Linking Muscle Energy use to Power Production in Primates during Climbing: Implications for Primate Limb Design and Locomotor Evolution

West Virginia School Of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg WV

Investigators

Abstract

Vertical climbing is thought to have played a major role in the evolution of locomotor specializations within primates, particularly in the evolution of hindlimb musculature important for bipedal locomotion by humans. Little is known, however, about how muscles use energy during climbing in primates. As a primarily arboreal radiation, all primates regularly climb. Long limbs and long stride lengths used by some primates during climbing are argued to have been important in the evolution of suspensory locomotion and bipedalism. The data collected through this project will fill a critical gap in knowledge concerning the mechanics of climbing and the relationship between postcranial anatomy and metabolic costs for this important locomotor behavior. This research will collect data on the three-dimensional biomechanics of climbing and relate these mechanics to hindlimb morphology and to the energy costs of climbing in primates. Research will be conducted at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Lewisburg, WV, Duke University and the Duke Lemur Center, Durham, NC, and the Michale E. Keeling Center for Cancer Research, Bastrop. TX. Eight species of primates will be examined across a range of size, ecology, and morphology. The results of this study will provide the first quantitative data on power production at the hindlimb, how power production differs with variation in hindlimb morphology, and how power production relates to the energetic costs of climbing in non-human primates. Such data will be important for understanding primate adaptations to climbing, and ultimately the evolution of specialized locomotion like bipedalism. These topics are highly important to the understanding of the appearance of early primates, as well as the evolution of human, bipedal locomotion. This project supports the development of women in science by contributing to an early-career, female faculty member's research. It also contributes to the development of scientific research in a geographically under-represented area of the country (West Virginia). Additionally, this project is a multinational collaboration, and fosters scientific research between the multiple institutions. This project also intends to directly involve graduate students from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and undergraduates from Duke University in this research. Finally, the results of this research will be communicated to the scientific community at professional meetings and through publications, and to the broader communities in which the PI and co-PIs reside, through both volunteer work at local museums and public talks given at the respective institutions.