Sanderson S Laurie
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Oecologia. 1990 Sep;84(2):272-279. doi: 10.1007/BF00318284.
The term "specialized" has been used to describe species that possess unique functional attributes and/or a narrow, stereotyped range of attributes, but there are few comparative functional analyses of specialists and generalists. If species with functional morphological specializations are capable of functioning over a broad range, the link between morphology and ecology may be relaxed under certain environmental conditions. In this study, high-speed films of jaw movements during prey capture were compared statistically for three coexisting coral reef fish species in the family Labridae, one trophic specialist and two trophic generalists. The trophic specialist possessed a unique functional feature related to the movement of the hyoid in the floor of the mouth, while the trophic generalists were not observed to possess any functional specializations. All three species showed functional versatility in that they were able to adjust their prey capture mechanism in response to the evasive potential of the prey. The functional versatility of trophic specialists has implications for ecomorphological studies, since species characterized as possessing unique functional or morphological features may demonstrate marked flexibility in ecological variables such as diet or foraging behavior, decreasing the likelihood of identifying correlations between morphology and ecology.
“特化”一词已被用于描述具有独特功能属性和/或属性范围狭窄、固定的物种，但对特化物种和泛化物种的比较功能分析却很少。如果具有功能形态特化的物种能够在广泛的范围内发挥作用，那么在某些环境条件下，形态与生态之间的联系可能会变得松弛。在本研究中，对雀鲷科三种共存的珊瑚礁鱼类（一种营养特化物种和两种营养泛化物种）捕食猎物时颌部运动的高速影片进行了统计学比较。营养特化物种具有与口腔底部舌骨运动相关的独特功能特征，而未观察到营养泛化物种具有任何功能特化。所有这三个物种都表现出功能多样性，因为它们能够根据猎物的逃避能力调整其捕食机制。营养特化物种的功能多样性对生态形态学研究具有启示意义，因为被描述为具有独特功能或形态特征的物种可能在饮食或觅食行为等生态变量方面表现出显著的灵活性，从而降低了识别形态与生态之间相关性的可能性。
