Ecomorphology of fishes (Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes, 16)

Ecomorphology is the comparative study of the influence of morphology on ecological relationships and the evolutionary impact of ecological factors on morphology in different life intervals, populations, species, communities, and evolutionary lineages. The book reviews early attempts at qualitative descriptions of ecomorphological patterns in fishes, especially those of the Russian school. More recent, quantitative studies are emphasised, including multivariate approaches to ecomorphological analysis, the selection of functionally important ecological and morphological variables to analyze, an experimental approach using performance tests to examine specific hypotheses derived from functional morphology, and the evolutionary interpretations of ecomorphological patterns. Six major areas of fish biology are focused on: feeding, sensory systems, locomotion, respiration, reproduction, and phylogenetic relationships. The 18 papers in the volume document: (1) how the morphology of bony fishes constrains ecological patterns and the use of resources; (2) whether ecological constraints can narrow the niche beyond the limits imposed by morphology (fundamental vs. realized niche); (3) how communities of fishes are organized with respect to ecomorphological patterns; and (4) the degree to which evolutionary pressures have produced convergent or divergent morphologies in fishes. A concluding paper summarizes ecomorphological research in fishes and points out taxa that are underrepresented or are especially promising for future research. Front Matter....Pages 1-5 Prelude to ecomorphology of fishes....Pages 7-8 Front Matter....Pages 9-10 Perspectives on the ecomorphology of bony fishes....Pages 11-20 Front Matter....Pages 21-22 Development of ecomorphology of fishes in Russia....Pages 23-33 Front Matter....Pages 35-36 Ecomorphological correlates in ten species of subtropical seagrass fishes: diet and microhabitat utilization....Pages 37-60 A functional approach to ecomorphological patterns of feeding in cottid fishes....Pages 61-78 The influence of oral anatomy on prey selection during the ontogeny of two percoid fishes, Lagodon rhomboides and Centropomus undecimalis ....Pages 79-95 Predicting patterns of prey use from morphology of fishes....Pages 97-113 Ecomorphology of retinal structures in zooplanktivorous haplochromine cichlids (Pisces) from Lake Victoria....Pages 115-132 Ecomorphological adaptations to bioluminescence in Porichthys notatus ....Pages 133-142 Ecomorphology of solitary chemosensory cell systems in fish: a review....Pages 143-155 Tradeoffs between respiration and feeding in Sacramento blackfish, Orthodon microlepidotus ....Pages 157-163 Time and tide wait for no fish: intertidal fishes out of water....Pages 165-181 Papyrus swamps and the respiratory ecology of Barbus neumayeri ....Pages 183-197 Morphology, mechanics, and locomotion: the relation between the notochord and swimming motions in sturgeon....Pages 199-211 Evolutionary interplay between ecology, morphology and reproductive behavior in threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus ....Pages 213-223 Armor morphology and reproductive output in threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus ....Pages 225-233 Ecomorphological diversification and convergence in fluvial cichlid fishes....Pages 235-261 Phylogenetic systematics and biomechanics in ecomorphology....Pages 263-283 Front Matter....Pages 285-286 The role of ecomorphological studies in the comparative biology of fishes....Pages 287-304 Back Matter....Pages 305-312