ITR: A Portable Laboratory for High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Digital Imaging of Craniodental Morphology

University Of Missouri-Kansas City, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

The project aims to establish a portable laboratory for high-resolution, three-dimensional digital imaging of craniodental morphology in primates and other mammals. This objective is designed to help meet a long-range goal of better understanding organismal diversity and the mechanisms and processes of evolution. The laboratory will use state-of-the-art, automated moire fringe projection to acquire three-dimensional "digital specimens" that are accurate to microscopic tolerances. In addition to being very accurate, the laboratory will be easily portable, making it ideal for remote use in museums. The laboratory will be used for data acquisition in a multifaceted research program that uses morphometrics, phylogenetics, the study of growth and development, and biomechanics to understand how mammals evolve and adapt to their environments. The project's major applications include research that is specifically focused on the skull and dentition, because of their important roles in the adaptations of all mammalian radiations. Three current, large-scale research projects will use the laboratory: 1) an evolutionary study of skull form and function in extant and fossil strepsirrhine primates; 2) theoretical and functional morphology of the teeth in primates and other small mammals; and 3) development, function, and evolution of evergrowing teeth in extant and fossil rodents. In addition, there is a series of smaller research projects (with collaborators at other universities) that will use the laboratory. All of these projects are focused on the same goal of better understanding mammalian diversity and also involve studies of craniodental (as well as soft tissue) form in primates and other groups of mammals. Each project will require the development of new and innovative quantitative methods, increasing the breadth of evolutionary questions that can be asked and hypotheses that can be tested. The project has a number of significant impacts on research in physical anthropology, mammalogy, and vertebrate paleontology: 1) the laboratory significantly advances the development of a large-scale research program that is dedicated to better understanding the patterns and processes of evolution and adaptation in primates and other mammals; 2) the major applications of the project should lead to new discoveries of the biological roles of craniodental structures in the interactions between mammals and their environments; 3) the archiving of digital specimens helps to advance the goal of "museums without walls", where morphological specimens can be made freely and easily available to students and senior researchers throughout the worldwide scientific community; and 4) establishment of the laboratory contributes significantly to the interface between research and education, increasing the use of virtual-reality technology for undergraduate and professional education, including use of the Internet and the World Wide Web. More importantly, the laboratory should provide increased research opportunities for undergraduate and professional students in an urban university where there are significant enrollments of minorities who are currently underrepresented in the scientific community.