Experimental Studies on Primate Locomotion

9806291纽约州立大学石溪分校灵长类动物运动实验室的研究目标是确定人类和非人类灵长类动物的适应性显著特征，并重建古代生活方式，作为灵长类动物和人类起源和进化研究的组成部分。利用测量肌肉电活动的技术，通过移动动物施加在地面上的力，肢体部分的3D位移和速度，以及骨骼内的应变，我们将分析猴子和猿的手臂摆动，垂直攀爬，两足运动和四足运动，比较和对比不同形态特征的功能作用。我们将专注于解决能量交换机制问题的项目，灵长类动物长骨的负荷制度，体型对运动参数的影响，以及陆地四足行走的替代策略。研究结果将使我们能够理解为什么现在的猴子、猿和人类进化出了不同的解剖结构，并将这种理解应用于解释灵长类动物化石的行为和人类的独特性。

9806291 The research goals of the Primate Locomotion Laboratory at SUNY, Stony Brook are the identification of adaptively significant features in humans and nonhuman primates, and the reconstruction of ancient lifestyles, as integral components in the study of the origin and evolution of primates and humans. Using techniques that measure electrical activity of muscles, forces exerted on the ground by moving animals, 3D displacements and speed of limb segments, and strain within bones, we will analyze arm-swinging, vertical climbing, bipedal locomotion, and quadrupedal locomotion in monkeys and apes, comparing and contrasting the functional roles of different morphological features. We will focus on projects that address questions of energy exchange mechanisms, loading regimes of primate long bones, the influence of body size on locomotor parameters, and alternative strategies for terrestrial quadrupedalism. The results will enable us to understand why living monkeys, apes, and humans have evolved different anatomies, and to apply that understanding to the interpretation of fossil primate behavior and the uniqueness of humans.