000 02382nam a22003137a 4500
003 EC-PaCDF
005 20180221083550.0
008 120315s2010 xxk|||||||||||||||||eng d
040 _aEC-PaCDF
_beng
_cEC-PaCDF
041 _aeng
082 0 4 _223
_a598.883
100 1 _aSoons, Joris
_92289
245 1 0 _aMechanical stress, fracture risk and beak evolution in Darwin's ground finches (Geospiza).
246 1 _aEsfuerzo mecánico, riesgo de fractura y evolución de pico en los pinzones de tierra de Darwin (Geospiza)
520 3 _aDarwin's finches have radiated from a common ancestor into 14 descendent species, each specializing on distinct food resources and evolving divergent beak forms. Beak morphology in the ground finches (Geospiza) has been shown to evolve via natural selection in response to variation in food type, food availability and interspecific competition for food. From a mechanical perspective, however, beak size and shape are only indirectly related to birds' abilities to crack seeds, and beak form is hypothesized to evolve mainly under selection for fracture avoidance. Here, we test the fracture-avoidance hypothesis using finite-element modelling. We find that across species, mechanical loading is similar and approaches reported values of bone strength, thus suggesting pervasive selection on fracture avoidance. Additionally, deep and wide beaks are better suited for dissipating stress than are more elongate beaks when scaled to common sizes and loadings. Our results illustrate that deep and wide beaks in ground finches enable reduction of areas with high stress and peak stress magnitudes, allowing birds to crack hard seeds while limiting the risk of beak failure. These results may explain strong selection on beak depth and width in natural populations of Darwin's finches.
546 _aEnglish
653 0 _aGeospiza
700 1 _aHerrel, Anthony
_eauthor
_92909
700 1 _aGenbrugge, Annelies
_eauthor
700 1 _aAerts, Peter
_eauthor
700 1 _aPodos, Jeffrey
_eauthor
_9410
700 1 _aAdriaens, Dominique
_eauthor
700 1 _ade Witte, Yoni
_eauthor
700 1 _aJacobs, Patric
_eauthor
700 1 _aDirckx, Joris
_eauthor
773 0 _tPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
_d2010
_gvol. 365, no. 1543, p. 1093-1098
856 4 0 _uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0280
942 _2ddc
_cARTICLE
999 _c11786
_d11786