Correlated evolution of prey chemical discrimination with foraging, lingual morphology and vomeronasal chemoreceptor abundance in lizards |
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Authors: | William E Cooper |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA Fax: +219-481-6087 e-mail: cooperw@ipfw.edu, IN |
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Abstract: | Comparative data from ten families of lizards suggest that correlated evolution has occurred between the ability to identify
prey chemicals and several aspects of lingual function and morphology, abundance of vomeronasal chemoreceptor cells, and foraging
behavior. Ability to discriminate prey chemicals from control substances was measured experimentally and correlated with other
variables by Felsenstein's method. This ability increased with evolutionary increases in degree of lingual protrusion during
tongue-flicking, which may reflect the tongue's ability to reach substrates to be sampled. It increased with deepened lingual
forking and greater lingual elongation, which may be important for scent-trailing and sampling ability, respectively. Discriminatory
ability also increased with abundance of vomerolfactory chemoreceptors, which presumably reflects some aspects of analytical
capacities of the vomeronasal system. Prey chemical discrimination increased with degree of active foraging. Natural selection
for improved vomerolfactory sampling and analysis of prey chemicals by active, but not ambush, foragers appears to account
for the observed relationships. In active foragers that use vomerolfaction to locate prey, natural selection favors increased
abilities to lingually sample chemicals from environmental substrates, analyze the samples for prey chemicals, and respond
appropriately if prey chemicals or possible prey chemicals are detected. Such selection can account for the observed relationships
among the sampling device and its movements, the sense, the discriminations, and variations in foraging ecology.
Received: 13 February 1997 / Accepted after revision: 12 June 1997 |
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Keywords: | Chemosensory behavior Vomerolfaction Tongue Foraging mode Lizards |
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