Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ecomorphological Implications of Primate Dietary Variability: An Experimental Model

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

This research develops a model of primate skull growth in a well-established experimental species (rats) that mimics temporal fluctuations in environmental resources. Novel integrative analyses involving imaging, morphological metrics, histology, and serology typify the skeletal morphology and physiology associated with postnatal variation in dietary properties and feeding behavior. The multidisciplinary nature of this study provides a number of unique opportunities to develop collaborations between research and medical facilities, and to promote student training. Results will be disseminated at scientific and public forums, and will have broader implications for human craniofacial health as it relates to diet and numerous disorders affecting oral utility. The evolution and function of the human skull is intimately related to the mechanical demands imposed by food items. Throughout primate and human evolution, these dietary resources have often been seasonal, resulting in the cyclical consumption of difficult-to-process "fallback foods." This dietary seasonality has often been invoked in ecological interpretations of fossil human ancestors and relatives, such as Paranthropus. However, despite the temporal and spatial complexity of primate diets, there is little work related to the impact of seasonality in dietary properties on craniofacial development. This greatly hinders our understanding of primate ecology and evolution as well as the influence of feeding behaviors for bone biology and human craniofacial health. To address this significant gap, this research uses rats to test how changing dietary resources across time are affected by fallback foods in underlying skeletal development of the face. The research will use a variety of imaging techniques to examine differences between those animals that are fed fallback foods and those that are not. Such modern methods bridge the gap between laboratory- and field-based analyses of skeletal growth in primates. A longitudinal approach will elucidate the effect of behavioral variation on craniofacial morphology and physiology across the entire growth period, providing insight into skull development at multiple organismal levels. A more complete understanding of the way environment impacts organismal form will shed light on the association between skeletal biology and dietary variability,