Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: A Comparative Analysis of Ateline Functional Anatomy and Locomotor Performance

直立姿势和树枝下方的悬吊行为是导致类人猿解剖和生态分化的关键运动创新。然而，由于化石记录的不足和现存类人猿行为的多样性，理解这些行为是如何以及为什么进化的是复杂的。与猿类不同，新大陆亚科Atelinae包括咆哮猴、绒毛猴、蜘蛛猴和绒蜘蛛猴，表现出广泛的悬浮行为和相关的形态。因此，这一猴子家族为理解一组密切相关的物种之间的解剖和行为之间的关系提供了一个有用的模型，这些物种在不同程度上依赖于悬挂行为。这项研究考察了地貌所表现出的解剖学和行为梯度，并最终可能有助于我们对运动进化的理解，这对于解释灵长类动物的行为特别重要，例如中新世猿类，它们只通过化石残骸才能知道。虽然有些枢椎的位置频率数据是可用的，但功能解剖和运动方式的差异并没有得到很好的量化。这项研究分析了特定运动模式的频率，并检查了3种野生地图集的基于视频的运动分析数据，这些野生地图集包括：长尾猴(咆哮猴)、斑腿兔(毛猴)和斑尾猴(蜘蛛猴)。这些数据将被用来产生预测，将位置行为的差异与肩部、肘部、背部、尾部和臀部的解剖变化联系起来。厄瓜多尔东部低地热带雨林的蒂普蒂尼生物多样性站已经收集了10个月的行为数据。将使用博物馆标本收集颅后骨骼数据，以便检查枢椎和人科动物之间的功能解剖学差异。这项研究的创新之处在于，它将量化形态和运动频率的传统方法与冠层水平相结合，基于视频的运动分析技术以前在野生灵长类动物研究中没有得到充分利用。这项研究的总体目标是：(1)提供可比的、详细的、定量的ateline解剖学和运动行为记录；(2)阐明直立/悬吊的颅后特征的功能意义；(3)进一步在非实验室条件下使用基于视频的运动学分析；以及(4)评估“类人族”与“ateline”对树枝悬挂行为的适应。这项研究的更广泛影响包括指导厄瓜多尔和美国本科生参加Tiputini生物多样性站(TBS)的热带生态学项目，以及在科学界中往往代表不足的女性的突出参与。来自TBS正在进行的这项研究和其他研究的数据也有助于影响空间站周围原始森林的保护政策。

Upright postures and below branch, suspensory behaviors are key locomotor innovations that led to the anatomical and ecological divergence of apes. However, understanding how and why these behaviors evolved is complicated by an inadequate fossil record and the behavioral diversity of living apes. Unlike the apes, the New World subfamily Atelinae, which includes howler monkeys, woolly monkeys, spider monkeys and woolly spider monkeys, exhibits a broad spectrum of suspensory behaviors and associated morphologies. Thus, this family of monkeys provides a useful model for understanding the relationships between anatomy and behavior in a group of closely related species that rely on suspensory behaviors to different degrees. This study examines the anatomical and behavioral gradient exhibited by atelines and may ultimately inform our understanding of locomotor evolution which is of particular importance in interpreting the behavior of primates, such as the Miocene apes, which are known only by their fossil remains. Although positional frequency data are available for some atelines, differences in functional anatomy and locomotor style are not well quantified. This study analyzes the frequency of specific locomotor modes and examines video based motion analysis data of 3 species of wild atelines including: Alouatta seniculus (howler monkeys), Lagothrix lagothricha (woolly monkeys) and Ateles belzebuth (spider monkeys). These data will be used to generate predictions relating differences in positional behavior to variation in the anatomy of the shoulder, elbow, back, tail and hip. Ten months of behavioral data have already been collected at Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the lowland rainforests of eastern Ecuador. Postcranial skeletal data will be collected, using museum specimens, allowing for the examination of functional anatomical differences among atelines and hominoids. This study is innovative in that it integrates traditional approaches quantifying morphology and locomotor frequencies with canopy level, video based motion analysis techniques previously underutilized in wild primate studies. The overall goals of this research are: (1) to provide comparable, detailed, quantitative documentation of ateline anatomy and locomotor behavior; (2) to illuminate the functional significance of upright/suspensory postcranial features; (3) to further pioneer the use of video based kinematic analyses under non-laboratory conditions; and (4) to evaluate "hominoid" vs. "ateline" adaptations to below branch suspensory behavior.The broader impacts of this study include the mentoring of Ecuadorian and American undergraduates participating in tropical ecology programs at Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS), and the prominent participation of women who tend to be underrepresented in the scientific community. Data from this and other ongoing research at TBS also contributes to conservation policies impacting the pristine forests surrounding the station.