Abstract
Sea urchins and their relatives are grouped together taxonomically in the class Echinoidea (phylum Echinodermata). Echinoids exhibit remarkable variation in their pentaradially symmetric body shape phenotypes, from spheroid tests (skeletons) in sea urchins to discoid tests in sand dollars. Researchers have speculated on the morphological evolutionary transitions among these phenotypes without reaching consensus. We designed and performed an experiment in which sea urchins grew under a geometric constraint manifested through restricted vertical spatial dimension physically limiting growth in height. Individuals in this treatment group became flatter relative to individuals in a control group after 8 weeks. These findings may be considered as instantiating phenotypic accommodation, an underappreciated phenomenon that may constitute the first step in novel phenotype evolution. We present preliminary speculations relating phenotypically accommodated changes in shape and morphological evolutionary relationships among echinoids. By demonstrating a plausible initiating mechanism in a morphological transition, we hope to contribute to theoretical discussions about phenotypic evolution, emphasizing the role that physical factors play in changing complex biological systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
M. Abou Chakra and J. R. Stone, Paleobiology 37, 686–695 (2011).
J. Cohen, Psychol. Bull. 112, 155–159 (1992).
J. Dafni, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 47, 259–279 (2011).
J. Dafni, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 67, 1–15 (1983).
J. Dafni, Paleobiology 12, 143–60 (1986).
J. Dafni and J. Erez, Mar. Biol. 95, 275–287 (1987).
R. Dalton, Nature 403, 125 (2000).
B. David and R. Mooi, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris Ser. 3 319, 577–584 (1996).
B. David and R. Mooi, in Echinoderms: Proc. 9th Int. Echinoderm Conf., San Francisco, CA, Ed. by R. Mooi and M. Telford (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1998), pp. 21–28.
T. A. Ebert, J. Nat. Hist. 22, 1407–1425 (1988).
O. Ellers, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 254, 123–129 (1993).
O. Ellers, A. Johnson, and P. Moberg, P. Biol. Bull. 195, 136–144 (1998).
C. Fernandez, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 152, 45–54 (1997).
S. B. George, J. M. Lawrence, and A. L. Lawrence, Aquaculture 242, 217–228 (2004).
C. S. Goodman and B. C. Coughlin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 97, 4424–4425 (2000).
S. J. Gould, Paleobiology 17, 411–423 (1991).
R. T. Hinegardner, Biol. Bull. 137, 465–475 (1969).
S. Hörstadius, Biol. Rev. 14, 132–179 (1939).
L. H. Hyman, The Invertebrates: Echinodermata (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1955).
R. T. Jackson, Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 7 (1912).
A. S. Johnson and O. Ellers, in Echinoderms: Proc. 9th Int. Echinoderm Conf., San Francisco, CA, Ed. by R. Mooi and M. Telford (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1998), p. 705.
A. S. Johnson, O. Ellers, J. Lemire, M. Minor, and H. Leddy, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 269, 215–220 (2002).
Kroh and A. B. Smith, J. Syst. Pal. 7, 147–212 (2010).
D. C. C. Lau, S. C. K. Lau, P.-Y. Qian, and J.-W. Qiu, J. Shell. Res. 28, 383–388 (2009).
B. Lelievre, M. Telford, and O. Ellers, in Echinoderm Research 1995. Proceedings of the 4th European Echinoderms Colloquium, London, Ed. by R. H. Emson, A. B. Smith, and A. C. Campbell (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1995), pp. 103–109.
J. E. Mazur and J. W. Miller, Ohio J. Sci. 71, 30–36 (1971).
K. Märkel, Zoomorphology 97, 31–52 (1981).
E. McCarron, G. Burnell, and G. Mouzakitis, Aquaculture 288, 83–91 (2009).
R. Mooi and B. David, Paleontol. Soc. Pap. 3, 305–335 (1997).
T. Motokawa, Biol. Rev. 59, 255-270 (1984).
J. S. Pearse and V. B. Pearse, Am. Zool. 15, 731–753 (1975).
R. Raff, Nat. Rev. Genet. 1, 74–79 (2000).
R. Raff and A. Love, J. Exp. Zool. (Mol. Dev. Evol.) 302B, 19–34 (2004).
M. P. Russell, J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 220, 1–14 (1998).
A. B. Smith, Echinoid Palaeobiology (Allen & Unwin, London, 1984).
M. M. Smith, L. C. Smith, R. A. Cameron, and L. A. Urry, J. Morphol. 269, 713–733 (2008).
R. R. Sokal and F. J. Rohlf, Biometry, 3rd ed. (Freeman, New York, 1995).
G. Tabachnick and L. S. Fidell, Using Multivariate Statistics, 5th ed. (Allyn and Bacon, 2007).
M. Telford, Zoomorphology 105, 114–124 (1985).
M. Telford and O. Ellers, Invertebr. Biol. 116, 405 255–256 (1997).
W. Thompson, On Growth and Form (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1917).
M. J. West-Eberhard, J. Exp. Zool. 304B, 610 (2005).
C. Wilkie, Mar. Behav. Physiol. 11, 1 (1984).
C. Wilkie, in Echinoderm Studies, Ed. by M. Jangoux and J. M. Lawrence (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1996), pp. 61–102.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Resources to develop the material presented herein were provided by the Department of Biology, Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network, and Origins Institute at McMaster University.
Funding
Financial constraints were overcome with funds provided by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Discovery Grant 261590); unlimited industriousness to construct constraining apparatus were contributed by R. Gilles and D. Oad; and suggestions to enhance experimentation were provided by I. Fernandez and M. Spyridis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, R., Pedlar, S., Oad, A. et al. Phenotypic Accommodation in Sea Urchins Grown under Geometric Constraint. BIOPHYSICS 65, 472–478 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006350920030136
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006350920030136