Promoters: Jamie A. MacLaren, Adrian Scheidt, Sam Van Wassenbergh
The range-of-motion of animal joints dictates (to a large extent) how it can move. For animals which spend time both on land and in water (semi-aquatic), the range-of-motion (or ROM) of their limb joints is especially important, as the limb joints need to be able to rotate to allow for terrestrial walking, running, or standing, while also being able to facilitate swimming (or bottom-walking). Finding the ROM of joints in modern animals with known locomotor behaviours can in turn enable us to infer the potential locomotion of extinct animals, especially those which are closely related to the extant study group.
There have been several groups of mammals which have become adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle, including both carnivores (e.g. otters, polar bears) and herbivores (e.g. hippos, tapirs, capybara). In this study, the ROM of the forelimb joints will be investigated across a wide range of tapir species, including extinct animals, in order to investigate the biomechanical capabilities of the tapir forelimb through time. Where possible, additional taxa (e.g. hippos and capybara) will be added for broader comparisons across living and extinct semi-aquatic herbivorous mammals.
In this project, the student will: (1) become familiar with the anatomy of the tapir forelimb, in addition to that of other semi-aquatic mammals; (2) conduct a supervised visit to the Humboldt University in Berlin to learn about the 3D range-of-motion calculation methodology; (3) perform 3D ROM experiments in free software for a large sample of modern and extinct tapir species; (4) assess how ROM changes with tapir size, and (where possible) investigate the variation within this group compared to other semi-aquatic herbivorous mammals.
Student: the successful student must have an interest in evolution and the relationship between form and function; familiarity with mammalian biology and palaeontology would be beneficial, but not essential. Guidance in all methods will be provided – no prior knowledge is required. Familiarity with the R statistical environment and multivariate statistics will be beneficial, but not essential. Willingness to travel to the Humboldt University in Berlin during the autumn semester of 2025 to learn the ROM methodology will be essential.