Anderson Philip S L, Kawano Sandy M
Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, U.S.A.
Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052, U.S.A.
Integr Comp Biol. 2022 May 31. doi: 10.1093/icb/icac066.
Phenotypic diversity is influenced by physical laws that govern how an organism's morphology relates to functional performance. To study comparative organismal biology, we need to quantify this diversity using biological traits (definable aspects of the morphology, behavior, and/or life history of an organism). Traits are often assumed to be immutable properties that need only be measured a single time in each adult. However, organisms often experience changes in their biotic and abiotic environments that can alter trait function. In particular, structural traits represent the physical capabilities of an organism and may be heavily influenced by the rate at which they are exposed to physical demands ('loads'). For instance, materials tend to become more brittle when loaded at faster rates which could negatively affect structures trying to resist those loads (e.g., brittle materials are more likely to fracture). In the following perspective piece, we address the dynamic properties of structural traits and present case studies that demonstrate how dynamic strain rates affect the function of these traits in diverse groups of organisms. First, we review how strain rate affects deformation and fracture in biomaterials and demonstrate how these effects alter puncture mechanics in systems such as snake strikes. Second, we discuss how different rates of bone loading affect the locomotor biomechanics of vertebrates and their ecology. Through these examinations of diverse taxa and ecological functions, we aim to highlight how rate-dependent properties of structural traits can generate dynamic form-function relationships in response to changing environmental conditions. Findings from these studies serve as a foundation to develop more nuanced ecomechanical models that can predict how complex traits emerge and, thereby, advance progress on outlining the Rules of Life.
表型多样性受到物理规律的影响，这些规律决定了生物体的形态与功能表现之间的关系。为了研究比较生物生物学，我们需要使用生物学特征（生物体形态、行为和/或生活史的可定义方面）来量化这种多样性。特征通常被认为是不变的属性，每个成年个体只需测量一次。然而，生物体经常会经历生物和非生物环境的变化，这些变化可能会改变特征的功能。特别是，结构特征代表了生物体的物理能力，可能会受到它们暴露于物理需求（“负荷”）的速率的严重影响。例如，材料在加载速率较快时往往会变得更脆，这可能会对试图抵抗这些负荷的结构产生负面影响（例如，脆性材料更容易断裂）。在下面的观点文章中，我们探讨了结构特征的动态特性，并展示了案例研究，这些研究表明动态应变率如何影响这些特征在不同生物群体中的功能。首先，我们回顾应变率如何影响生物材料的变形和断裂，并展示这些影响如何改变蛇咬等系统中的穿刺力学。其次，我们讨论不同的骨骼加载速率如何影响脊椎动物的运动生物力学及其生态学。通过对不同分类群和生态功能的这些研究，我们旨在强调结构特征的速率依赖性属性如何能够响应不断变化的环境条件而产生动态的形式-功能关系。这些研究的结果为开发更细致入微的生态力学模型奠定了基础，这些模型可以预测复杂特征是如何出现的，从而推动在勾勒生命规则方面取得进展。
