| Grant number: | 11/09647-1 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation |
| Start date: | August 01, 2011 |
| End date: | July 31, 2014 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology |
| Principal Investigator: | Denis Otavio Vieira de Andrade |
| Grantee: | Bruna de França Gomes |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Adults of Salvator merianae, the tegu lizard, has a heterodont dentition with great variability in teeth size and morphology, as also observed in other closer species. Moreover, the dentition of S. merianae also varies ontogenetically, which seems to be associated to a concurrent change ontogenetic change in diet. In particular, this change in teeth morphology has being interpreted as important to ensure the capture of small invertebrates (specially arthropodes) during the juvenile stage, while during adulthood, they feed on fruits and small vertebrates. Currently it remains unknown whether the ontogenetic changes in dentition and diet exhibited by S. merianae are accompanied by changes in the morphology and physiology of the digestive system. Thus, the goal of the present study is to investigate: 1) whether the ontogenetic changes in dentitiion and diet are accompanied by the concurrent changes in the morphology and physiology of the digestive system, and; 2) whether these changes are influenced by diet composition. To examine these questions, we will keep hatchlings of tegu lizards under a regime of artificial diets varying in their content of fruits and animal protein. | |
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