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Impact of habitat and life trait on character evolution of pallial eyes in Pectinidae (Mollusca: bivalvia)

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Abstract

Pectinidae, a large group of marine bivalves comprising more than 300 species worldwide, inhabit a diverse array of habitats, enabling an enormous radiation, and yielding many different life forms and adaptations. This apparent diversity led to the distinction of ecotypes based on shell morphology and lifestyle. Eyes in Pectinidae (Bivalvia, Pteriomorphia) have long sparked scientific interest and have been described for various species over the past two centuries. These eyes are morphologically and functionally highly complex. Despite this complexity, studies have focused mostly on functional aspects with only few examining the relationships associated with different environmental or evolutionary traits. Here, the pallial eye structure within the Pectinidae was examined using Masson Goldner Trichrom staining, and ancestral character estimation with BayesTraits was performed to reconstruct macro-evolutionary patterns. To evaluate the connection of substrate type and lifestyle to the evolution of eyes, we compared eyes within the major subgroups of Pectinidae while considering the different lifestyles and substrate types as well as different depth ranges. The results indicate a tendency towards a taxon-/clade-specific evolution in respect to characters such as the cornea and lens while depth specific adaptations occur mainly in the light sensitive compartments of the retina. Successive reduction of eyes seems to occur from shallow to deep water species and ends in a total reduction of all structures in deep sea species.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the following colleagues for the generous loan of material and hospitality in their laboratories: Dr. Bernhard Hausdorf (HH), Dr. Ronald Janssen (SMN), Dr. Kennet Lundin (Göteborg), and Dr. Anders Warén (SMNH). The following people and institutions assisted with collection of material: Dr. Michael Türkay (SMN) Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur mer and Station Biologique Roscoff. Thanks also to Dipl. Biol. Juliane Vehof for her assistance with sectioning and staining and Dr. Eugenia Zarza-Franco and Dr. Jan Schnitzler for their introduction to BayesTraits. Thanks also go to Annette Klussmann-Kolb and the four anonymous reviewers for their unwavering efforts and most helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was funded by the Hessian initiative for the development of scientific and economic excellence (LOEWE) at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt/Main.

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  1. Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Yaron Malkowsky & Marie-Carolin Götze

  2. Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity—Phylogeny and Systematics, Goethe-University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    Yaron Malkowsky & Marie-Carolin Götze

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  1. Yaron Malkowsky
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Correspondence to Yaron Malkowsky.

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Malkowsky, Y., Götze, MC. Impact of habitat and life trait on character evolution of pallial eyes in Pectinidae (Mollusca: bivalvia). Org Divers Evol 14, 173–185 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-013-0165-z

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