TETRAPODBONES · Evaluations of bone strength in the evolutionary invasion of land by tetrapods
„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“
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- 2016-08-22 → 2018-08-21
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Накратко на български
Механиката на движението при ранните гръбначни се анализира чрез 3D модели на крайниците на саламандри, за да се провери дали те са ходили като съвременните влечуги. Това помага да се разбере как животните са преминали от водна среда към живот на сушата.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Evaluations of bone strength in the evolutionary invasion of land by tetrapods
How tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates with digits) became terrestrial is one of the most transformative yet enigmatic events in the evolution of vertebrate animals. While it is generally accepted that the earliest tetrapods were aquatic, how early stem tetrapods took their first steps onto land is still an active area of enquiry. One of the prevailing theories on the evolution of terrestrial locomotion is that the initial stages resembled the lateral sequence walking gait of extant salamanders. Yet, a recent analysis on the limb mobility of an early stem tetrapod, Ichthyostega, indicated that it was not capable of performing the rotary motions necessary for a lateral sequence walking gait, raising a suspicion that a salamander-like waiting gait was not the earliest form of terrestrial locomotion. We conducted one of the first studies to test the popular ‘salamander walk’ hypothesis, that a salamander-like lateral sequence walk was the first form of terrestrial locomotion, and tests this hypothesis in a novel way. Our overall objective was to build dynamic 3D musculoskeletal models of salamander limbs in order to evaluate the mechanics of a lateral sequence walk and advance knowledge of locomotor aspects related to the water-to-land transition, by adding a new focus on how limb muscles impose stresses on bones. By synthesizing a comprehensive data on musculoskeletal function from a modern analogue to stem tetrapods, important form-function relationships between limb bone morphology and locomotor behaviours can be clarified and serves as a solid foundation in which to develop more accurate models of stem tetrapods in the future. Identifying the ancestral condition for terrestrial locomotion is an important step towards understanding the diversification of all tetrapods thereafter. Moreover, tracing back the evolutionary steps to becoming terrestrial yields powerful insights into the tetrapod body plan, informing how ecological transitions influence functional innovation and how human anatomy is influenced by our ancestry from aquatic tetrapods.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
How tetrapods (vertebrates with digit-bearing limbs) became terrestrial is one of the most transformative yet enigmaticevents in vertebrate history that set the stage for the diversification of tetrapods thereafter. Being on land imposes physicaldemands on the musculoskeletal system and weak bones can severely limit the capabilities of animals, yet the importance ofbone strength in the evolution of terrestrial locomotion is not well understood. The proposed research integrates innovativeapproaches on the limbs of an early stem tetrapod, Ichthyostega, in order to: 1) quantify how well the limb bones in an earlystem tetrapod could support locomotion on land, 2) compare the differences between the fore- and hindlimb bonemechanics, and 3) test the prevailing hypothesis that early stem tetrapods walked like extant salamanders. Aninterdisciplinary synthesis of cutting-edge techniques in engineering, 3D biomedical imaging, palaeontology, andbiomechanics will be used to test the structural integrity of fossil limb bones in silico. Bone strength will be quantified withhigh-resolution μ-CT scans and finite element analysis, an engineering approach to estimate stresses and deformations incomplex structures in response to physical demands. This novel dataset will address the ability of Ichthyostega to move onland, and what types of locomotor behaviours were not possible for an early stem tetrapod on land. Simultaneously, trainingand research activities in state-of-the-art engineering and 3D technology, evolutionary biomechanics, and public outreachwill foster the development of the Experienced Researcher (ER) into an innovative and broadly trained researcher andscience communicator. At a broader scale, tracing back the evolutionary steps to becoming terrestrial yields powerfulinsights into the tetrapod body plan, informing how ecological transitions influence functional innovation and how humananatomy is influenced by our ancestry from aquatic tetrapods.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE · LondonКоординаторОбединеното кралство
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз