Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Interactive Influence of Environment and Energetics on Human Morphology

由于鼻子在空气进入肺部之前负责加热和湿化空气，鼻部形态的地理图案变化长期以来一直被归因于气候适应。然而，之前的研究也表明，鼻子必须足够大，以便在每次呼吸时吸收足够的氧气，以满足维持生命的新陈代谢需求。因此，这篇博士论文研究了在人类进化过程中，对呼吸空调和氧气摄入的需求对鼻部复合体的综合影响(以及可能的功能权衡)。通过在人体大小和形状的背景下明确地研究鼻部形态的气候适应，这项研究有助于解决不同的解剖系统如何协同进化以响应环境压力。为该项目生成的计算机断层扫描将通过建立的在线档案免费提供给其他研究人员，极大地扩大了人类学家和更广泛的科学界目前可获得的CT扫描的地理/时间多样性。这项研究还为本科生和医学生(包括那些来自代表性不足群体的学生)提供了培训机会，研究人员将把项目结果纳入正在进行的公共宣传活动中，包括K-12科学教育项目、基于博物馆的社区参与、公共讲座和在线播客。尽管有大量证据表明气候和新陈代谢压力可能影响了人类鼻部解剖，但这两个因素在人类进化过程中对鼻型和鼻型的相互作用尚不完全清楚。这项研究采用了“全身”的方法，量化了大量的、地理上和时间上不同的现代人和化石人的颅骨和颅后骨骼形态的变化。使用建立的方程，体重和基础代谢率将从颅后测量中计算出来，并与鼻部和气候变量一起使用，以统计评估是否：(1)鼻部形态与代谢需求的相关性比头面部复合体的其他方面更强；(2)气候和新陈代谢需求对鼻部形态的特定方面有不同的影响；以及(3)在化石人(特别是尼安德特人)中，偏离气候预测的鼻部形态可归因于更高的能量需求。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As the nose is responsible for heating and humidifying air before it enters the lungs, geographically-patterned variation in nasal morphology has long been attributed to climatic adaptation. However, previous research has also shown that the nose must be large enough to take in a sufficient amount of oxygen during each breath to meet life-sustaining metabolic requirements. Accordingly, this doctoral dissertation project examines the combined effects (and possible functional trade-offs) of demands for respiratory air-conditioning and oxygen intake on the nasal complex during human evolution. By explicitly investigating climatic adaptation in nasal morphology within the context of human body size and shape, this study helps address how different anatomical systems have co-evolved in response to environmental pressures. Computed tomography (CT) scans generated for this project will be made freely available to other researchers through established online archives, substantially expanding the geographic/temporal diversity of CT scans currently available to anthropologists and the broader scientific community. This research also provides training opportunities for undergraduate and medical students (including those from under-represented groups) and the investigator will incorporate project findings into ongoing public outreach initiatives including K-12 science education programs, museum-based community engagement, public lectures, and online podcasts.Despite substantial evidence that both climatic and metabolic pressures have likely influenced human nasal anatomy, the interplay of these two factors on nasal size and shape during human evolution is not fully understood. This study employs a "whole-body" approach by quantifying variation in cranial and post-cranial skeletal morphology in a large, geographically- and temporally-diverse sample of recent and fossil Homo. Using established equations, body mass and basal metabolic rate will then be calculated from post-cranial measurements and employed in conjunction with nasal and climatic variables to statistically assess whether: (1) nasal morphology exhibits stronger associations with metabolic demands than other aspects of the craniofacial complex; (2) climate and metabolic demands differentially influence particular aspects of nasal morphology; and (3) deviations from climatically predicated nasal morphology in fossil Homo (particularly Neanderthals) are attributable to greater energetic requirements.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.