Yoseph Khazaal
Research Mentor: Miriam Zelditch
Mentor Department: University of Michigan, LSA
Author(s): Miriam Zelditch , Donald Swiderski
Session: Session 3 (11:00 AM – 11:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 76
Abstract
Much of what we know about mammal evolution is based on tooth morphology. Traditionally, studies of teeth have combined qualitative descriptions of the arrangement of cusps and ridges with basic linear measurements of tooth width and length. Based on these data, tooth shape in squirrels is often described as highly conservative, changing little despite dietary shifts from hard foods such as nuts (most tree squirrels) to softer but more abrasive foods such as grass and herb leaves (most ground squirrels). This mismatch between form and function is surprising in its own right; it also implies (rather improbably) that squirrels are different from other mammals. We propose to investigate the evolution of tooth shape in squirrels using newly developed techniques for quantitative shape analysis. These methods enable rigorous statistical analyses of variation in complex shapes of teeth. Our goal for this project is to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution of tooth morphology, including differences between anterior and posterior teeth and between anterior and posterior regions of the same tooth.
