Bird biomechanics: from raptorial beaks to cursorial feet
Date and Time
Location
Please join us for an upcoming CFS evening seminar at the Concord Field Station:
Thursday, November 19th, 2015 at 7:15pm
Dr. Diego Sustaita, Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Associate, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Brown University will be giving a talk entitled:
Bird biomechanics: from raptorial beaks to cursorial feet
Birds exhibit a great range of phenotypic diversity. Although variation in beak form and function has been the primary focus of many avian evolutionary studies, bird feet are also under strong selection for locomotion and feeding. The broader goal of my research is to uncover the selective basis for variation in avian jaws and feet, particularly in predatory birds that incur multiple, potentially conflicting, demands on their feeding and locomotor systems. These demands are as diverse as the morphological solutions evolved to meet them; therefore, differences in beak and foot morphologies within and among species are often reconciled only by considering the behavioral, environmental, and mechanical-loading contexts within which they operate. My research on bird beaks, talons, toes, and tendons illustrates some of these challenges of inferring function from form, and lays the groundwork for future work aimed at understanding how feeding and locomotor systems are integrated.
If you plan to attend the seminar (7:15-8:15 PM), please RSVP to the Concord Field Station mailbox: cfs@oeb.harvard.edu<mailto:cfs@oeb.harvard.edu>. Please also indicate whether or not you will be joining us for dinner at 6:30.
The CFS Vehicle (silver Subaru Forester) can be available to transport people from the circle just in front of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge (leaving at 5:50 PM). Be sure to let us know if you want a ride. Driving directions are available on request.
Best wishes,
Lisa and Andra, on behalf of the Concord Field Station
Concord Field Station
100 Old Causeway Road
Bedford, MA 01730