Meeting Abstract
When animals grow, the functional demands that they experience often change as a consequence of their increasing body size. In this study, we examined the feeding morphology and biomechanics of esocid species that represent three different mean size classes (Red fin pickerel, Esox americanus; Chain pickerel, Esox niger; Northern pike, Esox lucius) and how their bite forces change as they grow. In order to evaluate bite performance through ontogeny, we dissected and measured dimensions of the feeding apparatus and the jaw closing adductor mandibulae muscle complex across a wide range of body sizes. The collected morphological data was used as input variables for the anatomical model (i.e., MandibLever program) to simulate jaw function in these fish species. The peak bite forces estimated for the largest individual of each esocid species were: 2.29 N (frontal) and 5.04 N (deep bite) for Esox americanus (Total Body Length = 21.4 cm); 1.93 N (frontal) and 4.45 N (deep) for Esox niger (TBL = 24.4 cm); 26.7 N (frontal) and 60.5 N (deep) for Esox lucius (TBL = 59.1 cm). Our study provides insights into not only the musculoskeletal basis of the jaw function in esocid species, but also the feeding capacity of these species in relation to the functional demands they face during ontogeny as one of the piscivorous predatory fish in lake and river systems in North America.
