Collaborative Research: Dinosaur Jaw Muscle Evolution and the Origins of Avian Cranial Kinesis

合作研究：恐龙下颌肌肉的进化和鸟类颅骨运动的起源

• 批准号: 1457325
• 负责人: Julian Davis
• 金额: $ 16.41万
• 依托单位: University of Southern Indiana
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1457325&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Dinosaur; Jaw; Muscle

Next to feathers and flight, movements between bones of the skull (cranial kinesis) is the most recognizable evolutionary adaptation of birds and a textbook example of musculoskeletal biomechanics used in classrooms worldwide. However, the origins of this innovation remain trapped within the dinosaur-bird fossil record. The researchers supported by this award will explore the biomechanical evolution of the avian head using 3D anatomical and computational modeling of fossil and living dinosaurs. This project will create interdisciplinary collaborations of paleontologists, comparative biomechanists and engineers. 3D models, discoveries and other data will be used to train K-12 students and teachers in mid-Missouri as well as young investigators in comparative biomechanics and avian evolution. This project integrates anatomy, biomechanics, paleobiology, engineering, and computer science and will train a postdoctoral researcher, graduate, and undergraduate students through REU support and summer internships. Mid-Missourian and Appalachian teachers will be trained in STEM topics related to avian anatomy, biomechanics and evolution through immersive, embedded lab internships and workshops through the Inside Dinosaurs experience at University of Missouri and the Visible Interactive Dinosaur (VID) at Ohio University. Public outreach will occur through Missouri's Dinosaurs & Cavemen science exposition and VID avenues. 3D models of skulls and muscles will be made available as interactive web modules for education and research. Cranial kinesis among archosaurs is a classic example of a key innovation in vertebrate evolution, resulting in enhanced cranial dexterity, extreme dietary flexibility, and the subsequent adaptive radiations of crown-clade birds. During the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds, jaw muscles shifted positions, bony connections were lost, and intracranial joints became increasingly flexible. Studies supported by this award will analyze the evolution of jaw muscle forces within the cranium of non-avian and avian dinosaurs using novel 3D computational methods. These findings will allow the estimation of intracranial joint loading during feeding in extinct taxa and explore the evolution of individual jaw muscles in cranial function. The results will be integrated with neuroanatomical data to uncover the coevolutionary relationships between the brain and feeding apparatus. New 3D models of the dinosaur feeding apparatus will provide the template for numerous future studies of cranial functional morphology in other vertebrates. This work will complement and provide the necessary foundation for multi-body dynamic models of vertebrate feeding, will provide guidance for material properties testing and XROMM analysis, chondral modeling of cranial skeletal tissues, and will develop 3D datasets that can be used to test patterns of cranial modularity and skull function. Results from the studies will be presented at scientific meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals.

除了羽毛和飞行之外，颅骨之间的运动（颅骨运动）是鸟类最明显的进化适应，也是世界各地课堂上使用的肌肉骨骼生物力学教科书中的例子。然而，这种创新的起源仍然被困在恐龙-鸟类化石记录中。该奖项支持的研究人员将利用化石和活恐龙的3D解剖和计算建模来探索鸟类头部的生物力学进化。该项目将促成古生物学家、比较生物力学家和工程师之间的跨学科合作。3D模型、发现和其他数据将用于培训密苏里中部的K-12学生和教师，以及比较生物力学和鸟类进化方面的年轻研究人员。该项目整合了解剖学、生物力学、古生物学、工程学和计算机科学，并将通过REU的支持和暑期实习培养博士后研究员、研究生和本科生。密苏里州中部和阿巴拉契亚地区的教师将接受与鸟类解剖学、生物力学和进化相关的STEM主题的培训，通过沉浸式的嵌入式实验室实习和研讨会，通过密苏里大学的恐龙内部体验和俄亥俄大学的可见互动恐龙（VID）。公众将通过密苏里州的恐龙和穴居人科学博览会和VID途径进行宣传。头骨和肌肉的3D模型将作为交互式网络模块提供给教育和研究。祖龙的颅骨运动是脊椎动物进化中一个关键创新的经典例子，它增强了颅骨的灵活性，极大的饮食灵活性，以及随后冠枝鸟类的适应性辐射。在从恐龙到鸟类的进化过程中，下颌肌肉改变了位置，骨连接丢失，颅内关节变得越来越灵活。该奖项支持的研究将使用新颖的3D计算方法分析非鸟类和鸟类恐龙头盖骨内颚肌力的演变。这些发现将有助于估计已灭绝类群进食时的颅内关节负荷，并探索个体颚肌在颅功能中的进化。研究结果将与神经解剖学数据相结合，以揭示大脑和进食装置之间的共同进化关系。恐龙进食装置的新3D模型将为其他脊椎动物的颅功能形态学的许多未来研究提供模板。这项工作将补充并为脊椎动物摄食的多体动力学模型提供必要的基础，将为材料性能测试和xrom分析，颅骨骨骼组织的软骨建模提供指导，并将开发可用于测试颅骨模块化模式和颅骨功能的3D数据集。这些研究的结果将在科学会议上发表，并发表在同行评议的期刊上。