Melding Modeling and Morphology: A Call for Collaboration to Address Difficult Questions about the Evolution of Form and Function.

The nascent field of evolutionary biomechanics seeks to understand how form begets function, and researchers have taken two tacks toward this goal: inferring form based on function (comparative biomechanics) or inferring function based on form (functional morphology). Each tack has strengths and weaknesses, which the other could improve. The symposium, "Melding modeling and morphology-integrating approaches to understand the evolution of form and function" sought to highlight research stitching together the two tacks. In this introduction to the symposium's issue, we highlight these works, discuss the challenges of interdisciplinary collaborations, and suggest possible avenues available to create new collaborations to create a unifying framework for evolutionary biomechanics.

[1]  Molly C. Womack,et al.  Evolution of the unique anuran pelvic and hindlimb skeleton in relation to microhabitat, locomotor mode, and jump performance. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[2]  J. Socha,et al.  Circulation In Insect Wings. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[3]  N. Hebdon,et al.  Assessing the morphological impacts of ammonoid shell shape through systematic shape variation. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[4]  Nicholas A. Battista,et al.  A Mathematical Model and MATLAB Code for Muscle-Fluid-Structure Simulations. , 2015, Integrative and comparative biology.

[5]  Lindsay D. Waldrop,et al.  Functional Morphology of Gliding Flight II. Morphology Follows Predictions of Gliding Performance. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[6]  Lindsay D. Waldrop,et al.  Large-amplitude, short-wave peristalsis and its implications for transport , 2016, Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology.

[7]  Introduction to the Symposium "Leading Students and Faculty to Quantitative Biology through Active Learning". , 2015, Integrative and comparative biology.

[8]  R. Holzman,et al.  Hydrodynamic simulations of the performance landscape for suction-feeding fishes reveal multiple peaks for different prey types. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[9]  J. M. Lynch,et al.  Quantifying temporal bone morphology of great apes and humans: an approach using geometric morphometrics , 2002, Journal of anatomy.

[10]  M. Pascual,et al.  Ecological networks : Linking structure to dynamics in food webs , 2006 .

[11]  Boyce E. Griffith,et al.  Role of body stiffness in undulatory swimming: Insights from robotic and computational models , 2016 .

[12]  P. S. Dickinson,et al.  Addressing Grand Challenges In Organismal Biology: The Need For Synthesis , 2014 .

[13]  Lindsay D. Waldrop,et al.  Functional morphology of gliding flight I. Modeling reveals distinct performance landscapes based on soaring strategies. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[14]  Lindsay D. Waldrop,et al.  What Can Computational Modeling Tell Us about the Diversity of Odor-Capture Structures in the Pancrustacea? , 2018, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[15]  Simon M. Huttegger,et al.  The Concept of Morphospaces in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology: Mathematics and Metaphors , 2009 .

[16]  S. N. Patek,et al.  Biomimetics and evolution , 2014, Science.

[17]  Jorge Cadima,et al.  Principal component analysis: a review and recent developments , 2016, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[18]  C. Peskin.  The immersed boundary method , 2002, Acta Numerica.

[19]  S. Price,et al.  The Future is Bright for Evolutionary Morphology and Biomechanics in the Era of Big Data. , 2019, Integrative and comparative biology.

[20]  P. D. Polly,et al.  Combining Geometric Morphometrics and Finite Element Analysis with Evolutionary Modeling: Towards a Synthesis , 2016, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

[21]  K. Halanych,et al.  Grand challenges in organismal biology: The need to develop both theory and resources. , 2009, Integrative and comparative biology.

[22]  Jordan Hoffmann,et al.  Computational analysis of size, shape and structure of insect wings , 2019, Biology Open.

[23]  Graham K. Taylor,et al.  Evolutionary biomechanics : selection, phylogeny, and constraint , 2014 .

[24]  Nicholas A. Battista.  Swimming through parameter subspaces of a simple anguilliform swimmer. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[25]  R. Full,et al.  Grand challenges in organismal biology. , 2009, Integrative and comparative biology.

[26]  Andrew Lewis,et al.  Nature-Inspired Optimizers - Theories, Literature Reviews and Applications , 2020, Nature-Inspired Optimizers.

[27]  J. Walker.  An integrative model of evolutionary covariance: a symposium on body shape in fishes. , 2010, Integrative and comparative biology.

[28]  A. Suarez,et al.  "Simple" biomechanical model for ants reveals how correlated evolution among body segments minimizes variation in center of mass as heads get larger. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[29]  Roslyn Dakin,et al.  Morphology, muscle capacity, skill, and maneuvering ability in hummingbirds , 2018, Science.

[30]  M. Koehl,et al.  Physical modelling in biomechanics. , 2003, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[31]  O Wolkenhauer,et al.  Family tree of Markov models in systems biology. , 2006, IET systems biology.

[32]  D. Smith,et al.  A boundary element regularized Stokeslet method applied to cilia- and flagella-driven flow , 2009, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[33]  P. Taylor,et al.  Evolutionarily Stable Strategies and Game Dynamics , 1978 .

[34]  Jin Song Dong,et al.  Genetic Algorithm: Theory, Literature Review, and Application in Image Reconstruction , 2019, Nature-Inspired Optimizers.

[35]  S N Patek,et al.  Mechanical sensitivity reveals evolutionary dynamics of mechanical systems , 2015, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[36]  H. Camarillo,et al.  Weak relationships between swimming morphology and water depth in wrasses and parrotfish belie multiple selective demands on form-function evolution. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[37]  S N Patek,et al.  Mechanical sensitivity and the dynamics of evolutionary rate shifts in biomechanical systems , 2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[38]  Nicholas A. Battista.  Diving into a Simple Anguilliform Swimmer's Sensitivity. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[39]  Jonas O. Wolff,et al.  Clarity of objectives and working principles enhances the success of biomimetic programs , 2017, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[40]  P David Polly,et al.  Functional Tradeoffs Carry Phenotypes Across the Valley of the Shadow of Death. , 2020, Integrative and comparative biology.

[41]  M. W. McCoy,et al.  Size correction: comparing morphological traits among populations and environments , 2006, Oecologia.