Research team
Expertise
I am the lead researcher for the BELSPO FED-tWIN MEATLOAF project: the evolutionary shift of Meat-EATing mammals to life in water: a deep-time, multi-proxy investigation of the LOcomotion And Feeding adaptations of aquatic carnivorans. In this research project, we will elucidate the timing and modes how aquatic Carnivora, principally otters and pinnipeds, acquired morphological traits to optimize aquatic feeding and locomotions, but also when and how they lost certain feeding and locomotive abilities used by their ancestors to survive on land. These studies will be carried out using a variety of biological and paleontological techniques, adding to and tying together the existing body of research into a holistic understanding of how these animals moved from land to water.
The evolutionary shift of Meat-EATing mammals to life in water: a deep time, multi-proxy investigation of the LOcomotion And Feeding adaptions of aquatic carnivorans (MEATLOAF).
Abstract
Throughout the long evolutionary history of tetrapods, multiple taxa returned to life in water from a terrestrial (or aerial) environment. Notable groups are Mesozoic marine reptiles, sirenians, and whales. Among mammals, aquatic taxa within the order Carnivora, or "meat-eaters", show an 'incomplete' transition to life in the aquatic environment: pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses), otters, polar bears, and even the fishing cat rely heavily on water for feeding, but none are exclusively aquatic and they all still return to land to rest, give birth, etc. The transition from a terrestrial to a (semi-)aquatic lifestyle is an impactful biological shift, with multiple potential drivers and requires various physiological and anatomical adaptations. As this transition occurred independently in several carnivoran groups (Pinnipedia, Mustelidae, Ursidae, Felidae), as well as in different environments (riverine, lacustrine, and marine), it asks the following questions: Which environmental and ecological changes triggered this transition for each group? How did these carnivorans functionally adapt to life in water? What are the similarities and differences between these groups, and between aquatic carnivorans and other aquatic mammals? And, more specifically, what is the extent of morphological and functional convergence between these lineages? The MEATLOAF project aims to investigate the different evolutionary aspects of this transition in carnivorans from land to water, specifically targeting adaptations for locomotion (on land and in the water) and feeding (prey sensing, prey capture, and food processing, both above and below the water surface), using a variety of well-supported proxies. Proxies will be organized along two main approaches, which will link to one another in a two-way process: (1) a comparative approach, documenting the morphological diversity and shifts in morphology, and (2) a modelling approach, focusing on performance and loading of the recorded morphologies. Comparative aspects will include anatomical, systematic and phylogenetic analyses, all gathered in a 'classical paleontology' work package, as well as geometric morphometric and microanatomical-osteohistological packages to quantify internal and external morphology. The modelling approach will encompass functional analyses, finite element analyses, computational fluid dynamics, and musculo-skeletal modelling, each within its own work package. A synthesis of the results of these different packages will ultimately result in a time-calibrated assessment of the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental frameworks in which these groups evolved to life in water, in order to better understand the biotic and abiotic drivers of such a major, iterative transition.Researcher(s)
- Promoter: Van Wassenbergh Sam
- Co-promoter: Aerts Peter
- Co-promoter: Van Damme Raoul
- Fellow: Dewaele Leonard
Research team(s)
Project type(s)
- Research Project