Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Vertical Climbing Efficiency in Primates

博士论文改进：灵长类动物的垂直攀爬效率

• 批准号: 0452631
• 负责人: Daniel Schmitt
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-01-15 至 2006-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0452631&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Vertical; Climbing

Vertical climbing is thought to have played a major role in the evolution of locomotor specializations within primates. As a primarily arboreal radiation, all primates regularly climb. However, almost nothing is known about energetic costs of climbing in primates or any other mammals. As a result they are an ideal group in which to address questions concerning the mechanics of vertical climbing. Some primates, such as apes, spider monkeys, and lorises, have putative morphological and behavioral adaptations for climbing. These adaptations, like long limbs and long stride lengths, are argued to have been important in the evolution of suspensory locomotion and bipedalism. The data collected for the project proposed here will fill a critical gap in our knowledge concerning the mechanics of climbing and the relationship between postcranial anatomy and metabolic costs for this important locomotor behavior. This research will collect data on the energy costs of climbing in primates and compare these costs to step length in order to determine whether long steps provide an energetic advantage during climbing. Research will be conducted at the Duke University Primate Center, Durham, NC, and the Monkey Jungle/DuMond Conservancy, Homestead, FL. Five species of primates will be examined, three species with long limbs and two, more generalized species. Subjects of each of these species will be videotaped during climbing on a novel, vertical rope treadmill while the researchers collect oxygen consumption data to estimate energetic cost. The results of this study will provide the first quantitative data on the energetic costs of climbing in non-human primates, and contribute to a broader knowledge of climbing dynamics. Such data will be important for understanding primate adaptations to climbing, and ultimately the evolution of specialized locomotion like bipedalism. The broader impacts of this study are three-fold. First, this project supports the development of women in science as both first-rate teachers and researchers by contributing to a female graduate student's dissertation research. Second, the methods and conclusions developed in this project will be included in undergraduate anthropology classes taught by the PI and Co-PI. Finally, this project intends to directly involve undergraduates from both Duke University and the University of Florida in this research.

垂直攀爬被认为在灵长类动物运动特殊化的进化中发挥了重要作用。作为一种主要的树栖辐射，所有灵长类动物都有规律地攀爬。然而，我们对灵长类动物或其他哺乳动物攀爬的能量消耗几乎一无所知。因此，他们是解决有关垂直攀爬力学问题的理想群体。一些灵长类动物，如类人猿、蜘蛛猴和懒猴，据推测具有攀爬的形态和行为适应性。这些适应，如长四肢和长步幅，被认为在悬吊运动和两足行走的进化中很重要。本项目收集的数据将填补我们关于攀爬机制的知识空白，以及这一重要运动行为的颅后解剖学和代谢成本之间的关系。这项研究将收集灵长类动物攀爬时能量消耗的数据，并将这些消耗与步长进行比较，以确定长步是否在攀爬过程中提供能量优势。研究将在北卡罗来纳州达勒姆的杜克大学灵长类动物中心和佛罗里达州霍姆斯特德的猴子丛林/杜蒙德保护区进行。将对五种灵长类动物进行研究，其中三种具有长四肢，两种更为普遍。在研究人员收集耗氧量数据以估计能量消耗的同时，这些物种的每一个研究对象都将在一个新型的垂直绳跑步机上攀岩时被录像。本研究的结果将首次提供非人类灵长类动物攀登能量消耗的定量数据，并有助于更广泛地了解攀登动力学。这些数据对于理解灵长类动物对攀爬的适应，以及最终进化出像两足动物这样的特殊运动，将是非常重要的。这项研究的广泛影响有三个方面。首先，本项目通过资助一名女研究生的论文研究，支持女性在科学领域作为一流教师和研究人员的发展。其次，在这个项目中开发的方法和结论将被纳入PI和Co-PI教授的本科人类学课程。最后，这个项目打算直接让杜克大学和佛罗里达大学的本科生参与到这个研究中来。