Dominique G. Homberger

Professor
Ph.D., University of Zurich (Switzerland), 1976
Functional, Ecological, and Evolutionary Morphology

zodhomb@lsu.edu

LSU / Comparative and Evolutionary Vertebrate Morphology Homepage

My research program focuses on the morphological adaptations of the feeding apparatus and integument of birds, in comparison to those of reptiles and mammals, and uses an integrative and classical approach towards the solution of functional, ecological and evolutionary questions. The morphological data, in combination with ecological and behavioral observations, form the basis for studies in systematics, phylogenetic reconstruction, and biogeography.

My anatomical studies deal with the structural and functional analysis of the feeding apparatus (jaw, tongue, larynx, neck) and its elements (muscles, bone, ligaments, fasciae, salivary glands, hydrostatic vascular tissue, epithelial structures) and of the integument with its accessory structures (rhamphothecae, feathers, dermal fat and musculature). Methods include microdissection, histology, SEM, slow motion cinematography, and field observations of living birds. Birds of special interest are Psittaciformes, Galliformes, Falconiformes, New World vultures, Ardaedae, and Ratites.

Staff:

Candace Hinkle-Conn, postdoc, e-mail
Emily Wenzl, graduate student

Homberger, D.G. 1996. The comparative feeding ecology and functional morphology of Australian cockatoos: A case study in the phylogenetic reconstruction of a complex group, the Psittaciformes. Pp. 43-50 in Anais V congresso Brasileiro de Ornitologia (J.M.E. Vielliard, M.L. da Silva & W.R. Silva, eds.). UNICAMP, Campinas, Brasil.

Homberger, D. G. 1994. The hyoid suspension apparatus as a structural constraint of feeding mechanisms in birds and mammals. J. Morph. 220: 355.

Homberger, D. G. 1991. The evolutionary history of parrots and cockatoos: A model for evolution in the Australasian avifauna. Acta XX Congr. Int. Ornithol.: 398-403.

Homberger, D. G. and R. A. Meyers. 1989. Morphology of the lingual apparatus of the domestic chicken, Gallus gallus, with special attention to the structure of the fasciae. Am. J. Anat. 186:217-257.

Homberger, D. G. 1988. Models and tests in morphology: The significance of description and integration. Amer. Zool. 28:217-229.

Homberger, D. G. 1986. The lingual apparatus of the African Grey Parrot, Psittacus erithacus Linné (Aves: Psittacinae): Description and theoretical mechanical analysis. Ornithol. Monogr. 39:1-232.

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