Examining the Relationship between Orbital Convergence Angle and Activity of Modern Primates
Start Date
2023 2:15 PM
Location
Alter Hall Poster Session 1 - 2nd floor
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the orbital convergence and activity of primates, attempting to additionally propose potential reasons for the noticed trends. In doing so, the theories of primate evolution – including the nocturnal visual predation theory and the arboreal theory of primate evolution – were examined in the context of the results. It was hypothesized that orbital convergence would be higher in nocturnal primates and lower in diurnal primates. The hypothesis was tested by taking measurements of virtual images of dorsally viewed skulls that are housed in the osteology collections at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The findings did not support the initial hypothesis. Larger diurnal apes and monkeys exhibited the highest average orbital convergences, whereas the small nocturnal lemurs displayed comparatively low orbital convergence. The trend may be due to a failure to account for influence by variables such as body size and postnatal modifications or soft anatomy being a stronger selective force on the skulls.
Examining the Relationship between Orbital Convergence Angle and Activity of Modern Primates
Alter Hall Poster Session 1 - 2nd floor
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the orbital convergence and activity of primates, attempting to additionally propose potential reasons for the noticed trends. In doing so, the theories of primate evolution – including the nocturnal visual predation theory and the arboreal theory of primate evolution – were examined in the context of the results. It was hypothesized that orbital convergence would be higher in nocturnal primates and lower in diurnal primates. The hypothesis was tested by taking measurements of virtual images of dorsally viewed skulls that are housed in the osteology collections at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The findings did not support the initial hypothesis. Larger diurnal apes and monkeys exhibited the highest average orbital convergences, whereas the small nocturnal lemurs displayed comparatively low orbital convergence. The trend may be due to a failure to account for influence by variables such as body size and postnatal modifications or soft anatomy being a stronger selective force on the skulls.
