journal article
Open Access
Apr 01, 2013
Postcranial Pneumaticity and Bone Structure in Two Clades of Neognath Birds
Abstract
ABSTRACTMost living birds exhibit some degree of postcranial skeletal pneumaticity, aeration of the postcranial skeleton by pulmonary air sacs and/or directly from the lungs. The extent of pneumaticity varies greatly, ranging from taxa that are completely apneumatic to those with air filling most of the postcranial skeleton. This study examined the influence of skeletal pneumatization on bone structural parameters in a sample of two size‐ and foraging‐style diverse (e.g., subsurface diving vs. soaring specialists) clades of neognath birds (charadriiforms and pelecaniforms). Cortical bone thickness and trabecular bone volume fraction were assessed in one cervical and one thoracic vertebra in each of three pelecaniform and four charadriiform species. Results for pelecaniforms indicate that specialized subsurface dive foragers (e.g., the apneumatic anhinga) have thicker cortical bone and a higher trabecular bone volume fraction than their non‐diving clademates. Conversely, the large‐bodied, extremely pneumatic brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) exhibits thinner cortical bone and a lower trabecular bone volume fraction. Such patterns in bone structural parameters are here interpreted to pertain to decreased buoyancy in birds specialized in subsurface dive foraging and decreased skeletal density (at the whole bone level) in birds of larger body size. The potential to differentially pneumatize the postcranial skeleton and alter bone structure may have played a role in relaxing constraints on body size evolution and/or habitat exploitation during the course of avian evolution. Notably, similar patterns were not observed within the equally diverse charadriiforms, suggesting that the relationship between pneumaticity and bone structure is variable among different clades of neognath birds. Anat Rec, 296:867–876, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Topics
No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →
References
39
[3]
Boas JEV "Biologisch‐anatomische Studien über den Hals der Vögel" Kgl Danske Vidensk Selsk Skr Naturvidensk Mathem Afd (1929)
[5]
Carrano MT "Bird's eye view" Nat Hist (2005)
[7]
[11]
Duncker H‐R "The lung air sac system of birds" Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol (1971)
[15]
Hogg DA "The distribution of pneumatisation in the skeleton of the adult domestic fowl" J Anat (1984)
[17]
Kafka V "On hydraulic strengthening of bones" Biorheology (1983)
[20]
[21]
[22]
O'Connor PM "Evolution of archosaurian body plans: skeletal adaptations of an air‐sac‐based breathing apparatus in birds and other archosaurs" J Exp Biol A (2009)
[29]
[31]
[37]
[39]
Zusi RL "Structural adaptations of the head and neck in the black skimmer, Rynchops nigra" Pub Nut Ornith Club (1962)
Metrics
24
Citations
39
References
Details
- Published
- Apr 01, 2013
- Vol/Issue
- 296(6)
- Pages
- 867-876
- License
- View
Authors
Cite This Article
Sarah C. Gutzwiller, Anne Su, Patrick M. O'Connor (2013). Postcranial Pneumaticity and Bone Structure in Two Clades of Neognath Birds. The Anatomical Record, 296(6), 867-876. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.22691
Related
You May Also Like
Gross and microscopic anatomy of the human intrinsic cardiac nervous system
J. Andrew Armour, David A. Murphy · 1997
442 citations
Evidence of sequential remodeling in rat trabecular bone: Morphology, dynamic histomorphometry, and changes during skeletal maturation
Roland Baron, Robert Tross · 1984
222 citations