Understanding the Evolution of Ontogenies Through Growth Trajectory Analysis

这项研究的主要目标是开发描述生长模式的数学模型，并开发替代方法来比较不同动物物种之间的生长模式。长期以来，人们一直认为，生长过程在通过进化产生动物外表的变化中起着重要作用。一种主要的理论是，无论是生长时间还是生长速度的变化都会使动物的外表发生深刻的变化。研究人员提议对增长时间的变化进行数学建模。这将使用现代动物的三维数据来完成，提供结构如何随时间变化的逼真表示。使用他们开发的数学模型和关于生物形态结构的三维数据，研究人员将预测如果以规定的方式改变生长模式，这种形态会是什么样子。这些方法可以用来检验关于现代动物的结构是如何从更原始的形式中出现的想法。

The primary objective of this research is to develop mathematical models that describe growth patterns and to develop alternate methods for the comparison of growth patterns between different species of animals. It has long been thought that the process of growth plays an important role in producing the changes in appearance of animals through evolution. One major theory is that changes in either the timing or rate of growth can produce profound changes in the appearance of an animal. The investigators propose to mathematically model changes in the timing of growth. This will be done using three-dimensional data from modern animals, providing a realistic representation of how structure changes through time. Using the mathematical models that they develop and three-dimensional data on the structure of living forms, the researchers will predict what that form would look like if it's growth pattern was changed in a prescribed way. These methods can be used to test ideas about how the structure of modern animals emerged from more primitive forms.