Osteological profiling of femoral diaphysis and neck in aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial carnivores and rodents : effects of body size and locomotor habits

Petteri Nieminen, Mikko A.J. Finnilä, Wilhelmiina Hämäläinen, Saara Lehtiniemi, Timo Jämsä, Juha Tuukkanen, Mervi Kunnasranta, Heikki Henttonen, Anne Mari Mustonen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

25 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The increased limb bone density documented previously for aquatic tetrapods has been proposed to be an adaptation to overcome buoyancy during swimming and diving. It can be achieved by increasing the amount of bone deposition or by reducing the amount of bone resorption, leading to cortical thickening, loss of medullary cavity, and compaction of trabecular bone. The present study examined the effects of locomotor habit, body size, and phylogeny on the densitometric, cross-sectional, and biomechanical traits of femoral diaphysis and neck in terrestrial, semiaquatic, and aquatic carnivores, and in terrestrial and semiaquatic rodents (12 species) by using peripheral quantitative computed tomography, three-point bending, and femoral neck loading tests. Groupwise differences were analyzed with the univariate generalized linear model and the multivariate linear discriminant analysis supplemented with hierarchical clustering. While none of the individual features could separate the lifestyles or species adequately, the combinations of multiple features produced very good or excellent classifications and clusterings. In the phocid seals, the aquatic niche allowed for lower femoral bone mineral densities than expected based on the body mass alone. The semiaquatic mammals mostly had high bone mineral densities compared to the terrestrial species, which could be considered an adaptation to overcome buoyancy during swimming and shallow diving. Generally, it seems that different osteological properties at the levels of mineral density and biomechanics could be compatible with the adaptation to aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial niches.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)473-492
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology
Volume194
Issue number4
Early online date27 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Aquatic mammals
  • Bone mineral density
  • Bone strength
  • Lifestyle
  • Semiaquatic mammals
  • Terrestrial mammals

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Osteological profiling of femoral diaphysis and neck in aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial carnivores and rodents : effects of body size and locomotor habits'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this