Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effects of Substrate Size, Orientaton and Compliance Upon Prosimian Arboreal Quadrupedalism

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Primates, the order of mammals to which humans belong, are characterized by arboreal locomotion. This is also a key feature that differentiates primates from most other groups of animals. As such, understanding the development of this locomotor pattern is important in understanding our own roots. This project examines primate locomotion on arboreal supports. Life in the trees presents many challenges for balance and movement. Arboreal supports differ in diameter (size), in angular orientation, and in the degree to which they move under the weight of an animal (compliance). While a number of studies have identified behavioral and morphological specializations correlated with the use of an arboreal habitat, detailed locomotor data are necessary to better understand the postural strategies primates use to maintain balance in an arboreal setting. Since precise locomotor data are difficult to collect in the wild, laboratory studies on simulated branches allow us to examine these issues. This study examines locomotor adjustments that members of three families of prosimian primates make in response to differences in arboreal support type. Subjects have been chosen from six species to compare locomotor responses in animals of different body sizes and proportions, to address adaptations to arboreality that have been suggested to characterize the earliest primates.