Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: A Comparative Analysis of Ateline Functional Anatomy and Locomotor Performance

博士论文改进：Ateline功能解剖学与运动表现的比较分析

• 批准号: 0452886
• 负责人: Richard Lawler
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston 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: 2005-03-01 至 2006-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0452886&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Comparative; Analysis

Upright postures and below branch, suspensory behaviors are key locomotor innovations that led to the anatomical and ecological divergence of apes. However, understanding how and why these behaviors evolved is complicated by an inadequate fossil record and the behavioral diversity of living apes. Unlike the apes, the New World subfamily Atelinae, which includes howler monkeys, woolly monkeys, spider monkeys and woolly spider monkeys, exhibits a broad spectrum of suspensory behaviors and associated morphologies. Thus, this family of monkeys provides a useful model for understanding the relationships between anatomy and behavior in a group of closely related species that rely on suspensory behaviors to different degrees. This study examines the anatomical and behavioral gradient exhibited by atelines and may ultimately inform our understanding of locomotor evolution which is of particular importance in interpreting the behavior of primates, such as the Miocene apes, which are known only by their fossil remains. Although positional frequency data are available for some atelines, differences in functional anatomy and locomotor style are not well quantified. This study analyzes the frequency of specific locomotor modes and examines video based motion analysis data of 3 species of wild atelines including: Alouatta seniculus (howler monkeys), Lagothrix lagothricha (woolly monkeys) and Ateles belzebuth (spider monkeys). These data will be used to generate predictions relating differences in positional behavior to variation in the anatomy of the shoulder, elbow, back, tail and hip. Ten months of behavioral data have already been collected at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the lowland rainforests of eastern Ecuador. Postcranial skeletal data will be collected, using museum specimens, allowing for the examination of functional anatomical differences among atelines and hominoids. This study is innovative in that it integrates traditional approaches quantifying morphology and locomotor frequencies with canopy level, video based motion analysis techniques previously underutilized in wild primate studies. The overall goals of this research are: (1) to provide comparable, detailed, quantitative documentation of ateline anatomy and locomotor behavior; (2) to illuminate the functional significance of upright/suspensory postcranial features; (3) to further pioneer the use of video based kinematic analyses under non-laboratory conditions; and (4) to evaluate "hominoid" vs. "ateline" adaptations to below branch suspensory behavior.The broader impacts of this study include the mentoring of Ecuadorian and American undergraduates participating in tropical ecology programs at Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS), and the prominent participation of women who tend to be underrepresented in the scientific community. Data from this and other ongoing research at TBS also contributes to conservation policies impacting the pristine forests surrounding the station.

直立姿势和在分支下的悬吊行为是导致猿类在解剖学和生态学上分化的关键运动创新。 然而，由于化石记录不足和现存猿类的行为多样性，理解这些行为是如何以及为什么进化的变得复杂起来。与猿类不同，新大陆的Atelinae亚科，包括吼猴、毛猴、蜘蛛猴和毛蜘蛛猴，表现出广泛的悬挂行为和相关的形态。因此，这个家庭的猴子提供了一个有用的模型，了解解剖和行为之间的关系，在一组密切相关的物种，依赖于悬挂行为在不同程度上。这项研究探讨了atelines所表现出的解剖和行为梯度，并可能最终告知我们对运动进化的理解，这在解释灵长类动物的行为方面特别重要，例如中新世的猿类，它们只知道它们的化石遗骸。虽然位置频率数据可用于一些atelines，功能解剖学和运动风格的差异没有很好地量化。 本研究分析了特定运动模式的频率，并检查了基于视频的运动分析数据的3种野生atelines，包括：Alouatta seniculus（吼猴），Lagothrix lagothricha（毛猴）和Ateles belzebuth（蜘蛛猴）。这些数据将用于生成将位置行为的差异与肩部、肘部、背部、尾部和臀部的解剖结构的变化相关联的预测。厄瓜多尔东部低地雨林的蒂普蒂尼生物多样性站已经收集了10个月的行为数据。将使用博物馆标本收集颅后骨骼数据，以便检查无嵴椎动物和人科动物之间的功能解剖差异。这项研究是创新的，它集成了传统的方法量化形态和运动频率与冠层水平，基于视频的运动分析技术，以前未充分利用野生灵长类动物的研究。 本研究的总体目标是：（1）提供关于休止线解剖和运动行为的可比、详细、定量的文件;（2）阐明直立/悬挂式颅后特征的功能意义;（3）进一步开拓使用基于视频的运动学分析在非实验室条件下;以及（4）评估“类人猿”与“ateline”对以下分支悬挂行为的适应。这项研究的更广泛影响包括指导厄瓜多尔和美国的本科生参加Tiputini生物多样性站（TBS）的热带生态学项目，以及在科学界往往代表性不足的妇女的突出参与。TBS正在进行的这项研究和其他研究的数据也有助于影响车站周围原始森林的保护政策。