Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Macro- and Microanatomy of Primate Volar Surfaces

这项研究的目的是检测灵长类灵长类手部软组织表面的形态变化。这些形态将与这些动物的运动、饮食、身体大小等进行比较，以了解手指组成和适应之间的关系。作为这项研究的一部分，收集的组织学数据将免费提供给其他研究人员。由于许多研究对象灵长类物种在野外濒临灭绝，建立一个研究人员可以访问、添加和利用的灵长类皮肤样本的全面数据库将减少对这一有限资源的进一步采样的需要。这项研究还促进了联合首席研究员的培训和教育。灵长类动物手脚的软组织表面是它在运动和触觉探索过程中与环境的主要界面。因此，在不同灵长类动物中观察到的这些掌面形态的差异可能反映了这种相互作用性质的功能差异。特别是，掌侧表面的脂肪垫被认为有助于减弱运动过程中产生的反作用力，并充当粘弹性结构，增加垫与衬底之间的摩擦系数。此外，由于掌侧皮肤中触觉感受器的密度和排列与整体触觉敏感性有关，因此有人认为这些特征的变化可能与饮食和底物偏好的差异有关。尽管如此，尽管形态和行为之间存在直观的联系，但很少有正式的分析表明掌侧皮肤、垫和触觉器官的特定方面与特定功能属性之间的联系。本论文研究的主要目标是探索一组灵长类灵长类动物掌面形态特征变异的功能相关性。掌侧垫的大小和形状将通过3D形态测量分析进行评估，掌侧皮肤内的触觉器官将使用组织学染色和立体光学显微镜进行研究。一旦描述，掌骨形态与饮食偏好、运动方式、底物使用、身体大小和骨骼形态的拟议关系将被探索。这个博士论文研究改进奖将提供支持，使一个有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。

The goal of this research is to examine the variation in morphology of the soft tissue surfaces of the hands of prosimian primates. These morphologies will be compared with locomotion, diets, body size, etc. in these animals to understand relationships between finger composition and adaptations. The histological data collected as part of this study will be made freely available to other researchers. Since many of the subject primate species are endangered in the wild, creating a comprehensive database of primate skin samples that investigators may access, add to, and utilize as part of their own research will reduce the need for further sampling of this limited resource. This research also promotes training and education of the co-principal investigator.The soft tissue surfaces of a primate's hands and feet are its primary interface with the environment during both locomotion and tactile exploration. As such, the variation observed in the morphology of these volar surfaces in different primates likely reflects functional variation in the nature of this interaction. In particular, the fat pads within volar surfaces are thought to assist in attenuating reaction forces generated during locomotion, and to act as a viscoelastic structures increasing the coefficient of friction between the pads and substrate. In addition, since the density and arrangement of tactile sensory receptors within volar skin can be related to over-all tactile sensitivity, it has been suggested that variation in these characteristics can be related to differences in diet and substrate preferences. Nonetheless, despite intuitive links between morphology and behavior, there has been little formal analysis demonstrating connections between particular aspects of volar skin, pads and tactile organs and specific functional attributes. The overarching goal of this dissertation research is to explore the functional correlates of variation in morphological characteristics of the volar surfaces in a select group of prosimian primates. The size and shape of the volar pads will be assessed using 3D morphometric analysis, and tactile organs within volar skin will be investigated using histological staining and stereo-light microscopy. Once described, proposed relationships of the volar morphology to dietary preferences, locomotor regimes, substrate use, body size, and bony morphology will be explored.This Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.