UAntwerp FunMorph

An alternative pattern of head expansion during feeding in cichlids - Communications Biology Kinematic analyses of Lake Malawi cichlids reveal that algae specialists use head expansions that happen synchronously along the head. This contrasts with the wave-like pattern of piscivores and is hypothesized to increase algae feeding efficiency.

In collaboration with cichlid fish experts from the Evolutionary Ecology Lab @SvardalGroup at #UAntwerpen
Read more here: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Fish suck... but species that feed on algae suck differently! 🐟 A new publication in Communications Biology by #UAFunMorph members Jana De Ridder, Peter Aerts, and Sam Van Wassenbergh, demonstrates how head motion patterns for generating suction are finetuned to the species' main diets.

Evolutionary consequences of extreme climate events Simon Baeckens and Colin Donihue review case studies of rapid evolutionary change in response to extreme climate events and sketch a framework for future studies in the rapidly changing climate of the...

Extreme climate events can catalyze rapid evolutionary change! in our new Current Biology (@currentbiology.bsky.social) piece, Colin and I argue it’s time to study their evolutionary consequences systematically — beyond opportunistic observations. www.cell.com/current-biol...

#masterstudents #masterinbiology #universiteitantwerpen #biology #stem #science #biomechanics #palaeobiology #evolution #ecology #morphology #herpetology #mammalogy #ornitology #ichthyology | UAntwerp... New LinkedIn, new academic year, and new master's students. So, let’s kick off this account with a preview of the topics our students will be working on this year! FunMorph is taking on more than a d...

You can now also follow us on LinkedIn! 👏 Check out the FunMorph Lab LinkedIn page here: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

To help them with a smooth start, we organised an introduction session where they got the opportunity to present themselves and their project.

Keep an eye out for more updates from our lab, including the student projects, throughout the coming year!

#masterinbiology

Let’s kick off the new academic year! 🎉 FunMorph welcomes 12+ @uantwerpen.be master’s students this year, working with a very diverse set of study organisms, just like our lab members: boxfish 🐡, sharks 🦈, cats 🐆, otters 🦦, sealions, hippos 🦛, tapirs 🐱/🐴, snakes 🐍, lizards 🦎, ducks 🦆, canaries 🐤

While both #island & mainland #lizards may recognize their own #scent and that of others — islanders tongue-flick much less, hinting at reduced reliance on chemical cues in island environments zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @uafunmorph.bsky.social @simon.baeckens.bsky.social

Lukas Hageneder from @uafunmorph.bsky.social is studying how the tongue and skeleton of ducks interact to successfully filter food

Today is the day!
#SEBExPalaeo will be live at #SEBCONFERENCE

9h30 in Nightingale 1&2
(follow signs for Bird Rooms)

Looking forward to seeing you for plenty of experimental #palaeontology #palaeobotany #3D #modelling and fun discussions!

A lizard in sight whets the appetite? 🦎 Read how conspecifics influence island and mainland lizards’ foraging decisions in @UAFunMorph's new paper by Ioanna Gavriilidi! Link to the full article: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lPDn1LenM...

On the flick of the tongue: male island and mainland lizards' responses to self and conspecific chemical stimuli We compared the chemosensory recognition abilities of mainland and island Italian wall lizards (Podarcis siculus). Both populations discriminated between self and conspecific scents, but island lizar...

Another PhD chapter published for Ioanna Gavriilidi @uafunmorph.bsky.social, now in @jzoology.bsky.social! She finds that island-dwelling lizards tend to rely less on chemosensory cues compared to their mainland counterparts. zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Without the locals’ aid: no evidence for a role of admixture in the colonisation success of Italian wall lizards - Oecologia The successful establishment of small founding populations introduced into novel environments often represents a paradox, given the genetic challenges they face. Genetic admixture, whether intra- or i...

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New paper alert! 💥Check out the paper of FunMorph's Lisa Van Linden exploring the potential role of interspecific admixture during the colonisation of a small island by Italian wall #lizards using population #genomic analyses 🧬💻 Spoiler alert: they did it all by themselves! 🦎🏝️ See link below:

🗓️ Save the date!

26-28 May 2025 | Université de Bordeaux, France.

Symposium and workshop :
Biomechanical simulation techniques in evolutionary morphology and biomedical sciences.

More info and registration: www.eventbrite.fr/e/1263754958...

Beak dimensions affect feeding performance within a granivorous songbird species Summary: In canaries, individuals with greater beak depth were faster at dehusking large seeds. Unexpectedly, however, individuals with smaller beaks did not perform significantly better at processing...

This suggests beak adaptations for strength don’t necessarily reduce efficiency on easier foods. 🐤 Read the full study by PhD student Tim Andries here: doi.org/10.1242/jeb.... @jexpbiol.bsky.social #canaries #kinematics #morphology

Larger beaks generate more force for tough seeds, while smaller beaks move faster. We found that birds with larger beak depths dehusked large seeds faster, but smaller or longer beaks didn’t provide a processing advantage for small seeds. 💪⚡

How do beak dimensions affect feeding performance in birds? 🐦 In our new study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, we studied 87 domestic canaries to test if beak size affects feeding performance—revealing a trade-off between force and speed. 🧵👇

Final week of the @UAFunMorph Galápagos expedition! 🎥 Capturing high-speed footage of Darwin's finches while they feed and sing to study beak movement. Best of luck to Irene, Cas, and Jan for the final data collection! 🙌 We are grateful to our helpers and sponsors. #DarwinsFinches #Galapagos

Two great scientists working on #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience! #PhD student Eleesha Annear and #Masters student Ilke Boutsen @UAFunMorph working on measuring #ungulate necks at the @africamuseumbe - exciting project results coming soon!
#ExPalaeo

Do you work on experimental #biology to understand past organisms and ecosystems? Could your work be applicable to organisms in the #fossil record?
Perhaps the @sebiology.bsky.social Annual Meeting special session "Experimental Palaeontology" #SEB_ExPalaeo is something for you?! (1/n)

Something is coming (back) this summer... in Antwerp... in July... 🇧🇪🦣🦕🌿🦠
More details to follow soon!
@narimanechatar.bsky.social
@peterfalkingham.com
@sesamoidstreet.bsky.social
@sebiology.bsky.social

Hard bites and slow songs: How beak size affects the singing and evolution of songbirds Researchers have discovered that massive beaks and strong bites hinder the velocity of beak movement in songbirds. The musical differences that result may have consequences for evolution.

Hard biting #birds are slow singers - which has more consequences than you might think!

In my newest article, published in The Conversation, you can learn about how beak size affects the singing and #evolution of songbirds. 🪶

theconversation.com/hard-bites-a...

#ornithology #scicomm #science

Follow Maja and her research here: @maja-mielke.bsky.social 🐦🎨

Hard bites and slow songs: How beak size affects the singing and evolution of songbirds Researchers have discovered that massive beaks and strong bites hinder the velocity of beak movement in songbirds. The musical differences that result may have consequences for evolution.

[2/2] This piece features work from her own PhD project as well as that of FunMorph's PhD student Jana De Ridder.
theconversation.com/hard-bites-a...
#ornithology #bird #science

[1/2] Hard biting #birds are slow singers - which has more consequences than you might think! 🪶 🐦
In her newest article, published in The Conversation, #UAFunMorph member Maja Mielke writes about how beak size affects the singing and #evolution of songbirds.

More information about our labgroup and research topics can be found here: www.uantwerpen.be/en/research-...

Hello world! The Functional Morphology Lab of the UAntwerp Biology Department is finally on Bluesky! Let us share with you our research, academic activities, and our passion for #science. 🦎🐦 🐟 🦩 🐓 👩‍🔬 🎓 👨‍🔬

Here are some of the animals that keep us busy at the moment.