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Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry.

ABSTRACT: Most birds of prey (raptors), rely heavily on their talons for capturing prey. However, the relationship between talon shape and the ability to take prey is poorly understood. In this study we investigate whether raptor talons have evolved primarily in response to adaptive pressures exerted by different dietary demands, or if talon morphology is largely constrained by allometric or phylogenetic factors. We focus on the hallux talon and include 21 species in total varying greatly in body mass and feeding ecology, ranging from active predation on relatively large prey to obligate scavenging. To quantify the variation in talon shape and biomechanical performance within a phylogenetic framework, we combined three dimensional (3D) geometric morphometrics, finite element modelling and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate that relative prey size plays a key role in shaping the raptorial talon. Species that hunt larger prey are characterised by both distinct talon shape and mechanical performance when compared to species that predate smaller prey, even when accounting for phylogeny. In contrast to previous results of skull-based analysis, allometry had no significant effect. In conclusion, we found that raptor talon evolution has been strongly influenced by relative prey size, but not allometry and, that talon shape and mechanical performance are good indicators of feeding ecology.

SUBMITTER: Tsang LR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6506530 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry.

Tsang Leah R LR Wilson Laura A B LAB Ledogar Justin J Wroe Stephen S Attard Marie M Sansalone Gabriele G

Scientific reports 20190508 1

Most birds of prey (raptors), rely heavily on their talons for capturing prey. However, the relationship between talon shape and the ability to take prey is poorly understood. In this study we investigate whether raptor talons have evolved primarily in response to adaptive pressures exerted by different dietary demands, or if talon morphology is largely constrained by allometric or phylogenetic factors. We focus on the hallux talon and include 21 species in total varying greatly in body mass and ...[more]

PMID: 31068662

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Project description:Quantifying the performance of animals is a powerful methodology for determining the functional consequences of morphological variation. For example, snakes consume prey whole, and variation in the anatomy of their trophic apparatus directly affects gape and limits maximal prey size. However, for the foraging ecology of snakes and other systems, scant data exist regarding how often maximal capacities are taxed in nature. Hence, we quantified: (1) maximal gape, (2) the size of prey relative to maximal gape, and (3) how the type and relative size of prey affected behavior and prey handling times (HTs) for two species of natricine snakes that primarily eat soft- (Regina septemvittata) or hard-shelled (Liodytes alleni) crayfish. Liodytes alleni had significantly larger maximal gape than R. septemvittata with equal snout-vent length. The percentages of large prey (>60% maximal gape area) consumed in the field were low in both R. septemvittata (22%) and L. alleni (2%). However, R. septemvittata, especially juveniles, ate relatively larger prey than L. alleni. Strategies for dealing with the seasonal scarcity of small crayfish differed as juvenile R. septemvittata commonly removed and ate only chelipeds from crayfish too large to swallow whole, whereas juvenile L. alleni ate many small odonate nymphs. During laboratory trials, unlike R. septemvittata, L. alleni usually used its body to restrain prey with behaviors that depended on relative prey size and prey hardness. Liodytes alleni consumed soft-shelled crayfish significantly faster than R. septemvittata and significantly faster than hard-shelled crayfish. Several of the differences in gape, prey size, and prey HTs and behavior between the crayfish-eating snakes resemble those between two phylogenetically distant species of homalopsid snakes that consume either hard- or soft-shelled crabs. In both groups of crustacean-eating snakes, the decreased capture success in captivity and the rare consumption of relatively large hard-shelled crustaceans in the field suggest that the ability to capture this type of prey constrains prey size more commonly than maximal gape. Based on data integrating snake size and gape with the relative mass of intact prey, the predicted potential feeding performance R. septemvittata consuming intact prey exceeded that of the other three species.

Dataset Information

Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry.

Publications

Raptor talon shape and biomechanical performance are controlled by relative prey size but not by allometry.

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