- Titre du projet
- Macroevolutionary analyses of cranial morphology and function in mammals
- Descriptif du projet
- Morphological and functional adaptations are important drivers of ecological diversification across the tree of life. Within mammals, it is hypothesized that many radiations were enabled by the evolution of morphological and functional traits that provided access to novel food resources, but quantitative tests of this hypothesis are lacking for the broad diversity of mammals. This gap is partly rooted on the extensive lack of comparative datasets that integrate both the osteological and myological components of the feeding apparatus. In particular, quantitative, standardized data on masticatory muscles exist for less than 2% of all mammal species. These data are critically needed both for an understanding of mammalian masticatory physiology and for the application of diversification analyses that contrast the relative influences of intrinsic
versus extrinsic drivers of mammalian radiation. The proposed work will test macroevolutionary hypotheses about ecological diversification by generating the largest comparative datasets to date on the three-dimensional morphology, function and performance of the mammalian feeding apparatus. The team will couple micro-Computed Tomography, dissections, geometric morphometric analyses and biomechanical modeling to produce these data across three species-rich and ecologically diverse mammal clades.
Travaux réalisés par la plateforme AST-RX
