What is metamorphosis?

Metamorphosis (Gr. meta- "change" + morphe "form") as a biological process is generally attributed to a subset of animals: most famously insects and amphibians, but some fish and many marine invertebrates as well. We held a symposium at the 2006 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) annual meeting in Orlando, FL (USA) to discuss metamorphosis in a comparative context. Specifically, we considered the possibility that the term "metamorphosis" could be rightly applied to non-animals as well, including fungi, flowering plants, and some marine algae. Clearly, the answer depends upon how metamorphosis is defined. As we participants differed (sometimes quite substantially) in how we defined the term, we decided to present each of our conceptions of metamorphosis in 1 place, rather than attempting to agree on a single consensus definition. Herein we have gathered together our various definitions of metamorphosis, and offer an analysis that highlights some of the main similarities and differences among them. We present this article not only as an introduction to this symposium volume, but also as a reference tool that can be used by others interested in metamorphosis. Ultimately, we hope that this article-and the volume as a whole-will represent a springboard for further investigations into the surprisingly deep mechanistic similarities among independently evolved life cycle transitions across kingdoms.

In vitro transmission and attenuation of impact vibrations in the distal forelimb.

An in vitro model was developed and validated in vivo to quantify the attenuation of impact vibrations, transmitted through the lower equine forelimb and to assess the effects of horseshoeing on this attenuation. The transsected forelimbs of 13 horses were equipped with custom-made hollow bone screws in the 4 distal bones, on each of which a tri-axial accelerometer could be mounted. The limbs were then preloaded while the impact was simulated by dropping a weight on the steel plate on which the hoof was resting. At the hoof wall, the distal, middle and proximal phalanx and at the metacarpal bone, the shock waves resulting from this impact were quantified. To assess the damping effects of shoeing, measurements were performed with unshod hooves, hooves shod with a normal flat shoe and hooves shod with an equisoft pad and a silicone packing between hoof and pad. The in vitro model was validated by performing in vivo measurements using one horse, and subjecting the limb of this horse to the same in vitro measurements after death. Approximately 67% of the damping of impact vibrations took place at the interface between the hoof wall and the distal phalanx. The attenuation of impact vibrations at the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints was considerably less (both 6%), while at the metacarpophalangeal joint 9% of the amplitude of that at the hoof wall was absorbed, leaving approximately 13% of the initial amplitude at the hoof wall detectable at the metacarpus. Compared to unshod hooves the amplitude at the hoof wall is 15% higher in shod hooves. No differences could be observed between shoe types. At the level of the first phalanx and metacarpus the difference between shod and unshod vanished; it was therefore concluded that, although shoeing might influence the amplitude of impact vibrations at the hoof wall, the effect of shoeing on the amplitude at the level of the metacarpophalangeal joint is minimal.

Biomechanical effects of rocker-toed shoes in sound horses.

In many Western European countries rocker-toed shoes are applied routinely in sound horses. This is in contrast to most Anglo-Saxon countries where rocker-toed shoes are used almost exclusively for corrective or orthopaedic shoeing. The purposes of rocker-toed shoes are to hasten or facilitate breakover, or to encourage breakover to occur at the centre of the toe. This study compares the biomechanical effects of rocker-toed shoes with standard flat shoes in twelve sound Dutch warmblood horses, using a modified CODA-3 gait analysis system and a force plate. The variables analysed were speed of breakover, the moment of force in the coffin joint which is related to the 'ease' of breakover, the flight arc of the hoof in the sagittal and horizontal planes and some more general linear, temporal and angular stride characteristics. No differences between rocker-toed shoes and standard flat shoes were found with respect to the duration or ease of breakover or the proximity of breakover to the centre of the toe. It is concluded that rocker-toed shoes do not influence the stride characteristics of sound Dutch warmblood horses, and the findings of this study showed no objective grounds for the use of rocker-toed shoes in sound horses.