RUI: The evolution of circumorbital morphology in hominids

研究灵长类骨骼的变异有助于理解现代人类生物学的进化。头骨是身体的一个特别信息丰富的区域，因为它包含了大多数主要的感觉器官，嘴和大脑。同样，人类进化中一些最明显的变化，包括大脑大小增加，颌骨长度缩短，眉脊缩小，都发生在头骨上。关于大脑大小、气候、饮食、社会结构甚至交流的假说被提出来解释这些进化变化，但它们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。这项研究的重点是面部的眉脊和眼眶周围区域，它与大脑和视力都有关。该项目建立的数据集提供了迄今为止现存灵长类头骨变异的最详细图像，并通过在线数字储存库公开提供这些数据，从而为进化研究做出了重大贡献。该项目支持在美国以本科生为主的机构中代表不足的少数族裔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颖课程框架将进化研究融入课堂，提供与健康科学职业相关的积极学习机会和培训。这些活动，再加上对美国本科生研究人员、硕士研究生和博士后学者的指导和培训，直接促进了科学教育的发展和多样化科学劳动力的增长。这项研究将3D形态计量学与系统发育比较方法相结合，以检验关于眼眶形态在塑造人类颅骨进化中的作用的进化假说。该项目利用对头盖骨的3D表面扫描来寻找n=1700个现存的肺叶状突起和n=54个古人类化石。这些数据被用来解决三个主要目标：1)表征人和其他灵长类动物的环眶形态，2)量化环眶形态与头骨其他骨骼结构之间的整合程度，以及3)评估身体大小和性别在塑造灵长类环眶形态中的作用。通过以灵长类动物的基础形态计量学研究为基础，以功能知情假说和新的系统发育和进化性方法为基础，该项目有可能改变研究原始人颅骨进化的理论框架和实用方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.