Doctoral Dissertation Research: Biomechanical Investigation of African Apes and Influences of Positional Behavior

博士论文研究：非洲猿类的生物力学研究及位置行为的影响

• 批准号: 0002686
• 负责人: Kevin Hunt
• 金额: $ 0.79万
• 依托单位: Indiana University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-09-01 至 2002-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0002686&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Biomechanical; Investigation

The proposed research takes advantage of recently published fine-grained positional behavior data so that connections between African ape behavior and morphology, even at the subspecific level, can be inferred. Because the earliest human ancestors exhibit some ape-like features, a more complete understanding of African ape long bone morphology (e.g., humeral and femoral shaft shape) is necessary to infer early hominid positional adaptations. Implications of the proposed research extend beyond refining the behavior-morphology link in African apes and hominids by offering avenues of insight into the structure and function of all mammals. The proposed investigation is timely since the existence of a straightforward relationship between positional behaviors and long bone morphology has been debated recently.The PI and student have performed a preliminary analysis using 33 African ape specimens and revealed links between their behavior and morphology. For instance, higher percentages of arboreal locomotor behaviors, such as scrambling, correlated with greater long bone circularity (i.e., ratio of principle moments of area) at several measured locations. In order to complete data collection from 299 additional specimens, access to museum collections and to CT scanning facilities near each of these museum collections has been arranged. In the preliminary analysis, sample trends in shaft morphology differed depending on the measure that was used to estimate body mass. By expanding the sample, as proposed here, such apparent discrepancies between body mass estimators might be resolved and shaft morphology interpreted.

这项拟议的研究利用了最近发表的细粒度位置行为数据，因此可以推断非洲猿类行为和形态之间的联系，甚至在亚种水平上也是如此。由于最早的人类祖先表现出一些类人猿的特征，因此有必要更全面地了解非洲猿长骨的形态(例如，肱骨和股骨干的形状)，以推断早期原始人的位置适应。这项拟议的研究提供了洞察所有哺乳动物的结构和功能的途径，其意义不仅仅是细化非洲猿类和原始人的行为与形态之间的联系。这项拟议的调查是及时的，因为最近一直在争论位置行为和长骨形态之间是否存在直接关系。PI和学生使用33个非洲类人猿标本进行了初步分析，揭示了它们的行为和形态之间的联系。例如，在几个测量的位置，较高百分比的树栖运动行为，如争抢，与较大的长骨圆形(即，面积主矩的比率)相关。为了完成对另外299件标本的数据收集，已安排进入博物馆藏品和每个博物馆藏品附近的CT扫描设施。在初步分析中，根据用于估计身体质量的测量方法的不同，轴形态的样本趋势也不同。按照这里的建议，通过扩大样本，体重估计者之间的这种明显的差异可能会得到解决，并可以解释轴的形态。