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Functional morphology and evolutionary ecology

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Kurzfassung

Die Funktionsmorphologie klärt die physiko-chemischen Eigenschaften und die biologischen Rollen von Organen auf. In bezug auf fossile Organe ist diese Arbeitsweise mit einigen methodologischen Problemen verbunden. Es müssen evolutive, funktionelle und bautechnische Limitierungen berücksichtigt werden, die die Evolution beeinflussen. Darüber hinaus ist der Einfluß des Verhaltens fossiler Arten auf die biologische Rolle ihrer Organe schwer zu beurteilen. Anwendungsbereiche der Funktionsmorphologie in der Paläontologie sind anatomische Rekonstruktion, phylogenetische Ableitung von Organen, phylogenetische Systematik, Rekonstruktion von Verhaltensmustern von Arten und von synökologischen Beziehungen. In Form eines Arbeitskonzeptes wird gezeigt, wie sich die Ergebnisse der Funktionsmorphologie zu einer Darstellung der evolutionären ökologie fossiler Taxa integrieren lassen.

Abstract

Functional morphology studies physico-chemical properties and biological roles of organs. If applied to fossils this approach is connected with specific methodological problems. The fields of application of functional morphology in paleontology are illustrated with examples. In a working concept it is shown how the results of functional morphology can be integrated into an account of the evolutionary ecology of fossil taxa.

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  1. Institut und Museum für Geologie und Paläontologie der Universität, Sigwartstraße 10, D-7400, Tübingen 1

    Wolf-Ernst Reif

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Nr. 152, see Hecht, M. K. & Tarsitano, S. F.: N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Mh., 1983 (11): 657-668.

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Reif, WE. Functional morphology and evolutionary ecology. Paläont. Z. 57, 255–266 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02990316

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