Senior Project Personnel
- Susan Antón, New York University
- Alejandra Ortiz, New York University
- Kathleen Paul, University of Arkansas
Student Project Personnel
- Meutia Hanafiah, University of Arkansas
- Molly Militello, University of Arkansas
Project Description & Aims
This collaboration between the University of Arkansas, New York University, University of Tennessee, and the Caribbean Primate Research Center aims to generate ~1,000 micro-CT scans of pedigreed macaque (Macaca mulatta) and saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis) skulls and teeth. These samples represent members of a semi-free ranging colony from Cayo Santiago and a captive colony from Oak Ridge Associated Universities, respectively. The aim of this work is quantify aspects of dental variation at the crown surface, as well as the interface of dental hard tissues (the enamel-dentin junction or EDJ) to understand if and how the process of enamel formation moderates genetic signals encoded early in tooth development. Pilot study results indicate that inter-individual relationships reconstructed from enamel surface and EDJ morphology are not identical (Ortiz, Paul, Romero, Hanafiah, Militello, et al., 2024), underscoring the potential impact of this work for biological and paleoanthropology.
We are currently in the scanning phase of the project, with images generated at UARK’s MICRO facility. Future phases will involve scan processing, morphometric data collection, and quantitative genetic analysis (i.e., heritability/genetic correlation estimation) for external and internal dental characters. Because we have detailed colony records for the Cayo Santiago macaques, our team will also explore how specific environmental factors might explain variation across tissue surfaces that form at distinct points along an individual’s developmental trajectory.
This project will train a postdoctoral, graduate, and several undergraduate (predental) students. We will also conduct project-related outreach with K-12 students in New York and Puerto Rico.
For more information, see our Recent Publications.
Related Funding
- 2024-2027 National Science Foundation BCS-2341544 (PI: K Paul, Co-PIs: S Antón, A Ortiz)
- 2023 SEC Faculty Travel Grant (PI: K Paul)
- 2022-2025 Leakey Foundation Research Grant (PI: K Paul, Co-PI: A Ortiz)