Telemetry system for assessing jaw-muscle function in free-ranging primates
Abstract
In vivo laboratory-based studies describing jaw-muscle activity and mandibular bone
strain during mastication provide the empirical basis for most evolutionary hypotheses
linking primate masticatory apparatus form to diet. However, the laboratory data pose
a potential problem for testing predictions of these hypotheses because estimates
of masticatory function and performance recorded in the laboratory may lack the appropriate
ecological context for understanding adaptation and evolution. For example, in laboratory
studies researchers elicit rhythmic chewing using foods that may differ significantly
from the diets of wild primates. Because the textural and mechanical properties of
foods influence jaw-muscle activity and the resulting strains, chewing behaviors studied
in the laboratory may not adequately reflect chewing behaviors of primates feeding
in their natural habitats. To circumvent this limitation of laboratory-based studies
of primate mastication, we developed a system for recording jaw-muscle electromyograms
(EMGs) from free-ranging primates so that researchers can conduct studies of primate
jaw-muscle function in vivo in the field. We used the system to record jaw-muscle
EMGs from mantled howlers (Alouatta palliata) at Hacienda La Pacifica, Costa Rica.
These are the first EMGs recorded from a noncaptive primate feeding in its natural
habitat. Further refinements of the system will allow long-term EMG data collection
so that researchers can correlate jaw-muscle function with food mechanical properties
and behavioral observations. In addition to furthering understanding of primate feeding
biology, our work will foster improved adaptive hypotheses explaining the evolution
of primate jaw form. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6249Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s10764-008-9292-3Publication Info
Williams, SH; Vinyard, CJ; Glander, KE; Deffenbaugh, M; Teaford, MF; & Thompson, CL (2008). Telemetry system for assessing jaw-muscle function in free-ranging primates. International Journal of Primatology, 29(6). pp. 1441-1453. 10.1007/s10764-008-9292-3. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6249.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Kenneth Earl Glander
Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology
Primate ecology and social organization: the interaction between feeding patterns
and social structure; evolutionary development of optimal group size and composition;
factors affecting short and long-term demographic changes in stable groups; primate
use of regenerating forests.

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