Have Niche, Will Travel. New Means of Linking Diet and Ecomorphology Reveals Niche Conservatism in Freshwater Cottoid Fishes.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary transitions between habitats have been catalysts for some of the most stunning examples of adaptive diversification, with novel niches and new resources providing ecological opportunity for such radiations. In aquatic animals, transitions from saltwater to freshwater habitats are rare, but occur often enough that in the Neotropics for example, marine-derived fishes contribute noticeably to regional ichthyofaunal diversity. Here, we investigate how morphology has evolved in a group of temperate fishes that contain a marine to freshwater transition: the sculpins (Percomorpha; Cottoidea). We devised a novel method for classifying dietary niche and relating functional aspects of prey to their predators. Coupled with functional measurements of the jaw apparatus in cottoids, we expl

SUBMITTER: Buser TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7671106 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature