Doctoral Disseration Improvement: Ecological Determinants of Morphological Integration in the Primate Face

Suny At Albany, Albany NY

Investigators

Abstract

Morphological integration is the tendency of functionally, developmentally and structurally-related anatomical traits to share higher correlations than unrelated traits. Covariation among functionally-related traits is adaptive and can influence the direction and rate of morphological change by facilitating or limiting certain lines of evolution. Although the utility of functional integration is implicitly assumed, the factors driving its evolution remain poorly understood. This project builds upon decades of research in morphological integration and biomechanics by: 1) testing for the existence of a causal link between diet and integration in the feeding apparatus, with a focus on the constraints imposed by the material properties of food, and 2) evaluating the evidence for the existence of a link between integration and sexual dimorphism and its dependence on sex-specific growth differences. The project provides a comprehensive picture of the patterns and magnitudes of skull integration within several major groups of higher primates that exhibit interspecific differences regarding the exploitation of mechanically resistant foods. Virtual skull models of museum specimens are generated with a laser scanner. A comparative assessment of integration is undertaken with advanced statistical methods designed to quantify and compare shape variation. A large comparative dataset is under construction and will be made publicly available, and as such will complement corresponding ecological datasets. This project has the potential to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between several domains of the biological and anthropological sciences, namely biomechanics, primate ecology and evolutionary morphology. It has important implications for the reconstruction of evolutionary relationships among human relatives and ancestors, because a major group of early humans, the australopithecines, exhibit a large number of novel facial traits that are thought to be adaptations for consuming mechanically resistant foods. This project will also support the research activities of an early-career female scientist.