Doctoral Dissertation Research: Unraveling primate supraordinal relationships: Insights from plesiadapiform cranial morphology

博士论文研究：揭示灵长类动物的超序关系：来自 plesiadapiform 颅骨形态的见解

• 批准号: 2216582
• 负责人: Stephen Chester
• 金额: $ 2.74万
• 依托单位: CUNY Brooklyn College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2216582&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Unraveling; primate

Central to unraveling the origin of primates - the mammalian group to which humans belong - are the fossils of plesiadapiforms, extinct members of a group (Euarchonta) consisting of primates and closely related mammals. While some plesiadapiforms have long been suggested to share characteristics with some contemporary primates, additional analyses of the plesiadapiforms using newer, state-of-the-art methodologies can further advance our understanding of primate origins. This doctoral dissertation project uses methods such as high-resolution X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT) to analyze and compare the cranial anatomy of plesiadapiforms to that of extant primates and other placental mammals. Detailed cranial comparisons are generated that can add to the evaluation of evolutionary relationships among plesiadapiforms, extant primates, and other euarchontan mammals, in the context of a new evolutionary tree. This project also provides numerous opportunities for outreach through mentorship, public science engagement events, and data sharing. Insights from this project can be incorporated into programs that facilitate participation from groups underrepresented in STEM. The investigators also train undergraduate and master’s students in aspects of CT scan data processing, 3D printing, computer coding, and basic fossil preparation. The investigators plan to make all data generated from this project, such as CT scan data and data matrices, freely available on public online repositories to allow for repeatability and to enable future studies on primate evolution.Plesiadapiform crania have traditionally played an important role in hypotheses about primate origins but remain poorly understood because they are unknown for a large majority of plesiadapiform species and because many of the known cranial specimens have not been analyzed using modern CT techniques. This study uses modern high-resolution CT technology to document new plesiadapiform cranial anatomy, reevaluate previously published cranial descriptions, and make thorough cranial comparisons among primates and other placental mammals. These data are incorporated into a new character-taxon matrix that is analyzed using both parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic methods to assess evolutionary relationships. Results from these analyses can allow investigators to assess (i) which, if any, cranial features are uniquely shared among plesiadapiforms and primates of modern aspect, (ii) interrelationships among plesiadapiform families, and (iii) hypotheses of plesiadapiform evolutionary relationships within Euarchonta. Ultimately, these new data can provide clarity on previously proposed shared cranial features among plesiadapiforms and primates of modern aspect and will promote a better understanding of the divergence of primates from other mammals and the first steps in primate evolutionary history.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

揭开灵长类动物的起源的中心 - 人类所属的哺乳动物群体 - 是plesiadapiforms的化石，由私人和密切相关的哺乳动物组成的群体的灭绝成员（Euarchonta）。虽然长期以来一直建议某些plesiadapiforms与当代隐私共享特征，但使用更新的，最先进的方法对plesiadapiforms进行了其他分析，可以进一步促进我们对灵长类动物起源的理解。博士学位论文项目使用诸如高分辨率X射线微计算机断层扫描（μCT）之类的方法来分析和比较毛质膜的颅骨解剖结构与外推和其他斑点哺乳动物的颅骨解剖结构。生成了详细的颅骨比较，可以在新的进化树的背景下，添加plesiadapiforms，per绕和其他Euarchontan哺乳动物之间的进化关系。该项目还通过心态，公共科学参与事件和数据共享提供了许多机会。该项目的见解可以纳入计划，以促进STEM中代表性不足的团体的参与。调查人员还培训了本科生和硕士学生，以CT扫描数据处理，3D打印，计算机编码和基本化石制备方面的方面进行培训。 The investigators plan to make all data generated from this project, such as CT scan data and data materies, free available on public online repositories to allow for repeatability and to enable future studies on primate evolution.Plesiadapiform crania have traditionally played an important role in hypotheses about primate origins but remain poorly understood because they are unknown for a large majority of plesiadapiform species and because many of the known cranial species have not been analyzed使用现代CT技术。这项研究使用现代的高分辨率CT技术来记录新的Plesiadapiform颅骨解剖结构，重新评估先前发表的颅骨描述，并在原发性和其他斑点哺乳动物中进行彻底的颅骨比较。这些数据被合并到新的角色 - 塔克森矩阵中，该基质使用简约和贝叶斯系统发育方法分析以评估进化关系。这些分析的结果可以允许研究人员评估（i），如果有的话，颅骨特征在圆锥形植物和现代方面的灵长类中独特地共享，（ii）plesiadapiform家族之间的相互关系，以及（iii）Euarchonta内部综合性综合质量进化关系的假设。最终，这些新数据可以清楚地清楚浮游性颅骨和现代方面的灵长类动物之间的共同颅骨特征，并将更好地理解灵长类动物与其他哺乳动物的差异以及私人进化历史上的第一步。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过对基础的智力效果进行评估，以评估良好的支持。