MSc Student
Advisor: Jürgen Kriwet

Department of Palaeontology
Evolutionary Morphology Research Group (⇒EvoMoRG)
University of Vienna

Abstract

EAM (eplitic algae matrix) feeding coral reef fishes are the most important herbivore reef fish group at the coral reef. These fish are essential to keep the reef in balance, algae free and they help after bleaching events to get the reef back on track. This master thesis will discuss their morphology with a special focus on their head anatomy. The groups of the Scaridae (Parrotfishes), Acanthuridae (Doctorfish) and the Siganidae (Rabbitfishes) will be used as material, in the form of CT pictures of their heads. Through CT pictures of them, models are constructed to see how the bones in their skull are arranged to each other.

In this aspect there will be analyzed how the movement of the head of these fishes works, in terms of how the big kinematic force efficiency in their head is as well as how the Four-Bar Linkage System contributes to their skull movement and how good their kinematic transmission efficiency is.

After that the formation of these species in earth history will be analyzed and put in comparison to each other to see when they developed their morphology and how their surroundings could have contributed to that. In terms of that a fossil from the Eocene will be looked at. Finally, there will be shown how these fishes react to climate change as well as other anthropogenic influences to speculate how their future in earth history could look like. What are the dangers they could face and what are the dangers their habitat will face in the future?