The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds

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dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Susan Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorCorfield, Jeremy Ren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorIwaniuk, Andrew Nen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorCastro, Isabelen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorAlley, Maurice Ren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBirkhead, Tim Ren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorParsons, Stuarten_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-16T04:10:56Z
dc.date.available2015-11-16T04:10:56Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThree families of probe-foraging birds, Scolopacidae (sandpipers and snipes), Apterygidae (kiwi), and Threskiornithidae (ibises, including spoonbills) have independently evolved long, narrow bills containing clusters of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) within pits in the bill-tip. These ‘bill-tip organs’ allow birds to detect buried or submerged prey via substrate-borne vibrations and/or interstitial pressure gradients. Shorebirds, kiwi and ibises are only distantly related, with the phylogenetic divide between kiwi and the other two taxa being particularly deep. We compared the bill-tip structure and associated somatosensory regions in the brains of kiwi and shorebirds to understand the degree of convergence of these systems between the two taxa. For comparison, we also included data from other taxa including waterfowl (Anatidae) and parrots (Psittaculidae and Cacatuidae), non-apterygid ratites, and other probe-foraging and non probe-foraging birds including non-scolopacid shorebirds (Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae and Sternidae). We show that the bill-tip organ structure was broadly similar between the Apterygidae and Scolopacidae, however some inter-specific variation was found in the number, shape and orientation of sensory pits between the two groups. Kiwi, scolopacid shorebirds, waterfowl and parrots all shared hypertrophy or near-hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus. Hypertrophy of the nucleus basorostralis, however, occurred only in waterfowl, kiwi, three of the scolopacid species examined and a species of oystercatcher (Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae). Hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus in kiwi, Scolopacidae, and other tactile specialists appears to have co-evolved alongside bill-tip specializations, whereas hypertrophy of nucleus basorostralis may be influenced to a greater extent by other sensory inputs. We suggest that similarities between kiwi and scolopacid bill-tip organs and associated somatosensory brain regions are likely a result of similar ecological selective pressures, with inter-specific variations reflecting finer-scale niche differentiation.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationCunningham, S. J., Corfield, J. R., Iwaniuk, A. N., Castro, I., Alley, M. R., Birkhead, T. R., & Parsons, S. (2013). The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15016en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCunningham, Susan J, Jeremy R Corfield, Andrew N Iwaniuk, Isabel Castro, Maurice R Alley, Tim R Birkhead, and Stuart Parsons "The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds." <i>PLoS One</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15016en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCunningham, S. J., Corfield, J. R., Iwaniuk, A. N., Castro, I., Alley, M. R., Birkhead, T. R., & Parsons, S. (2013). The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds. PLOS ONE, 8(11), e80036. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080036en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Cunningham, Susan J AU - Corfield, Jeremy R AU - Iwaniuk, Andrew N AU - Castro, Isabel AU - Alley, Maurice R AU - Birkhead, Tim R AU - Parsons, Stuart AB - Three families of probe-foraging birds, Scolopacidae (sandpipers and snipes), Apterygidae (kiwi), and Threskiornithidae (ibises, including spoonbills) have independently evolved long, narrow bills containing clusters of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) within pits in the bill-tip. These ‘bill-tip organs’ allow birds to detect buried or submerged prey via substrate-borne vibrations and/or interstitial pressure gradients. Shorebirds, kiwi and ibises are only distantly related, with the phylogenetic divide between kiwi and the other two taxa being particularly deep. We compared the bill-tip structure and associated somatosensory regions in the brains of kiwi and shorebirds to understand the degree of convergence of these systems between the two taxa. For comparison, we also included data from other taxa including waterfowl (Anatidae) and parrots (Psittaculidae and Cacatuidae), non-apterygid ratites, and other probe-foraging and non probe-foraging birds including non-scolopacid shorebirds (Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae and Sternidae). We show that the bill-tip organ structure was broadly similar between the Apterygidae and Scolopacidae, however some inter-specific variation was found in the number, shape and orientation of sensory pits between the two groups. Kiwi, scolopacid shorebirds, waterfowl and parrots all shared hypertrophy or near-hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus. Hypertrophy of the nucleus basorostralis, however, occurred only in waterfowl, kiwi, three of the scolopacid species examined and a species of oystercatcher (Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae). Hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus in kiwi, Scolopacidae, and other tactile specialists appears to have co-evolved alongside bill-tip specializations, whereas hypertrophy of nucleus basorostralis may be influenced to a greater extent by other sensory inputs. We suggest that similarities between kiwi and scolopacid bill-tip organs and associated somatosensory brain regions are likely a result of similar ecological selective pressures, with inter-specific variations reflecting finer-scale niche differentiation. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0080036 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds TI - The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15016 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15016
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080036
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCunningham SJ, Corfield JR, Iwaniuk AN, Castro I, Alley MR, Birkhead TR, et al. The anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds. PLoS One. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15016.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the <a href=en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2013 Cunningham et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBirdsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherMechanoreceptorsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherWaterfowlen_ZA
dc.subject.otherParrotsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForagingen_ZA
dc.subject.otherCerebrumen_ZA
dc.subject.otherHindbrainen_ZA
dc.subject.otherKeratinsen_ZA
dc.titleThe anatomy of the bill tip of kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirdsen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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