Doctoral Dissertation Research: How primates assess risk while moving in the trees

大多数灵长类动物都在树上生活和活动，关于灵长类动物骨骼的形状和移动方式如何使灵长类动物能够在陡峭、纤细、伸展和弯曲的树枝上行走，有大量的研究。这个博士论文研究项目评估了灵长类动物的认知如何使这些动物在导航环境中的潜在风险时保持安全。这项研究的第一部分分析了灵长类动物在野生栖息地移动的视频片段，以评估它们在穿越间隙或在树上不同高度移动时是否会改变移动方式。这项研究的第二部分研究了白天生活和夜间生活的灵长类动物如何收集有关在不同光量下运动的潜在支持安全性的信息。这项研究的结果帮助我们更好地了解解剖学和决策如何帮助我们的近亲导航他们的环境。该项目支持K-12 STEM教育和通过短期课程和高中生实习的公共宣传。树栖运动是特别困难的，因为支撑物是不连续的，并且在大小、方向和顺应性上各不相同。大多数以前的灵长类动物运动适应的研究都采用了一个框架，直接连接的变化与运动性能的颅后形态，以评估灵长类动物是否是唯一适合这种具有挑战性的环境。然而，以前的工作在很大程度上绕过了感官和认知过程，也可能影响行为。本项目使用灵长类动物运动生物力学领域的新分析工具来研究灵长类动物如何评估树栖环境中的风险，重点是三个综合项目来分析灵长类动物在其环境中移动的记录，旨在1）评估灵长类动物在模拟树栖环境中的基线表现，在不同光照条件下的表现，以及这些变量如何影响路径选择，以及2）量化几种不同的非人类灵长类物种在其野生栖息地中如何在不同的支持物上移动时的行为概况。这项研究的结果有助于更好地了解灵长类动物的适应和进化，特别是为在树上移动时保持安全的感觉和认知过程提供了信息。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。

Most primate species live and move in trees, and there is a wealth of research on how the shape of primate skeletons and the way they move allows primates to navigate branches that can be steep, thin, spread out, and bend underneath their weight. This doctoral dissertation research project assesses how primate cognition may allow these animals to stay safe while navigating potential risks in their environment. The first part of this research analyzes video footage of primates moving in their wild habitats to assess whether they change way they move when crossing gaps or when moving at different heights in trees. The second part of this research studies how day-living and night-living primates collect information about the safety of potential supports for movement when different amounts of light are available. The results of this research help us better understand how anatomy and decision making help our close relatives navigate their environments. This project supports K-12 STEM education and public outreach through short courses and internships for high school students. Arboreal locomotion is particularly difficult, given that supports are discontinuous and vary in size, orientation, and compliance. Most previous studies on primate locomotor adaptation have adopted a framework that directly connects variation in postcranial morphology with locomotor performance to assess whether primates are uniquely suited to this challenging environment. However, previous work has largely bypassed the sensory and cognitive processes that may also influence behavior. This project uses analytical tools novel to the field of primate locomotor biomechanics to investigate how primates assess risk in arboreal environments, focusing on three integrated projects to analyze recordings of primates moving in their environments, designed to 1) assess baseline performance of primates in simulated arboreal environments, performance under varying light conditions, and how these variables influence path choice, and 2) quantifying behavioral profiles of several different nonhuman primate species as they make decisions on how to move on varied supports in their wild habitats. The results of this research contribute to a better understanding of primate adaptation and evolution, and specifically inform ideas regarding the sensory and cognitive processes that go into maintaining safety while moving in the trees.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.