Carmen Ricker
Research Mentor(s): Anne Kort
Mentor Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Authors: Carmen Ricker, Anne Kort
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 65
Abstract
Placental mammals have been categorized by general locomotor habits that classify how they move through their environment. Examples of such are cursorial, saltatorial, arboreal, and terrestrial. However, the specific definitions of these categories have changed over time and they are often vague and inconsistently applied to different taxa. Different descriptions may emphasize an animal’s anatomical features, speed, and/or frequency of the type of locomotion being described, but not each definition follows the exact same criteria. While we cannot create a perfectly precise and consistent set of categories, we would like to develop a method to more consistently define and apply these categories. We will use mustelids as a case study, categorizing them using two different locomotor category schemes. First based on previous literature that describes using one of the general categories, and the second developed using videos of these mammals to observe what types of behavior are performed most frequently. In addition, we will then collect skeletal morphometric data from mustelid specimens in the UMMZ collection, and test if there is any correlation between the skeletal measurements and either locomotor category scheme. We expect that using video data to determine the possible movements will better distinguish adaptations for locomotion than relying on general categories, as they do not and cannot encompass every single aspect of a placental mammal’s general activity.
