RUI: The evolution of circumorbital morphology in hominids

研究灵长类动物骨骼的变异促进了对现代人类生物学进化的理解。头骨是人体信息特别丰富的区域，因为它包含了大部分的主要感觉器官、嘴和大脑。同样，人类进化中一些最显著的变化，包括大脑体积增大、下颌长度缩短和眉脊缩小，都发生在头骨上。人们提出了关于大脑大小、气候、饮食、社会结构甚至交流的假设来解释这些进化变化，但这些变化是如何以及为什么发生的，一直是人类进化研究中的关键问题。这项研究的重点是眉脊和面部的眶周区域，这两个区域与大脑和视觉都有联系。该项目建立的数据集为进化研究做出了重大贡献，提供了迄今为止现存灵长类动物颅骨变异的最详细图片，并通过在线数字存储库公开提供了这些数据。该项目支持在美国主要本科院校中未被充分代表的少数民族科学家的早期职业研究人员，并为学生的研究和指导创造机会。通过该项目开发的新课程框架将进化研究融入课堂，为健康科学职业提供积极的学习机会和培训。这些活动，加上对美国本科生研究人员、硕士生和博士后学者的指导和培训，直接促进了科学教育的进步和多样化科学劳动力的增长。本研究将三维形态计量学与系统发育比较方法相结合，以测试关于眶周形态在塑造人类颅骨进化中的作用的进化假设。该项目利用3D表面扫描的颅骨为n=1700现存的单人猿和n=54化石原始人。这些数据用于三个主要目的：1)表征原始人和其他灵长类动物的环眶形态；2)量化环眶形态与头盖骨其他骨骼结构之间的整合水平；3)评估体型和性别在灵长类动物环眶形态形成中的作用。通过建立在灵长类动物的基本形态测量学研究基础上的功能信息假设和新的系统发育和进化方法，该项目有可能改变研究人科动物颅骨进化的理论框架和实践方法。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Investigating variation in the primate skeleton advances understanding of the evolution of modern human biology. The skull is a particularly informative area of the body as it contains most of the primary sensory organs, the mouth, and the brain. Likewise, some of the most distinctive changes in human evolution, including increased brain size, reduced jaw length, and a reduced brow ridge, occurred in the skull. Hypotheses about brain size, climate, diet, social structure, and even communication, have been proposed to explain these evolutionary changes, but how and why they happened persist as key questions in human evolutionary studies. This study focuses on the brow ridge and circumorbital region of the face, which is linked to both the brain and vision. The dataset built by this project contributes significantly to evolutionary studies by providing the most detailed picture of extant primate cranial variation to date and making these data openly available through online digital repositories. The project supports early career researchers who are underrepresented minority scientists at a U.S. primarily undergraduate institution and creates opportunities for research and mentorship of students. Novel curricular frameworks developed through this project integrate evolutionary research into the classroom, providing active learning opportunities and training relevant for health sciences careers. These activities, combined with the mentorship and training of U.S. undergraduate researchers, a Masters student, and a postdoctoral scholar, directly contribute to the advancement of science education and the growth of a diverse scientific workforce. This study pairs 3D morphometrics with phylogenetic comparative methods to test evolutionary hypotheses about the role of circumorbital morphology in shaping human cranial evolution. The project leverages 3D surface scans of the cranium for n=1700 extant haplorrhines and n=54 fossil hominids. These data are used to address three major aims: 1) characterize circumorbital morphology in hominids and other primates, 2) quantify levels of integration between circumorbital morphology and other skeletal structures of the cranium, and 3) assess the roles of body size and sex in shaping primate circumorbital morphology. By building on foundational morphometric studies in primates with functionally-informed hypotheses and new phylogenetic and evolvability methods, this project has the potential to transform theoretical frameworks and practical approaches to studying hominid cranial evolution.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.