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

食肉动物原螯虾科的哺乳动物都生活在 新大陆和所有的树都是树栖的（爬树）， 程度 五个现存的属中有多达四个共存于同一个 在中美洲和南美洲的森林，但鲜为人知的是， 它们的栖息地需求或森林的分配方式 其中。 私家侦探研究了肢体解剖学和肢体 这些动物的运动学，试图了解 生物力学解决方案的多样性， 获取，逃离捕食者，以及通过 复杂的三维栖息地 这些调查线索 导致了几个关于功能和生态的假设 procyonid运动模式，肢体比例， 和食物处理行为需要实地考察 博物馆标本的肌肉结构和测量研究 不足以阐明本分类群的辐射到 各种各样的适应性类型。 该规划补助金旨在 调查定位、无线电跟踪和 捕获鲜为人知的Procyonids以获得关于（1）的数据 运动模式和栖息地利用在外地，（2）肢体使用 野生动物的行为（运动和食物处理） 现场和实验室条件;（3） 运动和食物处理能力的差异 在栖息地的重叠使用Procyonid属和种。

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.