THE RELATION BETWEEN MORPHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR DURING ONTOGENIC AND EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES

During development, form and function (behaviour) change while the mat ch between them must be maintained. The quality of this match determin es the importance of morphological parameters in constraining behaviou r. If the match is close, the morphology of organisms will be more con straining to the behaviour than when there is a large reserve capacity that creates a certain flexibility. This leads to two questions: (1) How good is the match between form and function during development? Th e quality of the match necessarily changes during development because changes in structural capacity often cannot proceed at the same speed as changes in functional demand. The evidence for these changes is dis cussed. (2) What are the mechanisms that maintain the match between fo rm and function during developmental and evolutionary changes? Two mec hanisms for maintaining the match are discussed: (a) reserve capacity and (b) flexible muscle activity patterns. Special emphasis is given t o fish examples throughout this review.