ROW/RPG: Ecology of Limb Use Among the Neotropical Procyonidae

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The mammals in the carnivore family Procyonidae all live in the New World and all are arboreal (tree-climbing) to some extent. Up to four of the five living genera coexist in the same forests in Central and South America, but little is known about their habitat requirements or the way the forest is apportioned among them. The P.I. has studied the limb anatomy and limb kinematics of these animals in an attempt to understand the diversity of biomechanical solutions to be problems of food acquisition, escape from predators, and movement through a complex, three-dimensional habitat. These lines of inquiry have led to several hypotheses regarding the functional and ecological significance of procyonid locomotor patterns, limb proportions, and food-handling behaviors that require field work to test. Studies of muscle structure and measurement of museum specimens are not sufficient to elucidate the radiation of this taxon into a wide range of adaptive types. This planning grant is designed to investigate the feasibility of locating, radio-tracking, and capturing the lesser known procyonids to obtain data on (1) movement patterns and habitat use in the field, (2) limb use behaviors (locomotion and food handling) of wild animals under field and laboratory conditions, and (3) the extent to which differences in locomotion and food-handling abilities prevent overlap in habitat use by procyonid genera and species.