Functional (Secondary) Adaptation to an Aquatic Life in Vertebrates An Introduction to the Symposium

• Published in: Integrative and comparative biology Vol. 56; no. 6; pp. 1266 - 1270
• Main Authors: Houssaye, Alexandra, Fish, Frank E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.12.2016; Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological - physiology; Animal biology; Animals; Aquatic Organisms - physiology; Congresses as Topic; Ecosystem; Functional (Secondary) Adaptation to an Aquatic Life in Vertebrates; Life Sciences; Vertebrate Zoology; Vertebrates
• ISSN: 1540-7063; 1557-7023
• DOI: 10.1093/icb/icw129

One of the great transformations in evolution of vertebrates has been the return to the aquatic environment after the conquest of terrestrial ecosystems. With structural and physiological characteristics adapted to function on land, the various non-piscine taxa had to modify these characteristics to perform in water. Secondary aquatic vertebrates successfully transformed mechanisms for feeding, locomotion, osmoregulation, and sensory systems to function and thrive in an aqueous environment. This symposium emphasized the changes that had to be acquired to operate in the water with morphologies previously evolved to function on land. It brought together researchers working on different aspects of functional biology and on various taxa in order to illustrate the diversity in the required adaptations: the numerous convergences as well as the specific adaptive traits. The collection of talks, posters, and of the contributions to this special volume highlights recent advances in the understanding of the functional adaptations associated to secondary adaptation to an aquatic lifestyle in vertebrates.