The anatomy of the bill tip of Kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds

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dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Susan J.
dc.contributor.authorCorfield, Jeremy R.
dc.contributor.authorIwaniuk, Andrew N.
dc.contributor.authorCastro, Isabel
dc.contributor.authorAlley, Maurice R.
dc.contributor.authorBirkhead, Tim R.
dc.contributor.authorParsons, Stuart
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-15T19:07:25Z
dc.date.available2016-11-15T19:07:25Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.descriptionSherpa Romeo green journal: open accessen_US
dc.description.abstractThree families of probe-foraging birds, Scolopacidae (sandpipers and snipes), Apterygidae (kiwi), and Threskiornithidae (ibises, including spoonbills) have independently evolved long, narrow bills containing clusters of vibration-sensitive mechanoreceptors (Herbst corpuscles) within pits in the bill-tip. These ‘bill-tip organs’ allow birds to detect buried or submerged prey via substrate-borne vibrations and/or interstitial pressure gradients. Shorebirds, kiwi and ibises are only distantly related, with the phylogenetic divide between kiwi and the other two taxa being particularly deep. We compared the bill-tip structure and associated somatosensory regions in the brains of kiwi and shorebirds to understand the degree of convergence of these systems between the two taxa. For comparison, we also included data from other taxa including waterfowl (Anatidae) and parrots (Psittaculidae and Cacatuidae), nonapterygid ratites, and other probe-foraging and non probe-foraging birds including non-scolopacid shorebirds (Charadriidae, Haematopodidae, Recurvirostridae and Sternidae). We show that the bill-tip organ structure was broadly similar between the Apterygidae and Scolopacidae, however some inter-specific variation was found in the number, shape and orientation of sensory pits between the two groups. Kiwi, scolopacid shorebirds, waterfowl and parrots all shared hypertrophy or near-hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus. Hypertrophy of the nucleus basorostralis, however, occurred only in waterfowl, kiwi, three of the scolopacid species examined and a species of oystercatcher (Charadriiformes: Haematopodidae). Hypertrophy of the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus in kiwi, Scolopacidae, and other tactile specialists appears to have co-evolved alongside bill-tip specializations, whereas hypertrophy of nucleus basorostralis may be influenced to a greater extent by other sensory inputs. We suggest that similarities between kiwi and scolopacid bill-tip organs and associated somatosensory brain regions are likely a result of similar ecological selective pressures, with inter-specific variations reflecting finer-scale niche differentiation.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationCunningham, S. J., Corfield, J. R., Iwaniuk, A. N., Castro, I., Alley, M. R., Birkhead, T. R., & Parsons, S. (2013). The anatomy of the bill tip of Kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirds. PLoS ONE, 8(11), e:80036. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080036en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/4694
dc.language.isoen_CAen_US
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscienceen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Townen_US
dc.publisher.institutionMassey Universityen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Sheffielden_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Aucklanden_US
dc.subjectBill tip structureen_US
dc.subjectSomatosensory regionsen_US
dc.subjectKiwien_US
dc.subjectShorebirdsen_US
dc.subjectProbe-foraging birdsen_US
dc.subjectApterygidaeen_US
dc.subjectScolopacidaeen_US
dc.subjectThreskiomithidaeen_US
dc.titleThe anatomy of the bill tip of Kiwi and associated somatosensory regions of the brain: comparisons with shorebirdsen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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