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.
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