Research Jamie Maclaren

Abstract

Almost all terrestrial mammals have an innate ability to swim, yet only a few groups have made the transition to be fully aquatic. By contrast, many groups of mammals are considered semiaquatic, spending large amounts of time in water, including several iconic herbivorous taxa (hippos, tapirs, capybara, etc.). The transition from land-to-water in herbivorous mammals has been afforded far less attention than that of carnivores, particularly in the ways their limbs have become adapted to / functional in both terrestrial and aquatic media. The proposed project will use comparative functional anatomy, in-vivo kinematics, and computational fluid dynamics to compare the performance potential of forelimb-propelled locomotion across modern and extinct herbivorous (semi)aquatic mammals. Joint mobility and musculoskeletal anatomy will be characterised for modern species, allowing the construction of realistic forelimb models of extinct fauna. Video-based locomotor kinematics will then be used to inform dynamic simulations of limb motion in extant and extinct taxa, elucidating swimming performance of a wide range of herbivorous species. This study represents the first attempt at dynamic simulation of limb-propelled swimming in non-human tetrapods, providing a new basis for exploring aquatic locomotion in the fossil record, and offering a tool for predicting potential survivability/dispersal for mammals in freshwater/coastal biomes during near-future fluctuations in water distribution

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Wassenbergh Sam
• Fellow: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Semi-aquatic mustelids have undergone a secondary transition to adapt to life in an aquatic environment. Locomotion on land and in water happen in a starkly different medium, and thus pose different locomotor requirements. This imposes an important trade-off in semi-aquatic animals. The Mustelidae are a diverse family of mammals which offers the unique opportunity of having species across many niches, including a range of aquatic specialisation; from fully terrestrial species to those specialized to operate in a semi-aquatic or almost fully aquatic niche. This range offers an insight into the trade-offs and evolution of adaptations to a semi-aquatic life. The project will use comparative functional anatomy (muscle architecture based on manual and digital dissection) and video-based locomotor kinematics to build musculoskeletal models. These models will be used to verify, in terms of muscle contraction regimes, how well the musculoskeletal system of these species is 'built' for the two different environments and thus what the functional significance of the morphological adaptations is. Starting from this data and insights of the extant species, we will use inverse modelling to build models of extinct otters to gain insight into their locomotor capabilities and which modes were likely used by these species. These distinct species, from different fossil time periods and ecologies will help elucidate which locomotive capabilities were gained or lost during otter evolution.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Wassenbergh Sam
• Co-promoter: Dewaele Leonard
• Co-promoter: Maclaren Jamie
• Fellow: De Ridder Tim

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Pinnipedimorphs are semi-aquatic mammals that adapted secondarily to a life in water, allowing them to successfully move and capture prey underwater. The group includes all extinct and extant pinnipeds (e.g. seals, sea-lions, walruses) and stem taxa (e.g. Enaliarctos). Modern pinnipeds are still bound to land, where they rest and reproduce, but they feed almost exclusively underwater. Feeding is regarded as the main driver for their transition from land to water. However, making inferences about organismal evolution presents difficulties with a lack of a robust phylogenetic framework. The main debates about pinnipedimorph phylogeny include the monophyly of Enaliarctos and the relation of mustelid-like taxa (e.g. Puijila) to stem-pinnipedimorphs. In this project I will conduct a careful redescription of basal pinnipeds and perform a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis including all stem-pinnipedimorphs (accepted and contested taxa), later diverging pinnipedimorphs and outgroup taxa (mustelids and ursids). I will then investigate (stem-)pinnipedimorph mandibular morphology and function using geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis to better understand their feeding capabilities through time, using the updated phylogeny as the foundation for morphofunctional comparisons among pinnipedimorphs. This study will provide valuable quantitative information for understanding pinnipedimorph evolution, and will provide fundamental insights into the land-to-water transition.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Van Wassenbergh Sam
• Co-promoter: Dewaele Leonard
• Co-promoter: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Horses are one of the most recognisable mammals alive today, yet they have undergone dramatic changes throughout their evolution. In particular, the forelimb has changed from an ancestral, four-toed horse to the modern one-toed species we know today. To understand the story of the horse limb, we must look at them with respect to other members of the order Perissodactyla. For example, tapirs are living relatives of horses which retain four toes on their forelimbs, similar to extinct horse ancestors. Tapirs and horses therefore represent two polar forelimb morphologies within perissodactyls, from which an investigation into the transition from four-to-one digit in horses can be launched. Modern horses have lost three of their forelimb digits, leaving them with a single digit; however, extinct three-toed horses occurred alongside one-toed horses for many millions of years. The proposed project will use multi-body modelling to compare functionality of the forelimb toes throughout horse evolution, using detailed muscular inputs from modern species. Static musculoskeletal models for the forelimbs of four-, three- and one-toed perissodactyls will be constructed. Once optimised to minimise the muscular outputs, the models will be tested to see which digits are involved in locomotion. This approach represents a first attempt to simulate extinct horse locomotion using musculoskeletal modelling, enabling the inspection of horse limb evolution across a macroevolutionary landscape.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Aerts Peter
• Fellow: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project will investigate the evolution of limb osteology of perissodactyls (horses, rhinos and tapirs) using geometric morphometrics to gain insights into the comparative limb osteology of this group. Phylogenetic comparative methods will then be applied to the osteological data to investigate the evolution of adaptations to locomotion within the Perissodactyla, with a focus on equids (horses).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Aerts Peter
• Co-promoter: Nauwelaerts Sandra
• Fellow: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project will investigate the evolution of limb osteology of perissodactyls (horses, rhinos and tapirs) using geometric morphometrics to gain insights into the comparative limb osteology of this group. Phylogenetic comparative methods will then be applied to the osteological data to investigate the evolution of adaptations to locomotion within the Perissodactyla, with a focus on equids (horses).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Aerts Peter
• Co-promoter: Nauwelaerts Sandra
• Fellow: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The fossil horse sequence is a popular example of a phylogenetic pattern resulting from the evolutionary process. However, the seemingly transitional stages are actually derived from a scattered sampling of horse fossils within the multi-branched horse evolutionary tree. The current hypothesis is that the reduction in the number of digits was necessary for the cursorial lifestyle of today's horses. Lengthening of the distal segments and toe-tip running increased the stride length and thus the speed with which the animal can move. However, to avoid the increase in cost of swinging the heavier limbs, the digital number was reduced. Reinforcement of the middle toe might have also led to an improvement of the stability. The drawback to the reduction lies in loss in versatility and a decreased ability to run on compliant substrates. This project proposes to perform detailed comparative research on horses and their extant relatives. By studying donkeys, zebras, horses and the closely related rhinoceros and tapir, we will detect evolutionary patterns within this group. By studying how the animals move combined with a detailed study of the limb anatomy of the same species, we aim at providing insights in the mechanisms behind the reduction in digital number. The limb movements of the animals will be studied using traditional gait analyses techniques. Video material will be obtained synchronized with ground reaction forces and pressure data under the hooves. This information can be combined with inertial information in a calculation technique called inverse dynamics that will yield the net joint moments and power profiles over time. These profiles can be regarded as indications for motor control patterns. This will allow us to compare motor control patterns between the different species. These gait analysis experiments will be done in collaboration with European zoos. Detailed anatomical descriptions of the joint surfaces and segment proportions will be used to obtain measures for range of motion and joint center locations. These will be compared between species and will create a basis for assessing range of motion in extinct species. These descriptions will be based on 3D scans of osteological samples obtained from museum material. Models of trait evolution will be used to discern how limb skeletal morphology and motor control patterns have evolved in perissodactyls. This work will then form the basis for future work on extinct species of the Perissodactyli.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Aerts Peter
• Co-promoter: Nauwelaerts Sandra
• Fellow: Maclaren Jamie

Research team(s)

• Functional Morphology

Project type(s)

• Research Project