Topics in Functional and Ecological Vertebrate Morphology: Introduction

Presenting a miscellaneous compilation of papers under the common cover 'Topics in Functional and Ecological Morphology' might be somewhat puzzling at first. On the one hand, such a title suggests a close connection between functional and ecological morphology. On the other hand, it emphasises the distinct nature of both 'disciplines'. In this short introduction we want to argue that this twofold interpretaton of the title is indeed justified. Once denoting separate disciplines, functional and ecological morphology now rather tend to refer to consecutive, practical steps in an integrated evolutionary research program. However, methods still differ considerably.