Dissertation Research: Performance of the Skull of Canidae during Predation and Feeding, and Implications for the Evolution of Craniofacial Form: A Finite Element Approach

形态与摄食行为的关系构成了进化论和生态学教学的经典基础。虽然进食器官（头骨、下颚、牙齿）的专业化通常会提高利用特定资源的能力，但这也可能限制了可摄取食物的范围。犬科动物（如狐狸、土狼、狼）是研究这种现象的一个极好的群体，因为它们表现出广泛的捕食和摄食行为，从大型哺乳动物专家到小型哺乳动物和无脊椎动物专家。有限元分析（FEA）是一种机械工程技术，用于模拟和可视化复杂几何物体在载荷作用下的应力。研究人员将与来自机械工程的同事合作，通过评估生态不同的犬科动物头骨在模拟不同咬伤方式的条件下的机械性能，利用有限元分析来解决与犬科动物形态学变化有关的生态学和狩猎行为的假设。这项工作的结果将增加对形态学如何限制生态和行为的理解。这也将有助于理解食肉动物行会表型多样性的机械基础。因此，它将引起生态学家、保护生物学家和古生物学家的广泛兴趣。有限元分析作为一种探索脊椎动物生物力学的工具尚处于起步阶段，本研究将在定义和发展该方法方面发挥重要作用，同时使本科生有机会参与这一令人兴奋的新研究领域。

The relationship between morphology and feeding behavior forms a classical basis for teaching evolution and ecology. Although specialization of the feeding apparatus (skull, jaws, teeth) often increases ability to utilize a given resource, it may also constrain the range of food items that can be taken. The Canidae (e.g. foxes, coyotes, wolves) are an excellent group within which to study such phenomena, as they exhibit a wide array of predatory and feeding behaviors, from large mammal specialists to small mammal and invertebrate specialists. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a mechanical engineering technique used to approximate and visualize stress in objects of complex geometry, when placed under load. Working with a colleague from mechanical engineering, the researchers will use FEA to address hypotheses relating ecology and hunting behavior in canids to variation in morphology by assessing mechanical performance of skulls of ecologically distinct canids under conditions simulating different biting styles. The results of this work will add to an understanding of how morphology places limits on ecology and behavior. It will also contribute to understanding the mechanical basis for phenotypic diversity within carnivore guilds. As such, it will be of broad interest to ecologists, conservation biologists and paleontologists. Finite element analysis is in its infancy as a tool for exploring vertebrate biomechanics and this study will play an important role in defining and developing the method, while allowing undergraduate students the opportunity to become involved in this exciting new field of study.