Modular evolution of the autopodium in Gekkota (Squamata): integrating morphology, ecology and function

• Grant number: 16/03953-7
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2016
• Effective date (End): January 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology
• Principal Investigator: Tiana Kohlsdorf
• Grantee: Priscila de Souza Rothier Duarte
• Supervisor abroad: Anthony René Guillaume Herrel
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Local de pesquisa : Adaptive Mechanisms and Evolution (MECADEV), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/26287-7 - Associations of developmental modules and ecological diversity during the morphological evolution of phalanges in Gekkota (Squamata), BP.MS

Abstract

Modules are highly integrated units, organized at many different hierarchical levels (from molecular interactions to entire organisms) that express covariation. For example, phalanges develop from a deeply conserved module in Tetrapoda, which constrains these skeletal elements in a proportional range of nearly equal-sized phalanges or in a size-gradient from large to small elements. However, the reduction of covariation between distal and proximal phalanges in some lizard species suggests that selection of specific locomotor habits may involve dissociation of such module into distal and proximal sub-modules which are functionally isolated. This proposal applies for a six-month internship under supervision of Dr. Anthony Herrel at the Muséum National d´Histoire Naturalle of Paris to investigate the functional consequences of modular evolution of phalangeal morphology in geckos. This project aims to complete the morphological database of the main project and also includes new analyses of locomotion to complement the discussion of modular evolution. We intend to obtain linear morphometric data on phalanges from digital radiographies of 18 additional gecko species, in order to quantify the patterns of phalangeal covariation in the context of ecological divergence. In addition, approximately 12 gecko species will be filmed with high-speed cameras and X-ray videos, to verify if different phalangeal proportions explain variation in locomotor performance. This proposal is unique and outstanding due to integration of several research programs for understanding evolutionary processes associated to phenotypic diversity in the vertebrate autopodium. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ROTHIER, PRISCILA S.; BRANDT, RENATA; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Ecological Associations of Autopodial Osteology in Neotropical Geckos. Journal of Morphology, v. 278, n. 3, p. 290-299, MAR 2017. Web of Science Citations: 4.