Quantifying and Comparing Feeding Efficiencies of Freshwater Puff... | Saraah Zaheer | RRS Live 2025 скачать в хорошем качестве

Quantifying and Comparing Feeding Efficiencies of Freshwater Puff... | Saraah Zaheer | RRS Live 2025

Saraah Zaheer is a Sophomore Biology major in the Randall Research Scholars Program (RRSP). Their research project presentation, "Quantifying and Comparing Feeding Efficiencies of Freshwater Pufferfish and Cichlids in Snail Consumption," was completed under the advisement of Edward Burress from the Biological Sciences Department. Project Description: Most fish have two sets of jaws: oral jaws are used to capture prey, while the pharyngeal jaws in the back of their throat are used to process prey (e.g., crush). Pufferfish are unique because they lack pharyngeal jaws and solely rely on their oral jaws to capture and process prey. In contrast, cichlids use both sets of jaws to capture and process their prey. The cichlids used in this study have oral jaws poorly adapted to transmit force and exclusively rely on their pharyngeal jaws to process prey. This allows for a direct comparison between pufferfish and cichlids and how their distinct jaw systems affect their feeding efficiency across different snail shell types. Referencing and building upon previously acquired data of other species of freshwater pufferfish, this project attempts to more robustly show how snail shell shape influences pufferfish and cichlid feeding performance.