Malagasy cichlids differentially limit impacts of body shape evolution on oral jaw functional morphology

Patterns of trait covariation, like integration and modularity, are vital factors that influence the evolution of vertebrate body plans. In functional systems, decoupling of morphological modules buffers functional change in one trait by reducing correlated variation with another. However, for complex morphologies with many-to-one mapping of form to function (MTOM), resistance to functional change may also be achieved by constraining morphological variation within a functionally stable region of morphospace. For this research, we used geometric morphometrics to evaluate the evolution of body shape and its relationship to jaw functional morphology in two independent radiations of endemic Malagasy cichlid (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Our results suggested that the two subfamilies used different strategies to mitigate impacts of body shape variation on a metric of jaw function, maxillary kinematic transmission (MKT): (1) modularity between cranial and postcranial morphologies, and (2) integrati...性状协变模式（如整合（Integration）与模块化（Modularity））是影响脊椎动物躯体构型演化的关键因素。在功能系统中，形态模块的解耦通过降低与另一性状的相关变异，缓冲某一性状的功能变化。然而，对于存在形式-功能多对一映射（many-to-one mapping of form to function, MTOM）的复杂形态结构，抵抗功能变化也可通过将形态变异限制在形态空间的功能稳定区域内实现。本研究采用几何形态测量法（geometric morphometrics），对两支独立辐射演化的马达加斯加特有慈鲷（Teleostei: Cichlidae）类群的体形演化及其与颌部功能形态的关系进行评估。本研究结果表明，两个亚科采用了不同策略以减轻体形变异对颌骨功能指标——上颌运动传递（maxillary kinematic transmission, MKT）的影响：（1）颅部与颅后形态间的模块化；（2）整合……