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Séon N, Amiot R, Suan G, Lécuyer C, Fourel F, Vinçon-Laugier A, Charbonnier S, Vincent P. Regional heterothermies recorded in the oxygen isotope composition of harbour seal skeletal elements. J Therm Biol 2024; 120:103825. [PMID: 38430855 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Regional heterothermy is a strategy used by marine mammals to maintain a high and stable core body temperature, but its identification needs in situ measurements difficult to set up in extant wild organisms and inapplicable to extinct ones. We have analysed the oxygen isotope composition of bioapatite phosphate (δ18Op) from one permanent tooth and from thirty-six skeletal elements of one adult male harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) from the Baie de Somme (Hauts-de-France, France). We propose that the observed intra-skeletal δ18Op variability reflects tissue temperature heterogeneities typical of the pinniped regional heterothermy strategy. Our δ18Op data indicate that bone hydroxylapatite from harbour seal autopod skeletal elements (metacarpals, metatarsals, and phalanxes) mineralises at a lower temperature than that of the bone from the axial skeleton (e.g. vertebrae, ribs, and girdle bones). The results suggest that it is possible to locate a history of regional heterothermies in amphibious marine vertebrates using the δ18Op values of their mineralised tissues. This enables direct evaluation of the thermophysiology of both modern and fossil Pinnipedia from their skeletons opening perspectives on understanding their thermal adaptation to the marine environment in the fossil record. In addition to thermophysiology, oxygen isotope data from the permanent teeth of Pinnipedia, which are formed during the in utero phase from body fluid of the mother and at a stable temperature, could be valuable for locating the geographical areas inhabited by existing Pinnipedia females during their gestation period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Séon
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, 57 rue Cuvier, Cedex 05, 75231, Paris, France; Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL-TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Romain Amiot
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL-TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Guillaume Suan
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL-TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Christophe Lécuyer
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL-TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - François Fourel
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, CNRS, UMR 5023, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Arnauld Vinçon-Laugier
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon1, LGL-TPE, UMR 5276, CNRS, ENSL, UJM, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Sylvain Charbonnier
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, 57 rue Cuvier, Cedex 05, 75231, Paris, France.
| | - Peggy Vincent
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie - Paris (CR2P), CNRS, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, 57 rue Cuvier, Cedex 05, 75231, Paris, France.
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2
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Motani R, Gold DA, Carlson SJ, Vermeij GJ. Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy. Nature 2023; 621:E1-E3. [PMID: 37674001 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06411-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Motani
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - David A Gold
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Sandra J Carlson
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Geerat J Vermeij
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
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Wiemann J, Menéndez I, Crawford JM, Fabbri M, Gauthier JA, Hull PM, Norell MA, Briggs DEG. Reply to: Amniote metabolism and the evolution of endothermy. Nature 2023; 621:E4-E6. [PMID: 37673991 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06412-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Wiemann
- Earth Science Section, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Iris Menéndez
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany.
| | | | - Matteo Fabbri
- Earth Science Section, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jacques A Gauthier
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pincelli M Hull
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mark A Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Derek E G Briggs
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Yale Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Klein N, Sander PM, Liu J, Druckenmiller P, Metz ET, Kelley NP, Scheyer TM. Comparative bone histology of two thalattosaurians (Diapsida: Thalattosauria): Askeptosaurus italicus from the Alpine Triassic (Middle Triassic) and a Thalattosauroidea indet. from the Carnian of Oregon (Late Triassic). SWISS JOURNAL OF PALAEONTOLOGY 2023; 142:15. [PMID: 37601161 PMCID: PMC10432342 DOI: 10.1186/s13358-023-00277-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
Here, we present the first bone histological and microanatomical study of thalattosaurians, an enigmatic group among Triassic marine reptiles. Two taxa of thalattosaurians, the askeptosauroid Askeptosaurus italicus and one as yet undescribed thalattosauroid, are examined. Both taxa have a rather different microanatomy, tissue type, and growth pattern. Askeptosaurus italicus from the late Anisian middle Besano Formation of the southern Alpine Triassic shows very compact tissue in vertebrae, rib, a gastralium, and femora, and all bones are without medullary cavities. The tissue shows moderate to low vascularization, dominated by highly organized and very coarse parallel-fibred bone, resembling interwoven tissue. Vascularization is dominated by simple longitudinal vascular canals, except for the larger femur of Askeptosaurus, where simple vascular canals dominate in a radial arrangement. Growth marks stratify the cortex of femora. The vertebrae and humeri from the undescribed thalattosauroid from the late Carnian of Oregon have primary and secondary cancellous bone, resulting in an overall low bone compactness. Two dorsal vertebral centra show dominantly secondary trabeculae, whereas a caudal vertebral centrum shows much primary trabecular bone, globuli ossei, and cartilage, indicating an earlier ontogenetic stage of the specimens or paedomorphosis. The humeri of the thalattosauroid show large, simple vascular canals that are dominantly radially oriented in a scaffold of woven and loosely organized parallel-fibred tissue. Few of the simple vascular canals are thinly but only incompletely lined by parallel-fibered tissue. In the Oregon material, changes in growth rate are only indicated by changes in vascular organization but no distinct growth marks were identified. The compact bone of Askeptosaurus is best comparable to some pachypleurosaurs, whereas its combination of tissue and vascularity is similar to eosauropterygians in general, except for the coarse nature of its parallel-fibred tissue. The cancellous bone of the Oregon thalattosauroid resembles what is documented in ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. However, in contrast to these its tissue does not consist of fibro-lamellar bone type. Tissue types of both thalattosaurian taxa indicate rather different growth rates and growth patterns, associated with different life history strategies. The microanatomy reflects different life styles that fit to the different environments in which they had been found (intraplatform basin vs. open marine). Both thalattosaurian taxa differ from each other but in sum also from all other marine reptile taxa studied so far. Thalattosaurian bone histology documents once more that bone histology provides for certain groups (i.e., Triassic Diapsida) only a poor phylogenetic signal and is more influenced by exogenous factors. Differences in lifestyle, life history traits, and growth rate and pattern enabled all these Triassic marine reptiles to live contemporaneously in the same habitat managing to avoid substantial competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. Klein
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, Nußallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - P. M. Sander
- Department of Palaeontology, Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, Nußallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei, 230009 China
| | - J. Liu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei, 230009 China
| | - P. Druckenmiller
- University of Alaska Museum, 1962 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA
- Department of Geosciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1930 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA
| | - E. T. Metz
- Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, 600 W Kagy Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59717 USA
| | - N. P. Kelley
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240 USA
| | - T. M. Scheyer
- Department of Palaeontology, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
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Whitney MR, Otoo BKA, Angielczyk KD, Pierce SE. Fossil bone histology reveals ancient origins for rapid juvenile growth in tetrapods. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1280. [PMID: 36443424 PMCID: PMC9705711 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04079-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Patterns of growth throughout the lifetime of an animal reflect critical life history traits such as reproductive timing, physiology, and ecological interactions. The ancestral growth pattern for tetrapods has traditionally been described as slow-to-moderately paced, akin to modern amphibians, with fast growth and high metabolic rates considered a specialized physiological trait of amniotes. Here, we present bone histology from an ontogenetic series of the Early Carboniferous stem tetrapod Whatcheeria deltae, and document evidence of fibrolamellar bone-primary bone tissue associated with fast growth. Our data indicate that Whatcheeria juveniles grew rapidly and reached skeletal maturity quickly, allowing them to occupy a large-bodied predator niche in their paleoenvironment. This life history strategy contrasts with those described for other stem tetrapods and indicates that a diversity of growth patterns existed at the origins of tetrapod diversification. Importantly, Whatcheeria marks an unexpectedly early occurrence of fibrolamellar bone in Tetrapoda, both temporally and phylogenetically. These findings reveal that elevated juvenile growth is not limited to amniotes, but has a deep history in the tetrapod clade and may have played a previously unrecognized role in the tetrapod invasion of land.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan R. Whitney
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMuseum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
| | - Benjamin K. A. Otoo
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 USA ,grid.299784.90000 0001 0476 8496Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496 USA
| | - Kenneth D. Angielczyk
- grid.170205.10000 0004 1936 7822Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 USA ,grid.299784.90000 0001 0476 8496Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496 USA
| | - Stephanie E. Pierce
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMuseum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
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6
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Ong N, Hart-Farrar B, Tremaine K, Woodward HN. Osteohistological description of ostrich and emu long bones, with comments on markers of growth. J Anat 2022; 241:518-526. [PMID: 35412666 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Ostriches and emus are among the largest extant birds and are frequently used as modern analogs for the growth dynamics of non-avian theropod dinosaurs. These ratites quickly reach adult size in under 1 year, and as such do not typically exhibit annually deposited growth marks. Growth marks, commonly classified as annuli or lines of arrested growth (LAGs), represent reduced or halted osteogenesis, respectively, and their presence demonstrates varying degrees of developmental plasticity. Growth marks have not yet been reported from ostriches and emus, prompting authors to suggest that they have lost the plasticity required to deposit them. Here we observe the hind limb bone histology of three captive juvenile emus and one captive adult ostrich. Two of the three juvenile emus exhibit typical bone histology but the third emu, a 4.5-month-old juvenile, exhibits a regional arc of avascular tissue, which we interpret as a growth mark. As this mark is not present in the other two emus from the same cohort and it co-occurs with a contralateral broken fibula, we suggest variable biomechanical load as a potential cause. The ostrich exhibits a complete ring of avascular, hypermineralized bone with sparse, flattened osteocyte lacunae. We identify this as an annulus and interpret it as slowing of growth. In the absence of other growth marks and lacking the animal's life history, the timing and cause of this ostrich's reduced growth are unclear. Even so, these findings demonstrate that both taxa retain the ancestral developmental plasticity required to temporarily slow growth. We also discuss the potential challenges of identifying growth marks using incomplete population data sets and partial cortical sampling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Ong
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Brenna Hart-Farrar
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Katie Tremaine
- Department of Earth Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA.,Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
| | - Holly N Woodward
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
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7
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Grigg G, Nowack J, Bicudo JEPW, Bal NC, Woodward HN, Seymour RS. Whole-body endothermy: ancient, homologous and widespread among the ancestors of mammals, birds and crocodylians. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:766-801. [PMID: 34894040 PMCID: PMC9300183 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The whole‐body (tachymetabolic) endothermy seen in modern birds and mammals is long held to have evolved independently in each group, a reasonable assumption when it was believed that its earliest appearances in birds and mammals arose many millions of years apart. That assumption is consistent with current acceptance that the non‐shivering thermogenesis (NST) component of regulatory body heat originates differently in each group: from skeletal muscle in birds and from brown adipose tissue (BAT) in mammals. However, BAT is absent in monotremes, marsupials, and many eutherians, all whole‐body endotherms. Indeed, recent research implies that BAT‐driven NST originated more recently and that the biochemical processes driving muscle NST in birds, many modern mammals and the ancestors of both may be similar, deriving from controlled ‘slippage’ of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA) in skeletal muscle, similar to a process seen in some fishes. This similarity prompted our realisation that the capacity for whole‐body endothermy could even have pre‐dated the divergence of Amniota into Synapsida and Sauropsida, leading us to hypothesise the homology of whole‐body endothermy in birds and mammals, in contrast to the current assumption of their independent (convergent) evolution. To explore the extent of similarity between muscle NST in mammals and birds we undertook a detailed review of these processes and their control in each group. We found considerable but not complete similarity between them: in extant mammals the ‘slippage’ is controlled by the protein sarcolipin (SLN), in birds the SLN is slightly different structurally and its role in NST is not yet proved. However, considering the multi‐millions of years since the separation of synapsids and diapsids, we consider that the similarity between NST production in birds and mammals is consistent with their whole‐body endothermy being homologous. If so, we should expect to find evidence for it much earlier and more widespread among extinct amniotes than is currently recognised. Accordingly, we conducted an extensive survey of the palaeontological literature using established proxies. Fossil bone histology reveals evidence of sustained rapid growth rates indicating tachymetabolism. Large body size and erect stature indicate high systemic arterial blood pressures and four‐chambered hearts, characteristic of tachymetabolism. Large nutrient foramina in long bones are indicative of high bone perfusion for rapid somatic growth and for repair of microfractures caused by intense locomotion. Obligate bipedality appeared early and only in whole‐body endotherms. Isotopic profiles of fossil material indicate endothermic levels of body temperature. These proxies led us to compelling evidence for the widespread occurrence of whole‐body endothermy among numerous extinct synapsids and sauropsids, and very early in each clade's family tree. These results are consistent with and support our hypothesis that tachymetabolic endothermy is plesiomorphic in Amniota. A hypothetical structure for the heart of the earliest endothermic amniotes is proposed. We conclude that there is strong evidence for whole‐body endothermy being ancient and widespread among amniotes and that the similarity of biochemical processes driving muscle NST in extant birds and mammals strengthens the case for its plesiomorphy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gordon Grigg
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Julia Nowack
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, U.K
| | | | | | - Holly N Woodward
- Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, OK, 74107, U.S.A
| | - Roger S Seymour
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia
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Whitney MR, Pierce SE. Osteohistology of Greererpeton provides insight into the life history of an early Carboniferous tetrapod. J Anat 2021; 239:1256-1272. [PMID: 34310687 PMCID: PMC8602017 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The vertebrate transition to land is one of the most consequential, yet poorly understood periods in tetrapod evolution. Despite the importance of the water-land transition in establishing modern ecosystems, we still know very little about the life histories of the earliest tetrapods. Bone histology provides an exceptional opportunity to study the biology of early tetrapods and has the potential to reveal new insights into their life histories. Here, we examine the femoral bone histology from an ontogenetic series of Greererpeton, an early tetrapod from the Middle-Late Mississippian (early Carboniferous) of North America. Thin-sections and micro-CT data show a moderately paced rate of bone deposition with significant cortical thickening through development. An interruption to regular bone deposition, as indicated by a zone of avascular tissue and growth marks, is notable at the same late juvenile stage of development throughout our sample. This suggests that an inherent aspect to the life history of juvenile Greererpeton resulted in a temporary reduction in bone deposition. We review several possible life history correlates for this bony signature including metamorphosis, an extended juvenile phase, environmental stress, and movement (migration/dispersal) between habitats. We argue that given the anatomy of Greererpeton, it is unlikely that events related to polymorphism (metamorphosis, extended juvenile phase) can explain the bony signature observed in our sample. Furthermore, the ubiquity of this signal in our sample indicates a taxon-level rather than a population-level trait, which is expected for an environmental stress. We conclude that movement via dispersal represents a likely correlate, as such events are a common life history strategy of aquatically bound vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan R. Whitney
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
| | - Stephanie E. Pierce
- Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridgeMAUSA
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Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Revealed Genes Involved in Sexual and Polyploid Growth Dimorphisms in Loach ( Misgurnus anguillicaudatus). BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10090935. [PMID: 34571812 PMCID: PMC8468957 DOI: 10.3390/biology10090935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Misgurnus anguillicaudatus not only exhibits sexual size dimorphism, but also shows polyploid size dimorphism. Here, we performed comparative transcriptome integration analysis of multiple tissues of diploid and tetraploid M. anguillicaudatus of both sexes. We found that differences in energy metabolism and steroid hormone synthesis levels may be the main causes of sexual and polyploidy growth dimorphisms of M. anguillicaudatus. Fast-growing M. anguillicaudatus (tetraploids, females) have higher levels of energy metabolism and lower steroid hormone synthesis and fatty acid degradation abilities than slow-growing M. anguillicaudatus (diploids, males). Abstract Sexual and polyploidy size dimorphisms are widespread phenomena in fish, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) displays both sexual and polyploid growth dimorphism phenomena, and are therefore ideal models to study these two phenomena. In this study, RNA-seq was used for the first time to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between both sexes of diploid and tetraploid loaches in four tissues (brain, gonad, liver, and muscle). Results showed that 21,003, 17, and 1 DEGs were identified in gonad, liver, and muscle tissues, respectively, between females and males in both diploids and tetraploids. Regarding the ploidy levels, 4956, 1496, 2187, and 1726 DEGs were identified in the brain, gonad, liver, and muscle tissues, respectively, between tetraploids and diploids of the same sex. When both sexual and polyploid size dimorphisms were considered simultaneously in the four tissues, only 424 DEGs were found in the gonads, indicating that these gonadal DEGs may play an important regulatory role in regulating sexual and polyploid size dimorphisms. Regardless of the sex or ploidy comparison, the significant DEGs involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways were upregulated in faster-growing individuals, while steroid hormone biosynthesis-related genes and fatty acid degradation and elongation-related genes were downregulated. This suggests that fast-growing loaches (tetraploids, females) have higher energy metabolism levels and lower steroid hormone synthesis and fatty acid degradation abilities than slow-growing loaches (diploids, males). Our findings provide an archive for future systematic research on fish sexual and polyploid dimorphisms.
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Monfroy QT, Kundrát M, O’Connor JK, Hai‐Lu Y, Marone F, Stampanoni M, Šmajda B. Synchrotron microtomography‐based osteohistology of
Gansus yumenensis
: new data on the evolution of uninterrupted bone deposition in basal birds. ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/azo.12402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin T. Monfroy
- Department of Animal Physiology Institute of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Sciences Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice Košice Slovakia
- PaleoBioImaging Lab, Evolutionary Biodiversity Research Group Centre for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice Košice Slovakia
| | - Martin Kundrát
- PaleoBioImaging Lab, Evolutionary Biodiversity Research Group Centre for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice Košice Slovakia
| | | | - You Hai‐Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment Beijing China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Federica Marone
- Swiss Light Source Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen Switzerland
| | - Marco Stampanoni
- Swiss Light Source Paul Scherrer Institut Villigen Switzerland
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering ETH Zürich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Beňadik Šmajda
- Department of Animal Physiology Institute of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Sciences Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice Košice Slovakia
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11
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Calderón T, Arnold W, Stalder G, Painer J, Köhler M. Labelling experiments in red deer provide a general model for early bone growth dynamics in ruminants. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14074. [PMID: 34234258 PMCID: PMC8263734 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93547-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Growth rates importantly determine developmental time and are, therefore, a key variable of a species' life history. A widely used method to reconstruct growth rates and to estimate age at death in extant and particularly in fossil vertebrates is the analysis of bone tissue apposition rates. Lines of arrested growth (LAGs) are of special interest here, as they indicate a halt in bone growth. However, although of great importance, the time intervals between, and particularly the reason of growth arrests remains unknown. Therefore, experiments are increasingly called for to calibrate growth rates with tissue types and life history events, and to provide reliable measurements of the time involved in the formation of LAGs. Based on in vivo bone labelling, we calibrated periods of bone tissue apposition, growth arrest, drift and resorption over the period from birth to post-weaning in a large mammal, the red deer. We found that bone growth rates tightly matched the daily weight gain curve, i.e. decreased with age, with two discrete periods of growth rate disruption that coincided with the life history events birth and weaning, that were visually recognisable in bone tissue as either partial LAGs or annuli. Our study identified for the first time in a large mammal a general pattern for juvenile bone growth rates, including periods of growth arrest. The tight correlation between daily weight gain and bone tissue apposition suggests that the red deer bone growth model is valid for ruminants in general where the daily weight gain curve is comparable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Calderón
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Edifici Z, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, C/ de Les Columnes, s/n., 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Walter Arnold
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gabrielle Stalder
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johanna Painer
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Meike Köhler
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), Edifici Z, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, C/ de Les Columnes, s/n., 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.,ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Cubo J, Sena MVA, Aubier P, Houee G, Claisse P, Faure-Brac MG, Allain R, Andrade RCLP, Sayão JM, Oliveira GR. Were Notosuchia (Pseudosuchia: Crocodylomorpha) warm-blooded? A palaeohistological analysis suggests ectothermy. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Most Notosuchia were active terrestrial predators. A few were semi-aquatic, or were insectivorous, omnivorous or herbivorous. A question relative to their thermometabolism remains to be answered: were Notosuchia warm-blooded? Here we use quantitative bone palaeohistology to answer this question. Two variables were used as proxies to infer thermometabolism: resting metabolic rate and red blood cell dimensions. Resting metabolic rate was inferred using relative primary osteon area and osteocyte size, shape and density. Blood cell dimensions were inferred using harmonic mean canal diameter and minimum canal diameter. All inferences were performed using phylogenetic eigenvector maps. Both sets of analyses suggest that the seven species of Notosuchia sampled in this study were ectotherms. Given that extant Neosuchia (their sister group) are also ectotherms, and that archosaurs were primitively endotherms, parsimony suggests that endothermy may have been lost at the node Metasuchia (Notosuchia–Neosuchia) by the Early Jurassic. Semi-aquatic taxa such as Pepesuchus may have had thermoregulatory strategies similar to those of recent crocodylians, whereas the terrestrial taxa (Araripesuchus, Armadillosuchus, Iberosuchus, Mariliasuchus, Stratiotosuchus) may have been thermoregulators similar to active predatory varanids. Thermal inertia may have contributed to maintaining a stable temperature in large notosuchians such as Baurusuchus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Mariana V A Sena
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Departamento de Geologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências (PPGEOC), Recife, PE, Brazil
- Centro Universitário da Vitória de Santo Antão, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil
| | - Paul Aubier
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Houee
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Penelope Claisse
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Mathieu G Faure-Brac
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Ronan Allain
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie—Paris, Paris, France
| | - Rafael C L P Andrade
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Microestruturas, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil
| | - Juliana M Sayão
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Microestruturas, Vitória de Santo Antão, PE, Brazil
| | - Gustavo R Oliveira
- Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Paleontologia & Sistemática, Recife, PE, Brazil
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13
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Faure-Brac MG, Cubo J. Were the synapsids primitively endotherms? A palaeohistological approach using phylogenetic eigenvector maps. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190138. [PMID: 31928185 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of mammalian endothermy is poorly constrained both phylogenetically and temporally. Here, we inferred the resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and the thermometabolic regimes (endothermy or ectothermy) of a sample of eight extinct synapsids using palaeohistology, phylogenetic eigenvector maps (PEMs), and a sample of 17 extant tetrapods of known RMR (quantified using respirometry). We inferred high RMR values and an endothermic metabolism for the anomodonts (Lystrosaurus sp., Oudenodon bainii) and low RMR values and an ectothermic metabolism for Clepsydrops collettii, Dimetrodon sp., Edaphosaurus boanerges, Mycterosaurus sp., Ophiacodon uniformis and Sphenacodon sp. A maximum-likelihood ancestral states reconstruction of RMRs performed using the values inferred for extinct synapsids, and the values measured using respirometry in extant tetrapods, shows that the nodes Anomodontia and Mammalia were primitively endotherms. Finally, we performed a parsimony optimization of the presence of endothermy using the results obtained in the present study and those obtained in previous studies that used PEMs. For this, we assigned to each extinct taxon a thermometabolic regime (ectothermy or endothermy) depending on whether the inferred values were significantly higher, lower or not significantly different from the RMR value separating ectotherms from endotherms (1.5 ml O2 h-1 g-0.67). According to this optimization, endothermy arose independently in Archosauromorpha, Sauropterygia and Therapsida. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vertebrate palaeophysiology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu G Faure-Brac
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P, UMR 7207), 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P, UMR 7207), 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
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14
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Bailleul AM, O’Connor J, Schweitzer MH. Dinosaur paleohistology: review, trends and new avenues of investigation. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7764. [PMID: 31579624 PMCID: PMC6768056 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In the mid-19th century, the discovery that bone microstructure in fossils could be preserved with fidelity provided a new avenue for understanding the evolution, function, and physiology of long extinct organisms. This resulted in the establishment of paleohistology as a subdiscipline of vertebrate paleontology, which has contributed greatly to our current understanding of dinosaurs as living organisms. Dinosaurs are part of a larger group of reptiles, the Archosauria, of which there are only two surviving lineages, crocodilians and birds. The goal of this review is to document progress in the field of archosaur paleohistology, focusing in particular on the Dinosauria. We briefly review the "growth age" of dinosaur histology, which has encompassed new and varied directions since its emergence in the 1950s, resulting in a shift in the scientific perception of non-avian dinosaurs from "sluggish" reptiles to fast-growing animals with relatively high metabolic rates. However, fundamental changes in growth occurred within the sister clade Aves, and we discuss this major evolutionary transition as elucidated by histology. We then review recent innovations in the field, demonstrating how paleohistology has changed and expanded to address a diversity of non-growth related questions. For example, dinosaur skull histology has elucidated the formation of curious cranial tissues (e.g., "metaplastic" tissues), and helped to clarify the evolution and function of oral adaptations, such as the dental batteries of duck-billed dinosaurs. Lastly, we discuss the development of novel techniques with which to investigate not only the skeletal tissues of dinosaurs, but also less-studied soft-tissues, through molecular paleontology and paleohistochemistry-recently developed branches of paleohistology-and the future potential of these methods to further explore fossilized tissues. We suggest that the combination of histological and molecular methods holds great potential for examining the preserved tissues of dinosaurs, basal birds, and their extant relatives. This review demonstrates the importance of traditional bone paleohistology, but also highlights the need for innovation and new analytical directions to improve and broaden the utility of paleohistology, in the pursuit of more diverse, highly specific, and sensitive methods with which to further investigate important paleontological questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida M. Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Jingmai O’Connor
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Mary H. Schweitzer
- Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
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15
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Faure-Brac MG, Pelissier F, Cubo J. The influence of plane of section on the identification of bone tissue types in amniotes with implications for paleophysiological inferences. J Morphol 2019; 280:1282-1291. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Revised: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu G. Faure-Brac
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
| | - François Pelissier
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Université, MNHN, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie-Paris (CR2P); Paris France
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16
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Fleischle CV, Wintrich T, Sander PM. Quantitative histological models suggest endothermy in plesiosaurs. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4955. [PMID: 29892509 PMCID: PMC5994164 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles that arose in the Late Triassic and survived to the Late Cretaceous. They have a unique and uniform bauplan and are known for their very long neck and hydrofoil-like flippers. Plesiosaurs are among the most successful vertebrate clades in Earth’s history. Based on bone mass decrease and cosmopolitan distribution, both of which affect lifestyle, indications of parental care, and oxygen isotope analyses, evidence for endothermy in plesiosaurs has accumulated. Recent bone histological investigations also provide evidence of fast growth and elevated metabolic rates. However, quantitative estimations of metabolic rates and bone growth rates in plesiosaurs have not been attempted before. Methods Phylogenetic eigenvector maps is a method for estimating trait values from a predictor variable while taking into account phylogenetic relationships. As predictor variable, this study employs vascular density, measured in bone histological sections of fossil eosauropterygians and extant comparative taxa. We quantified vascular density as primary osteon density, thus, the proportion of vascular area (including lamellar infillings of primary osteons) to total bone area. Our response variables are bone growth rate (expressed as local bone apposition rate) and resting metabolic rate (RMR). Results Our models reveal bone growth rates and RMRs for plesiosaurs that are in the range of birds, suggesting that plesiosaurs were endotherm. Even for basal eosauropterygians we estimate values in the range of mammals or higher. Discussion Our models are influenced by the availability of comparative data, which are lacking for large marine amniotes, potentially skewing our results. However, our statistically robust inference of fast growth and fast metabolism is in accordance with other evidence for plesiosaurian endothermy. Endothermy may explain the success of plesiosaurs consisting in their survival of the end-Triassic extinction event and their global radiation and dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinna V Fleischle
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Tanja Wintrich
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - P Martin Sander
- Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, USA
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17
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Voeten DFAE, Cubo J, de Margerie E, Röper M, Beyrand V, Bureš S, Tafforeau P, Sanchez S. Wing bone geometry reveals active flight in Archaeopteryx. Nat Commun 2018. [PMID: 29535376 PMCID: PMC5849612 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03296-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Archaeopteryx is an iconic fossil taxon with feathered wings from the Late Jurassic of Germany that occupies a crucial position for understanding the early evolution of avian flight. After over 150 years of study, its mosaic anatomy unifying characters of both non-flying dinosaurs and flying birds has remained challenging to interpret in a locomotory context. Here, we compare new data from three Archaeopteryx specimens obtained through phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography to a representative sample of archosaurs employing a diverse array of locomotory strategies. Our analyses reveal that the architecture of Archaeopteryx's wing bones consistently exhibits a combination of cross-sectional geometric properties uniquely shared with volant birds, particularly those occasionally utilising short-distance flapping. We therefore interpret that Archaeopteryx actively employed wing flapping to take to the air through a more anterodorsally posteroventrally oriented flight stroke than used by modern birds. This unexpected outcome implies that avian powered flight must have originated before the latest Jurassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis F A E Voeten
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS-40220, 38043, Grenoble Cedex, France. .,Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS-INSU, Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris, ISTeP UMR 7193, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel de Margerie
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'éthologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes 1, Université de Caen Normandie, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes, France
| | - Martin Röper
- Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum, Bahnhofstrasse 8, 91807, Solnhofen, Germany.,Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, D-80333, München, Germany
| | - Vincent Beyrand
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS-40220, 38043, Grenoble Cedex, France.,Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Stanislav Bureš
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Paul Tafforeau
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS-40220, 38043, Grenoble Cedex, France
| | - Sophie Sanchez
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS-40220, 38043, Grenoble Cedex, France.,Science for Life Laboratory and Uppsala University, Subdepartment of Evolution and Development, Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
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18
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Griebeler EM, Werner J. Formal comment on: Myhrvold (2016) Dinosaur metabolism and the allometry of maximum growth rate. PLoS ONE; 11(11): e0163205. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0184756. [PMID: 29489816 PMCID: PMC5830040 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In his 2016 paper, Myhrvold criticized ours from 2014 on maximum growth rates (Gmax, maximum gain in body mass observed within a time unit throughout an individual's ontogeny) and thermoregulation strategies (ectothermy, endothermy) of 17 dinosaurs. In our paper, we showed that Gmax values of similar-sized extant ectothermic and endothermic vertebrates overlap. This strongly questions a correct assignment of a thermoregulation strategy to a dinosaur only based on its Gmax and (adult) body mass (M). Contrary, Gmax separated similar-sized extant reptiles and birds (Sauropsida) and Gmax values of our studied dinosaurs were similar to those seen in extant similar-sized (if necessary scaled-up) fast growing ectothermic reptiles. Myhrvold examined two hypotheses (H1 and H2) regarding our study. However, we did neither infer dinosaurian thermoregulation strategies from group-wide averages (H1) nor were our results based on that Gmax and metabolic rate (MR) are related (H2). In order to assess whether single dinosaurian Gmax values fit to those of extant endotherms (birds) or of ectotherms (reptiles), we already used a method suggested by Myhrvold to avoid H1, and we only discussed pros and cons of a relation between Gmax and MR and did not apply it (H2). We appreciate Myhrvold's efforts in eliminating the correlation between Gmax and M in order to statistically improve vertebrate scaling regressions on maximum gain in body mass. However, we show here that his mass-specific maximum growth rate (kC) replacing Gmax (= MkC) does not model the expected higher mass gain in larger than in smaller species for any set of species. We also comment on, why we considered extant reptiles and birds as reference models for extinct dinosaurs and why we used phylogenetically-informed regression analysis throughout our study. Finally, we question several arguments given in Myhrvold in order to support his results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Maria Griebeler
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Evolutionary Ecology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Jan Werner
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Evolutionary Ecology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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19
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Rediscovering and Reviving Old Observations and Explanations of Metabolic Scaling in Living Systems. SYSTEMS 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/systems6010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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20
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Wintrich T, Hayashi S, Houssaye A, Nakajima Y, Sander PM. A Triassic plesiosaurian skeleton and bone histology inform on evolution of a unique body plan. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1701144. [PMID: 29242826 PMCID: PMC5729018 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Secondary marine adaptation is a major pattern in amniote evolution, accompanied by specific bone histological adaptations. In the aftermath of the end-Permian extinction, diverse marine reptiles evolved early in the Triassic. Plesiosauria is the most diverse and one of the longest-lived clades of marine reptiles, but its bone histology is least known among the major marine amniote clades. Plesiosaurians had a unique and puzzling body plan, sporting four evenly shaped pointed flippers and (in most clades) a small head on a long, stiffened neck. The flippers were used as hydrofoils in underwater flight. A wide temporal, morphological, and morphometric gap separates plesiosaurians from their closest relatives (basal pistosaurs, Bobosaurus). For nearly two centuries, plesiosaurians were thought to appear suddenly in the earliest Jurassic after the end-Triassic extinctions. We describe the first Triassic plesiosaurian, from the Rhaetian of Germany, and compare its long bone histology to that of later plesiosaurians sampled for this study. The new taxon is recovered as a basal member of the Pliosauridae, revealing that diversification of plesiosaurians was a Triassic event and that several lineages must have crossed into the Jurassic. Plesiosaurian histology is strikingly uniform and different from stem sauropterygians. Histology suggests the concurrent evolution of fast growth and an elevated metabolic rate as an adaptation to cruising and efficient foraging in the open sea. The new specimen corroborates the hypothesis that open ocean life of plesiosaurians facilitated their survival of the end-Triassic extinctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Wintrich
- Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Shoji Hayashi
- Osaka Museum of Natural History, Nagai Park 1-23, Higashi-Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 546-0034, Japan
- Division of Materials and Manufacturing Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-Oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- UMR 7179 CNRS/Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Départment Adaptations du Vivant, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Yasuhisa Nakajima
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba 277-8564, Japan
| | - P. Martin Sander
- Bereich Paläontologie, Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
- Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
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21
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Canoville A, Laurin M, De Buffrénil V. Quantitative data on bone vascular supply in lissamphibians: comparative and phylogenetic aspects. Zool J Linn Soc 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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22
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Olivier C, Houssaye A, Jalil NE, Cubo J. First palaeohistological inference of resting metabolic rate in an extinct synapsid, Moghreberia nmachouensis (Therapsida: Anomodontia). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blw044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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23
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Wilkinson PM, Rainwater TR, Woodward AR, Leone EH, Carter C. Determinate Growth and Reproductive Lifespan in the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis): Evidence from Long-term Recaptures. COPEIA 2016. [DOI: 10.1643/ch-16-430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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24
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McCue MD, Salinas I, Ramirez G, Wilder S. The postabsorptive and postprandial metabolic rates of praying mantises: Comparisons across species, body masses, and meal sizes. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2016; 93-94:64-71. [PMID: 27568396 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 08/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The metabolic rate of an animal affects the amount of energy available for its growth, activity and reproduction and, ultimately, shapes how energy and nutrients flow through ecosystems. Standard metabolic rate (SMR; when animals are post-absorptive and at rest) and specific dynamic action (SDA; the cost of digesting and processing food) are two major components of animal metabolism. SMR has been studied in hundreds of species of insects, but very little is known about the SMR of praying mantises. We measured the rates of CO2 production as a proxy for metabolic rate and tested the prediction that the SMR of mantises more closely resembles the low SMR of spiders - a characteristic generally believed to be related to their sit-and-wait foraging strategy. Although few studies have examined SDA in insects we also tested the prediction that mantises would exhibit comparatively large SDA responses characteristic of other types of predators (e.g., snakes) known to consume enormous, protein-rich meals. The SMR of the mantises was positively correlated with body mass and did not differ among the four species we examined. Their SMR was best described by the equation μW=1526*g0.745 and was not significantly different from that predicted by the standard 'insect-curve'; but it was significantly higher than that of spiders to which mantises are ecologically more similar than other insects. Mantises consumed meals as large as 138% of their body mass and within 6-12h of feeding and their metabolic rates doubled before gradually returning to prefeeding rates over the subsequent four days. We found that the SDA responses were isometrically correlated with meal size and the relative cost of digestion was 38% of the energy in each meal. We conclude that mantises provide a promising model to investigate nutritional physiology of insect predators as well as nutrient cycling within their ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marshall D McCue
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States.
| | - Isabella Salinas
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Gabriella Ramirez
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX, United States
| | - Shawn Wilder
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States
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25
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Lovegrove BG. A phenology of the evolution of endothermy in birds and mammals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1213-1240. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Barry G. Lovegrove
- School of Life Sciences; University of KwaZulu-Natal; P/Bag X01 Scottsville Pietermaritzburg 3209 South Africa
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26
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Legendre LJ, Guénard G, Botha-Brink J, Cubo J. Palaeohistological Evidence for Ancestral High Metabolic Rate in Archosaurs. Syst Biol 2016; 65:989-996. [PMID: 27073251 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syw033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2015] [Revised: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic heat production in archosaurs has played an important role in their evolutionary radiation during the Mesozoic, and their ancestral metabolic condition has long been a matter of debate in systematics and palaeontology. The study of fossil bone histology provides crucial information on bone growth rate, which has been used to indirectly investigate the evolution of thermometabolism in archosaurs. However, no quantitative estimation of metabolic rate has ever been performed on fossils using bone histological features. Moreover, to date, no inference model has included phylogenetic information in the form of predictive variables. Here we performed statistical predictive modeling using the new method of phylogenetic eigenvector maps on a set of bone histological features for a sample of extant and extinct vertebrates, to estimate metabolic rates of fossil archosauromorphs. This modeling procedure serves as a case study for eigenvector-based predictive modeling in a phylogenetic context, as well as an investigation of the poorly known evolutionary patterns of metabolic rate in archosaurs. Our results show that Mesozoic theropod dinosaurs exhibit metabolic rates very close to those found in modern birds, that archosaurs share a higher ancestral metabolic rate than that of extant ectotherms, and that this derived high metabolic rate was acquired at a much more inclusive level of the phylogenetic tree, among non-archosaurian archosauromorphs. These results also highlight the difficulties of assigning a given heat production strategy (i.e., endothermy, ectothermy) to an estimated metabolic rate value, and confirm findings of previous studies that the definition of the endotherm/ectotherm dichotomy may be ambiguous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J Legendre
- Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris (ISTeP), Sorbonne Universités - Université Pierre et Marie Curie , 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France;
| | - Guillaume Guénard
- Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Jennifer Botha-Brink
- Karoo Palaeontology, National Museum, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; and.,Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris (ISTeP), Sorbonne Universités - Université Pierre et Marie Curie , 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France
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Cubo J, Woodward H, Wolff E, Horner JR. First Reported Cases of Biomechanically Adaptive Bone Modeling in Non-Avian Dinosaurs. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131131. [PMID: 26153689 PMCID: PMC4495995 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Accepted: 05/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Predator confrontation or predator evasion frequently produces bone fractures in potential prey in the wild. Although there are reports of healed bone injuries and pathologies in non-avian dinosaurs, no previously published instances of biomechanically adaptive bone modeling exist. Two tibiae from an ontogenetic sample of fifty specimens of the herbivorous dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum (Ornithopoda: Hadrosaurinae) exhibit exostoses. We show that these outgrowths are cases of biomechanically adaptive periosteal bone modeling resulting from overstrain on the tibia after a fibula fracture. Histological and biomechanical results are congruent with predictions derived from this hypothesis. Histologically, the outgrowths are constituted by radial fibrolamellar periosteal bone tissue formed at very high growth rates, as expected in a process of rapid strain equilibration response. These outgrowths show greater compactness at the periphery, where tensile and compressive biomechanical constraints are higher. Moreover, these outgrowths increase the maximum bending strength in the direction of the stresses derived from locomotion. They are located on the antero-lateral side of the tibia, as expected in a presumably bipedal one year old individual, and in the posterior position of the tibia, as expected in a presumably quadrupedal individual at least four years of age. These results reinforce myological evidence suggesting that Maiasaura underwent an ontogenetic shift from the primitive ornithischian bipedal condition when young to a derived quadrupedal posture when older.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7193, Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP), 4 Place Jussieu, BC19, F-75005, Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR 7193, Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP), F-75005, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Holly Woodward
- Montana State University, Museum of the Rockies, 600 West Kagy Boulevard, Bozeman, Montana, 59717, United States of America
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th St., Tulsa, OK, 74107, United States of America
| | - Ewan Wolff
- Small Animal Internal Medicine, Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, 625 Harrison Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States of America
| | - John R. Horner
- Montana State University, Museum of the Rockies, 600 West Kagy Boulevard, Bozeman, Montana, 59717, United States of America
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Marín-Moratalla N, Cubo J, Jordana X, Moncunill-Solé B, Köhler M. Correlation of quantitative bone histology data with life history and climate: a phylogenetic approach. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nekane Marín-Moratalla
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 08193 Bellaterra Spain
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
- CNRS, UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
| | - Xavier Jordana
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 08193 Bellaterra Spain
| | - Blanca Moncunill-Solé
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 08193 Bellaterra Spain
| | - Meike Köhler
- ICREA at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; 08193 Bellaterra Spain
- Departament d'Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia; Universitat de Barcelona; Diagonal 645 E-08028 Barcelona Spain
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Legendre LJ, Bourdon E, Scofield RP, Tennyson AJD, Lamrous H, de Ricqlès A, Cubo J. Bone histology, phylogeny, and palaeognathous birds (Aves: Palaeognathae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J. Legendre
- Sorbonne Universités; UPMC Univ Paris 06; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
- CNRS; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
| | - Estelle Bourdon
- Natural History Museum of Denmark; Section of Biosystematics; Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen Denmark
| | - R. Paul Scofield
- Canterbury Museum; Rolleston Avenue Christchurch 8013 New Zealand
| | - Alan J. D. Tennyson
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; PO Box 467 Wellington 6140 New Zealand
| | - Hayat Lamrous
- Sorbonne Universités; UPMC Univ Paris 06; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
- CNRS; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
| | - Armand de Ricqlès
- Sorbonne Universités; UPMC Univ Paris 06; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
- CNRS; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
| | - Jorge Cubo
- Sorbonne Universités; UPMC Univ Paris 06; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
- CNRS; UMR 7193; Institut des Sciences de la Terre Paris (iSTeP); F-75005 Paris France
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Grady JM, Enquist BJ, Dettweiler-Robinson E, Wright NA, Smith FA. Dinosaur physiology. Evidence for mesothermy in dinosaurs. Science 2014; 344:1268-72. [PMID: 24926017 DOI: 10.1126/science.1253143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Were dinosaurs ectotherms or fast-metabolizing endotherms whose activities were unconstrained by temperature? To date, some of the strongest evidence for endothermy comes from the rapid growth rates derived from the analysis of fossil bones. However, these studies are constrained by a lack of comparative data and an appropriate energetic framework. Here we compile data on ontogenetic growth for extant and fossil vertebrates, including all major dinosaur clades. Using a metabolic scaling approach, we find that growth and metabolic rates follow theoretical predictions across clades, although some groups deviate. Moreover, when the effects of size and temperature are considered, dinosaur metabolic rates were intermediate to those of endotherms and ectotherms and closest to those of extant mesotherms. Our results suggest that the modern dichotomy of endothermic versus ectothermic is overly simplistic.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Grady
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. The Santa Fe Institute, USA, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | | | - Natalie A Wright
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Felisa A Smith
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
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Glazier DS. Is metabolic rate a universal ‘pacemaker’ for biological processes? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:377-407. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 218] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Revised: 04/16/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Werner J, Griebeler EM. Allometries of maximum growth rate versus body mass at maximum growth indicate that non-avian dinosaurs had growth rates typical of fast growing ectothermic sauropsids. PLoS One 2014; 9:e88834. [PMID: 24586409 PMCID: PMC3934860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We tested if growth rates of recent taxa are unequivocally separated between endotherms and ectotherms, and compared these to dinosaurian growth rates. We therefore performed linear regression analyses on the log-transformed maximum growth rate against log-transformed body mass at maximum growth for extant altricial birds, precocial birds, eutherians, marsupials, reptiles, fishes and dinosaurs. Regression models of precocial birds (and fishes) strongly differed from Case's study (1978), which is often used to compare dinosaurian growth rates to those of extant vertebrates. For all taxonomic groups, the slope of 0.75 expected from the Metabolic Theory of Ecology was statistically supported. To compare growth rates between taxonomic groups we therefore used regressions with this fixed slope and group-specific intercepts. On average, maximum growth rates of ectotherms were about 10 (reptiles) to 20 (fishes) times (in comparison to mammals) or even 45 (reptiles) to 100 (fishes) times (in comparison to birds) lower than in endotherms. While on average all taxa were clearly separated from each other, individual growth rates overlapped between several taxa and even between endotherms and ectotherms. Dinosaurs had growth rates intermediate between similar sized/scaled-up reptiles and mammals, but a much lower rate than scaled-up birds. All dinosaurian growth rates were within the range of extant reptiles and mammals, and were lower than those of birds. Under the assumption that growth rate and metabolic rate are indeed linked, our results suggest two alternative interpretations. Compared to other sauropsids, the growth rates of studied dinosaurs clearly indicate that they had an ectothermic rather than an endothermic metabolic rate. Compared to other vertebrate growth rates, the overall high variability in growth rates of extant groups and the high overlap between individual growth rates of endothermic and ectothermic extant species make it impossible to rule out either of the two thermoregulation strategies for studied dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Werner
- Department of Ecology, Zoological Institute, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Eva Maria Griebeler
- Department of Ecology, Zoological Institute, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Rezende EL, Diniz-Filho JAF. Phylogenetic analyses: comparing species to infer adaptations and physiological mechanisms. Compr Physiol 2013; 2:639-74. [PMID: 23728983 DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c100079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Comparisons among species have been a standard tool in animal physiology to understand how organisms function and adapt to their surrounding environment. During the last two decades, conceptual and methodological advances from different fields, including evolutionary biology and systematics, have revolutionized the way comparative analyses are performed, resulting in the advent of modern phylogenetic statistical methods. This development stems from the realization that conventional analytical methods assume that observations are statistically independent, which is not the case for comparative data because species often resemble each other due to shared ancestry. By taking evolutionary history explicitly into consideration, phylogenetic statistical methods can account for the confounding effects of shared ancestry in interspecific comparisons, improving the reliability of standard approaches such as regressions or correlations in comparative analyses. Importantly, these methods have also enabled researchers to address entirely new evolutionary questions, such as the historical sequence of events that resulted in current patterns of form and function, which can only be studied with a phylogenetic perspective. Here, we provide an overview of phylogenetic approaches and their importance for studying the evolution of physiological processes and mechanisms. We discuss the conceptual framework underlying these methods, and explain when and how phylogenetic information should be employed. We then outline the difficulties and limitations inherent to comparative approaches and discuss potential problems researchers may encounter when designing a comparative study. These issues are illustrated with examples from the literature in which the incorporation of phylogenetic information has been useful, or even crucial, for inferences on how species evolve and adapt to their surrounding environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico L Rezende
- Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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D'Emic MD, Benson RBJ. Measurement, variation, and scaling of osteocyte lacunae: a case study in birds. Bone 2013; 57:300-10. [PMID: 23954754 DOI: 10.1016/j.bone.2013.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2013] [Revised: 07/16/2013] [Accepted: 08/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Basic issues surrounding osteocyte biology are still poorly understood, including the variability of osteocyte morphology within and among bones, individuals, and species. Several studies have suggested that the volume or shape of osteocytes (or their lacunae) is related to bone and/or organismal growth rate or metabolism, but the nature of this relationship, if any, is unclear. Furthermore, several studies have linked osteocyte lacuna volume with genome size or growth rate and suggested that osteocyte lacuna volume is unrelated to body size. Herein the scaling of osteocyte lacuna volume with body mass, growth and basal metabolic rates, genome size, and red blood cell size is examined using a broad sample of extant birds within a phylogenetic framework. Over 12,000 osteocyte lacuna axes were measured in a variety of bones from 34 avian and four non-avian dinosaur species. Osteocyte lacunae in parallel-fibered bone are scalene ellipsoids; their morphology and volume cannot be reliably estimated from any single thin section, and using a prolate ellipsoid model to estimate osteocyte lacuna volume results in a substantial (ca. 2-7 times) underestimate relative to true lacunar volume. Orthogonal thin sections reveal that in birds, even when only observing parallel-fibered, primary, cortical bone, intra-skeletal variation in osteocyte lacuna volume and shape is very high (volumes vary by a factor of 5.4 among different bones), whereas variation among homologous bones of the same species is low (1.2-44%; mean=12%). Ordinary and phylogenetically informed bivariate and multiple regressions demonstrate that in birds, osteocyte volume scales significantly but weakly with body mass and mass-specific basal metabolic rate and moderately with genome size, but not with erythrocyte size. Avian whole-body growth rate and osteocyte lacuna volume are weakly and inversely related. Finally, we present the first three-dimensionally calculated osteocyte volumes for several non-avian dinosaurs, which are much larger than previously reported values and smaller than those of large extant avians. Osteocyte volumes estimated from a single transverse section and assuming prolate morphology, as done in previous studies, are relative underestimates in theropod dinosaurs compared to sauropod dinosaurs, raising the possibility that no major change in osteocyte volumes (and genome size) occurred within Theropoda on the lineage leading to birds. Osteocyte volume is intertwined with several organismal attributes whose relative importance varies at a number of hierarchical levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D D'Emic
- Anatomical Sciences Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
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Griebeler EM. Body temperatures in dinosaurs: what can growth curves tell us? PLoS One 2013; 8:e74317. [PMID: 24204568 PMCID: PMC3812988 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2013] [Accepted: 07/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
To estimate the body temperature (BT) of seven dinosaurs Gillooly, Alleen, and Charnov (2006) used an equation that predicts BT from the body mass and maximum growth rate (MGR) with the latter preserved in ontogenetic growth trajectories (BT-equation). The results of these authors evidence inertial homeothermy in Dinosauria and suggest that, due to overheating, the maximum body size in Dinosauria was ultimately limited by BT. In this paper, I revisit this hypothesis of Gillooly, Alleen, and Charnov (2006). I first studied whether BTs derived from the BT-equation of today's crocodiles, birds and mammals are consistent with core temperatures of animals. Second, I applied the BT-equation to a larger number of dinosaurs than Gillooly, Alleen, and Charnov (2006) did. In particular, I estimated BT of Archaeopteryx (from two MGRs), ornithischians (two), theropods (three), prosauropods (three), and sauropods (nine). For extant species, the BT value estimated from the BT-equation was a poor estimate of an animal's core temperature. For birds, BT was always strongly overestimated and for crocodiles underestimated; for mammals the accuracy of BT was moderate. I argue that taxon-specific differences in the scaling of MGR (intercept and exponent of the regression line, log-log-transformed) and in the parameterization of the Arrhenius model both used in the BT-equation as well as ecological and evolutionary adaptations of species cause these inaccuracies. Irrespective of the found inaccuracy of BTs estimated from the BT-equation and contrary to the results of Gillooly, Alleen, and Charnov (2006) I found no increase in BT with increasing body mass across all dinosaurs (Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda) studied. This observation questions that, due to overheating, the maximum size in Dinosauria was ultimately limited by BT. However, the general high inaccuracy of dinosaurian BTs derived from the BT-equation makes a reliable test of whether body size in dinosaurs was ultimately limited by overheating impossible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Maria Griebeler
- Department of Ecology, Zoological Institute, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Houssaye A, Lindgren J, Pellegrini R, Lee AH, Germain D, Polcyn MJ. Microanatomical and histological features in the long bones of Mosasaurine mosasaurs (Reptilia, Squamata)--implications for aquatic adaptation and growth rates. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76741. [PMID: 24146919 PMCID: PMC3797777 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Accepted: 08/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background During their evolution in the Late Cretaceous, mosasauroids attained a worldwide distribution, accompanied by a marked increase in body size and open ocean adaptations. This transition from land-dwellers to highly marine-adapted forms is readily apparent not only at the gross anatomic level but also in their inner bone architecture, which underwent profound modifications. Methodology/Principal Findings The present contribution describes, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the internal organization (microanatomy) and tissue types and characteristics (histology) of propodial and epipodial bones in one lineage of mosasauroids; i.e., the subfamily Mosasaurinae. By using microanatomical and histological data from limb bones in combination with recently acquired knowledge on the inner structure of ribs and vertebrae, and through comparisons with extant squamates and semi-aquatic to fully marine amniotes, we infer possible implications on mosasaurine evolution, aquatic adaptation, growth rates, and basal metabolic rates. Notably, we observe the occurrence of an unusual type of parallel-fibered bone, with large and randomly shaped osteocyte lacunae (otherwise typical of fibrous bone) and particular microanatomical features in Dallasaurus, which displays, rather than a spongious inner organization, bone mass increase in its humeri and a tubular organization in its femora and ribs. Conclusions/Significance The dominance of an unusual type of parallel-fibered bone suggests growth rates and, by extension, basal metabolic rates intermediate between that of the extant leatherback turtle, Dermochelys, and those suggested for plesiosaur and ichthyosaur reptiles. Moreover, the microanatomical features of the relatively primitive genus Dallasaurus differ from those of more derived mosasaurines, indicating an intermediate stage of adaptation for a marine existence. The more complete image of the various microanatomical trends observed in mosasaurine skeletal elements supports the evolutionary convergence between this lineage of secondarily aquatically adapted squamates and cetaceans in the ecological transition from a coastal to a pelagic lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Houssaye
- Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Paläontologie und Mineralogie, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | | | | | - Andrew H. Lee
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Damien Germain
- UMR7207 CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Michael J. Polcyn
- Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, United States of America
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Sanchez S, Schoch RR. Bone Histology Reveals a High Environmental and Metabolic Plasticity as a Successful Evolutionary Strategy in a Long-Lived Homeostatic Triassic Temnospondyl. Evol Biol 2013; 40:627-647. [PMID: 24293739 PMCID: PMC3832766 DOI: 10.1007/s11692-013-9238-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2012] [Accepted: 05/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary stasis (long-term stability of morphology in an evolving lineage) is a pattern for which explanations are usually elusive. The Triassic tetrapod Gerrothorax pulcherrimus, a gill-bearing temnospondyl, survived for 35 million years in the Germanic Basin of Central Europe persisting throughout the dinosaur-dominated Late Triassic period. This evolutionary stasis coincides with the occurrence of this species in a wide range of habitats and environmental conditions. By the combination of palaeoecological and palaeohistological analyses, we found great ecological flexibility in G. pulcherrimus and present substantial evidence of developmental and metabolic plasticity despite the morphological stasis. We conclude that G. pulcherrimus could show the capacity to settle in water bodies too harsh or unpredictable for most other tetrapods. This would have been made possible by a unique life history strategy that involved a wide reaction norm, permitting adjustment to fluctuating conditions such as salinity and level of nutrients. Growth rate, duration of juvenile period, age at maturity, and life span were all subject to broad variation within specimens of G. pulcherrimus in one single lake and in between different lakes. In addition to providing a better understanding of fossil ecosystems, this study shows the potential of such a methodology to encourage palaeobiologists and evolutionary biologists to consider the mechanisms of variation in extant and fossil organisms by using a similar time-scope reference.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Sanchez
- Subdepartment of Evolutionary Organismal Biology, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - R. R. Schoch
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany
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Stein K, Prondvai E. Rethinking the nature of fibrolamellar bone: an integrative biological revision of sauropod plexiform bone formation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2013; 89:24-47. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2012] [Revised: 03/20/2013] [Accepted: 04/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Koen Stein
- Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie; University of Bonn; Bonn Germany
| | - Edina Prondvai
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences-Eötvös Loránd University “Lendület” Dinosaur Research Group; Eötvös Loránd University; Budapest Hungary
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Houssaye A. Bone histology of aquatic reptiles: what does it tell us about secondary adaptation to an aquatic life? Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.02002.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Houssaye
- Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Paläontologie und Mineralogie; Universität Bonn; Nussallee 8; 53115; Bonn; Germany
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Nespolo RF, Bacigalupe LD, Figueroa CC, Koteja P, Opazo JC. Using new tools to solve an old problem: the evolution of endothermy in vertebrates. Trends Ecol Evol 2011; 26:414-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2010] [Revised: 04/05/2011] [Accepted: 04/11/2011] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Developmental Characters in Phylogenetic Inference and Their Absolute Timing Information. Syst Biol 2011; 60:630-44. [DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syr024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
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Ontogeny and Nutritional Status Influence Oxidative Kinetics of Nutrients and Whole-Animal Bioenergetics in Zebra Finches,Taeniopygia guttata: New Applications for13C Breath Testing. Physiol Biochem Zool 2011; 84:32-42. [DOI: 10.1086/657285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Abstract
Genomewide analyses of distances between orthologous gene pairs from the ascidian species Ciona intestinalis and Ciona savignyi were compared with those of vertebrates. Combining this data with a detailed and careful use of vertebrate fossil records, we estimated the time of divergence between the two ascidians nearly 180 My. This estimation was obtained after correcting for the different substitution rates found comparing several groups of chordates; indeed we determine here that on average Ciona species evolve 50% faster than vertebrates.
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