One of the most interesting and challenging problems in evolutionary biology is understanding the extent to which functional design and past evolutionary history effect the evolution of specialized morphological adaptations. The proposed study will investigate these factors in a highly specialized group of organisms -- nectar-feeding Old World fruit bats. This group is ideal for the study of feeding mechanisms in several significant ways. The family includes species that specialize on eating a variety of diverse foods and previous work has helped develop a hypothesis of their evolutionary history. The proposed study will critically test the factors that appear to constrain the form, function, and evolution of the feeding mechanism in this group of nectar-feeding bats. The research will include collection of data on the structure and function of the tongue using a variety of microscopic and computer-assisted imaging technology. A predictive model of how functional design is effected by evolution will be developed.
