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BENTHIC WALKING, CRYPTIC LOCOMOTION, AND EVOLUTIONARY MORPHOLOGY OF BODY FORM IN FLATFISHES (PLEURONECTIFORMES)

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dc.contributor.authorFox, Claire
dc.contributor.chairBemis, Willy
dc.contributor.committeeMemberDillman, Casey Brandon
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMcCune, Amy R.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHermanson, John W.
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-15T13:42:29Z
dc.date.available2021-03-15T13:42:29Z
dc.date.issued2020-12
dc.description192 pages
dc.description.abstractFlatfishes (Pleuronectiformes) are an ecologically and economically important group of benthic predators with unique adaptations to life on the bottom. Flatfishes’ key innovations—eye-migration and lateralized behavior —result in evolutionary constraints as well as novel opportunities for this group (Chapter 1). How does an organism find food and evade predators when it is lying on one side? Using kinematic and comparative analyses (Chapter 2) I show that flatfishes use a mode of locomotion that is structurally and functionally unique amongst vertebrates, in which successive portions of median fins are co-opted to form functional “feet” that push against the substrate. This unusual form of locomotion allows the flatfish to maneuver, forage, and traverse across the substrate at slow to moderate speeds while maintaining a low profile. Using Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (Chapter 3) I measured the velocity magnitude and vorticity of water flow around walking and swimming flatfishes. I found that water disturbance was much lower during walking, without the trailing vortices produced during swimming, suggesting that benthic walking in flatfishes is hydrodynamically cryptic. To better understand the evolutionary morphology of this large and diverse group I analyzed body and fin shapes of 67 species from 12 flatfish families using geometric morphometric and phylogenetic methods (Chapter 1). Lastly, in fulfillment of my NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in K-12 STEM Education, I evaluated the impact of a new mobile science program using a combination of survey and interview methods (Chapter 4).
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.7298/btxh-9d30
dc.identifier.otherFox_cornellgrad_0058F_12368
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/cornellgrad:12368
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1813/103447
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectBenthic Walking
dc.subjectCrypsis
dc.subjectLocomotion
dc.subjectMobile Science
dc.subjectPleuronectiformes
dc.titleBENTHIC WALKING, CRYPTIC LOCOMOTION, AND EVOLUTIONARY MORPHOLOGY OF BODY FORM IN FLATFISHES (PLEURONECTIFORMES)
dc.typedissertation or thesis
dcterms.licensehttps://hdl.handle.net/1813/59810
thesis.degree.disciplineEcology and Evolutionary Biology
thesis.degree.grantorCornell University
thesis.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy
thesis.degree.namePh. D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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