 2016; 180:121. [PMID: 28154218 DOI: 10.1136/vr.104034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R N Hall
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - D E Peacock
- Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - J Kovaliski
- Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - J E Mahar
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia.,Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia R. N. Hall, R. Mourant, M. Piper, T. Strive, are also at Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia D. E. Peacock, J. Kovaliski, are also at Biosecurity SA, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - R Mourant
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - M Piper
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - T Strive
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
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