
Marta Vidal-GarcíaUniversity of Calgary · Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Marta Vidal-García
PhD
About
76
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
June 2019 - present
February 2016 - May 2019
March 2012 - January 2016
Publications
Publications (76)
Body shape is predicted to differ among species for functional reasons and in relation to environmental niche and phylogenetic history. We quantified morphological differences in shape and size among 98.5% of the 129 species and all 21 genera of the Australo-Papuan endemic myobatrachid frogs to test the hypothesis that habitat type predicts body sh...
Animals from different clades but subject to similar environments often evolve similar body shapes and physiological adaptations due to convergent evolution, but this has been rarely tested at the transcontinental level and across entire classes of animal. Australia's biome diversity, isolation and aridification history provide excellent opportunit...
Background
Quantifying morphological diversity across taxa can provide valuable insight into evolutionary processes, yet its complexities can make it difficult to identify appropriate units for evaluation. One of the challenges in this field is identifying the processes that drive morphological evolution, especially when accounting for shape divers...
The quantification of complex morphological patterns typically involves comprehensive shape and size analyses, usually obtained by gathering morphological data from all the structures that capture the phenotypic diversity of an organism or object. Articulated structures are a critical component of overall phenotypic diversity, but data gathered fro...
Anti-predator defences are typically regarded as relatively static signals that conceal prey or advertise their unprofitability. However, startle displays are complex performances that deter or confuse predators and can include a spectacular array of movements, colours and sounds. Yet, we do not fully understand the mechanisms by which they functio...
Background
Previously we found that increasing fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling in the neural crest cells within the frontonasal process (FNP) of the chicken embryo caused dysmorphology that was correlated with reduced proliferation, disrupted cellular orientation, and lower MAPK activation but no change in PLCy and PI3K activation. This su...
Craniosynostosis is a common yet complex birth defect, characterized by premature fusion of the cranial sutures that can be syndromic or nonsyndromic. With over 180 syndromic associations, reaching genetic diagnoses and understanding variations in underlying cellular mechanisms remains a challenge. Variants of FGFR2 are highly associated with crani...
Essays on evolvability from the perspectives of quantitative and population genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, systems biology, macroevolution, and the philosophy of science.
Evolvability—the capability of organisms to evolve—wasn't recognized as a fundamental concept in evolutionary theory until 1990. Though there is still some debate a...
Morphogenesis requires highly coordinated, complex interactions between cellular processes: proliferation, migration, and apoptosis, along with physical tissue interactions. How these cellular and tissue dynamics drive morphogenesis remains elusive. Three dimensional (3D) microscopic imaging poses great promise, and generates beautiful images. Howe...
A variety of genetic mutations affect cell proliferation during organism development, leading to structural birth defects. However, the mechanisms by which these alterations influence the development of the face remain unclear. Cell proliferation and its relation to shape variation can be studied using Light-Sheet Microscopy (LSM) imaging across a...
Structural variants (SVs) can affect protein-coding sequences as well as gene regulatory elements. However, SVs disrupting protein-coding sequences that also function as cis-regulatory elements remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that craniosynostosis patients with SVs containing the Histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) protein-coding sequence a...
Complex morphological traits are the product of many genes with transient or lasting developmental effects that interact in anatomical context. Mouse models are a key resource for disentangling such effects, because they offer myriad tools for manipulating the genome in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, phenotypic data are often obtained usi...
During the development of the face, tissues move, change shape, and fuse in tightly orchestrated patterns to create all the parts of a normal face. These shape changes are driven by factors such as cell signaling, migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. However, the contributions of each of these drivers to morphogenesis are poorly studied. Here,...
Brain and skull tissues interact through molecular signalling and mechanical forces during head development, leading to a strong correlation between the neurocranium and the external brain surface. Therefore, when brain tissue is unavailable, neurocranial endocasts are often used to approximate brain size and shape. Evolutionary changes in brain mo...
We here report on a well-preserved juvenile lizard specimen in Albian amber (ca. 110 mya) from the Hkamti site (Myanmar). This new taxon is represented by an articulated skull and the anterior portion of the trunk, including the pectoral girdle and forelimbs. The scleral ossicles and eyelid are also visible, and the specimen exhibits pristine detai...
Realistic mappings of genes to morphology are inherently multivariate on both sides of the equation. The importance of coordinated gene effects on morphological phenotypes is clear from the intertwining of gene actions in signaling pathways, gene regulatory networks, and developmental processes underlying the development of shape and size. Yet, cur...
Complex morphological traits are the product of many genes with transient or lasting developmental effects that interact in anatomical context. Mouse models are a key resource for disentangling such effects, because they offer myriad tools for manipulating the genome in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, phenotypic data are often obtained usi...
We here report on a well-preserved juvenile lizard specimen in Albian amber (ca. 110 mya) from the Hkamti site in Myanmar. This new taxon, Retinosaurus hkamtiensis gen. et sp. nov., is represented by an articulated skull and the anterior portion of the trunk, including the pectoral girdle and forelimbs. The ocular skeleton (scleral ossicles) and ey...
Characterising phenotypes often requires quantification of anatomical shape. Quantitative shape comparison (morphometrics) traditionally uses manually located landmarks and is limited by landmark number and operator accuracy. Here, we apply a landmark-free method to characterise the craniofacial skeletal phenotype of the Dp1Tyb mouse model of Down...
Structural variants (SVs) can affect protein-coding sequences as well as gene regulatory elements. However, SVs disrupting protein-coding sequences that also function as cis-regulatory elements remain largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that craniosynostosis patients with SVs containing the Histone deacetylase 9 ( HDAC9 ) protein-coding sequence...
Thynnine wasps have an unusual mating system that involves concurrent in‐flight copulation and nuptial feeding of wingless females by alate males. Consequently, thynnine genitalia play a multifunctional role and have likely been subject to various different selective pressures for both reproductive success and food provisioning. Here we present a n...
Oculudentavis khaungraae was described based on a tiny skull trapped in amber. The slender tapering rostrum with retracted narial openings, large eyes, and short vaulted braincase led to its identification as the smallest avian dinosaur on record, comparable to the smallest living hummingbirds. Despite its bird-like appearance, Oculudentavis showed...
Epigenetic and chromatin regulation of craniofacial development remains poorly understood. Ankyrin Repeat Domain 11 (ANKRD11) is a chromatin regulator that has previously been shown to control neural stem cell fates via modulation of histone acetylation. ANKRD11 gene variants, or microdeletions of the 16q24.3 chromosomal region encompassing the ANK...
Background and Objective: A variety of genetic mutations are known to affect cell proliferation and apoptosis during organism development, leading to structural birth defects such as facial clefting. Yet, the mechanisms how these alterations influence the development of the face remain unclear. Cell proliferation and its relation to shape variation...
Phenotypic trait data play a central role in ecology and evolutionary research. The quality of trait data, and the findings of subsequent analyses, depend on the quality of measurement. However, most studies overlook measurement accuracy in their study designs. We investigated the repeatability of five frequently used linear measurements of avian t...
As is common in biological invasions, the rate at which cane toads ( Rhinella marina ) have spread across tropical Australia has accelerated through time. Individuals at the invasion front travel further than range-core conspecifics and exhibit distinctive morphologies that may facilitate rapid dispersal. However, the links between these morphologi...
Oculudentavis khaungraae was described based on a tiny skull trapped in amber. The slender tapering rostrum with retracted osseous nares, large eyes, and short vaulted braincase led to its identification as the smallest avian dinosaur on record, comparable to the smallest living hummingbirds. Despite its bird-like appearance, Oculudentavis showed s...
The quantification of complex morphological patterns typically involves comprehensive shape and size analyses, usually obtained by gathering morphological data from all the structures that capture the phenotypic diversity of an organism or object. Articulated structures are a critical component of overall phenotypic diversity, but data gathered fro...
Mosaic evolution refers to the pattern whereby different organismal traits exhibit differential rates of evolution typically due to reduced levels of trait covariation through deep time (i.e. modularity). These differences in rates can be attributed to variation in responses to selective pressures between individual traits. Differential responses t...
This paper proposes a new methodology to quantify patterns of egg shape variation using geometric morphometrics of three-dimensional landmarks captured on digitally reconstructed eggshells and demonstrates its performance in capturing shape variation at multiple biological levels. This methodology offers unique benefits to complement established li...
Fig. S1. Digital three-dimensional (3D) surface model of a razorbill Alca torda egg using photogrammetry.
A total of 145 photographs were taken at multiple angles around the egg. The photographs were processed in Agisoft PhotoScan (v. 1.2.6) to create the 3D model. The specimen (ID number: 2016.R15.Top.LWB) was provided by the Alfred Denny Museum,...
Table S1. Body size, life history and evolutionary origin of four species of bird included in this study.
Incubation period is from completion to of clutch to hatching. Sources are Higgins, Peter & Steele, 2001; Higgins & Peter, 2002; Higgins, Peter & Cowling, 2006.
The quantification of complex morphological patterns typically involves comprehensive shape and size analyses, usually obtained by gathering morphological data from all the structures that capture the phenotypic diversity of an organism or object. Articulated structures are a critical component of overall phenotypic diversity, but data gathered fro...
The brain plays a critical role in a wide variety of functions including behaviour, perception, motor control, and homeostatic maintenance. Each function can undergo different selective pressures over the course of evolution, and as selection acts on the outputs of brain function, it necessarily alters the structure of the brain. Two models have be...
Developmental changes through an animal's life are generally understood to contribute to the resulting adult morphology. Possible exceptions are species with complex life cycles, where individuals pass through distinct ecological and morphological life stages during their ontogeny, ending with metamorphosis to the adult form. Antagonistic selection...
Invasive species are an important issue worldwide but predicting invasiveness, and the underlying mechanisms that cause it, is difficult. There are several primary hypotheses to explain invasion success. Two main hypothesis based on niche spaces stand out as alternative, although not exclusive. The empty niche hypothesis states that invaders occupy...
Phenotypic traits such as ornaments and armaments are generally shaped by sexual selection, which often favors larger and more elaborate males compared to females. But can sexual selection also influence the brain? Previous studies in vertebrates report contradictory results with no consistent pattern between variation in brain structure and the st...
Geometric morphometrics is a powerful tool for the quantification, visualization and analysis of morphological variation and change. This approach is being applied more frequently in a phylogenetic comparative context to assess the relative influence of size, ecology, function, and developmental constraints on morphological evolution. Geometric mor...
The study of morphological diversity and the processes that have driven it is a topic of uppermost importance in evolutionary biology. Frogs and toads offer a study group that is remarkably diverse in body shape and ecology, particularly in Australia, where biome diversity and isolation have provided excellent opportunities for comparative analyses...
The predator–prey relationship is a strong agent of natural selection on phenotype,
and two evolutionary strategies derived from this antagonistic interaction are
crypsis and aposematism. Although usually considered as opposites, both strategies could
be ascribed to the dark zigzag pattern of European vipers (Vipera). Experiments using
plasticine m...
Parasites reduce host fitness, and so instigate counter adaptations by their hosts. In temporary social parasitism, usurpers must not only enter the colony unharmed, but also have their eggs reared by the host workers. We introduced parasitic Formica lugubris and Formica aquilonia queens into queen right and orphaned fragments of three host species...
Molecular evidence suggests that climatic fluctuations in the peninsulas of southern European during the Miocene and Pleistocene resulted in considerable genetic differentiation of organisms, probably following a 'refugia within refugia' model. We examined morphometric and meristic characters in museum specimens from the three Iberian clades of the...
It is difficult to measure predation risk for secretive animals such as snakes. The frequency of tail breakage has been suggested as a parameter for measuring predation risk in these reptiles. Consequently, we hypothesise that tail breakage frequency is expected to vary intraspecifically between populations submitted to different numbers of predato...