Recent debate on primate ancestral size includes the view that ancestral primates may have been much smaller than the smallest living primates (mouse lemurs), perhaps as small as 10-15g, yet few studies have considered the effects of body sizes of 100g or less on primate quadrupedalism. For this project, I am using locomotor growth and development as a means to investigate the influence of very small body size on primate locomotor evolution. The project takes a broad comparative perspective, comparing locomotion in the smallest living primates (mouse lemurs) to similarly sized non-primate mammals (two marsupials- sugar gliders and the gray short-tailed opossum). The comparative approach will provide new insight on the evolution of primate quadrupedalism by directly addressing the unique means by which small primates and other mammals navigate arboreal substrates.
Student responsibilities will include using Peak Motus motion analysis software to digitize limb kinematics from high speed video films of small mammals locomoting across various substrates. Students with an interest in animal biomechanics or an interest in learning how to use motion analysis software (also used to analyze sports biomechanics and for 3D animations) will benefit most from working on the project. No previous experience is required.
