Doctoral Disseration Improvement: Ecological Determinants of Morphological Integration in the Primate Face

博士论文改进：灵长类动物面部形态整合的生态决定因素

• 批准号: 1028815
• 负责人: David Strait
• 金额: $ 1.9万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Albany
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2012-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1028815&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Disseration; Improvement; Ecological; Determinants

Morphological integration is the tendency of functionally, developmentally and structurally-related anatomical traits to share higher correlations than unrelated traits. Covariation among functionally-related traits is adaptive and can influence the direction and rate of morphological change by facilitating or limiting certain lines of evolution. Although the utility of functional integration is implicitly assumed, the factors driving its evolution remain poorly understood. This project builds upon decades of research in morphological integration and biomechanics by: 1) testing for the existence of a causal link between diet and integration in the feeding apparatus, with a focus on the constraints imposed by the material properties of food, and 2) evaluating the evidence for the existence of a link between integration and sexual dimorphism and its dependence on sex-specific growth differences. The project provides a comprehensive picture of the patterns and magnitudes of skull integration within several major groups of higher primates that exhibit interspecific differences regarding the exploitation of mechanically resistant foods. Virtual skull models of museum specimens are generated with a laser scanner. A comparative assessment of integration is undertaken with advanced statistical methods designed to quantify and compare shape variation. A large comparative dataset is under construction and will be made publicly available, and as such will complement corresponding ecological datasets.This project has the potential to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between several domains of the biological and anthropological sciences, namely biomechanics, primate ecology and evolutionary morphology. It has important implications for the reconstruction of evolutionary relationships among human relatives and ancestors, because a major group of early humans, the australopithecines, exhibit a large number of novel facial traits that are thought to be adaptations for consuming mechanically resistant foods. This project will also support the research activities of an early-career female scientist.

形态整合是功能，发育和结构相关的解剖特征的趋势，其相关性比无关的性状更高。功能相关性状之间的协变是适应性的，可以通过促进或限制某些进化线来影响形态变化的方向和速率。尽管隐式假定功能整合的效用，但推动其进化的因素仍然很少理解。该项目建立在数十年的形态整合研究和生物力学研究的基础上：1）测试饮食与喂养机构中饮食与整合之间存在因果关系，重点是对食物的材料特性所施加的约束，以及2）评估在整合和性层面上的依赖性和性依赖性差异之间存在联系的证据。该项目提供了几个主要的高级灵长类动物组中颅骨整合的模式和大小的全面图片，这些图案在机械耐药食品的开发方面表现出了种间差异。 博物馆标本的虚拟头骨模型是用激光扫描仪生成的。使用旨在量化和比较形状变化的高级统计方法进行了对整合的比较评估。 一个大型的比较数据集正在建设中，并将公开提供，因此将补充相应的生态数据集。本项目有可能促进生物学和人类学科学的几个领域之间的跨学科合作，即生物力学，生物学生态学和进化形态学。 这对于重建人类亲戚和祖先之间的进化关系具有重要意义，因为一群主要的人类，即澳大利亚的早期人类表现出许多新型的面部特征，这些特征被认为是食用机械耐药食品的适应性。该项目还将支持早​​期女性科学家的研究活动。