- Project title
- Adaptive radiation of brain morphology in lemurs
- Description of the project
- Lemurs are known to be a classic example of adaptive radiations. It is thought that lemurs adapted by rapidly dividing into various niches after migrating to Madagascar, an island isolated from the continent. In the process of such radiation, rapid morphological evolution occurs in response to each niche in the early stages of their evolutionary history. However, attempts to statistically examine such evolutionary processes have only just begun in evolutionary research. In this study, I focus on the brain, which integrates various niche-related elements such as vision, hearing, and locomotion, and aim to examine the process of adaptive radiation in lemurs based on brain morphology, that is, endocast morphology. I will clarify which brain functions were enhanced for which niches. I will be able to demonstrate as a case study the role of the brain in adaptive radiation, a phenomenon that is important for the creation of biodiversity on the earth.
Works done by the platform AST-RX