Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Challenging Assumptions of Dental Senescence Using a Primate Framework

博士论文改进：使用灵长类动物框架挑战牙齿衰老的假设

• 批准号: 1231208
• 负责人: Michelle Sauther
• 金额: $ 2.47万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1231208&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; Challenging; Assumptions

Extensive tooth wear may ablate functional features of the teeth, resulting in the end of the dentition's capacity to effectively break down food items (i.e., dental senescence). Such a loss of function is presumed to impede access to foods, resulting in reduced health status, reproductive success, and ability to survive. Nevertheless, how and at what point of wear teeth reach a senescent state is not yet well understood, nor is the extent to which dental senescence may affect individual health, nutrition and behavior. Natural selection should produce teeth which maintain the ability to fracture foods despite wear, and which only cease to function with severe wear. Individuals may compensate for dental impairment through behavioral mechanisms, or may be buffered against the impacts of wear by individual traits such as sex and/or social rank.This study, by doctoral student James Millette (University of Colorado), under supervision of Dr. Michelle Sauther, combines Geographic Information Systems-based dental topographic analysis of tooth form with individual behavioral-ecology, health and nutritional data to examine relationships between worn tooth morphology, food processing ability and behavior for ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) of the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. This population demonstrates well-documented, varying levels of tooth wear and frequent tooth loss due to tamarind fruit consumption.The research will: 1) determine what level of dental wear is associated with reduced health and nutrition, 2) assess if behavioral mechanisms can buffer individuals against the effects of dental wear, and 3) examine whether individual traits such as rank and sex may impact such patterns. It also will provide valuable contextual information towards improved use of dental topographic analysis for assessing worn tooth functionality and its relation to behavior and nutrition within the primate fossil record. The conduct of the research will be complemented by enhancing international research collaborations, training of Malagasy students and educational outreach to local communities, and enhanced conservation of endangered habitats.

大量的牙齿磨损可能会消除牙齿的功能特征，从而导致牙列有效分解食物（即牙齿衰老）的能力结束。假定这种功能丧失会阻碍食物的获取，从而降低了健康状况，生殖成功和生存能力。然而，如何以及在什么牙齿上达到衰老状态尚未得到充分的了解，牙齿衰老可能会影响个人健康，营养和行为的程度。自然选择应产生牙齿，以维持尽管磨损的裂缝能力，并且只能在严重的磨损中发挥作用。个体可以通过行为机制来弥补牙齿的损害，也可以通过诸如性别和/或社交等级等各个特征的磨损影响来缓冲。这项研究，博士生詹姆斯·米莱特（James Millette）（科罗拉多大学）在米歇尔·索尔（Michelle Sauther）的监督下，在米歇尔·萨特（Michelle Sauther）的监督下，结合了地理信息系统的牙科态度，以磨损牙齿的牙齿形式，以锻炼牙齿的形式，以锻炼牙齿的形式，牙齿的牙齿态度，健康状况良好，健康状况良好，健康状况良好。以及马达加斯加Beza Mahafaly特别保护区的环形狐猴（Lemur Catta）的行为。该人群表现出有据可查的牙齿磨损和频繁导致的牙齿磨损，由于罗望子果实消耗而频繁的牙齿脱落。1）确定牙齿磨损水平与健康和营养降低有关，2）评估行为机制是否可以缓冲牙科磨损的影响，以及3）检查诸如等级和性别等单个特征是否会影响这种模式。它还将提供有价值的上下文信息，以改善使用牙齿地形分析来评估牙齿功能及其在灵长类化石记录中与行为和营养的关系。 通过加强国际研究合作，对马达加斯加学生的培训以及向当地社区的教育宣传以及增强对濒危栖息地的保护，将对研究的进行进行补充。