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Title:

The Road to a Phylogenomically-Based Bioinspired Robotic Model Approach to Address the Evolution of Terrestrial Locomotion

Discipline: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Presenter:

Callie Crawford

Abstract:

The evolution of the pelvic girdle as a weight-bearing structure was critical to terrestrial tetrapod diversification. Using a convergent fish model, we are studying the evolution of anatomical structures that support the vertebrate body against gravity and will investigate how adjustment of muscular control can produce a tetrapodal walking gait via a range of skeletal morphologies. The blind cave loach, Cryptotora thamicola (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae), walks and climbs waterfalls with a salamander-like gait and evolved a robust pelvic girdle that shares morphological features associated with terrestrial vertebrates. Other species of balitorid loaches possess varying degrees of this convergent morphology providing an opportunity to further understand the mechanism underlying a major event in the history of life: how fishes are, and were, able to transition to a terrestrial lifestyle. We will examine the phylogenomic relationships, morphology, biomechanics, and walking performance from an evolutionary perspective among balitorid loaches. Using our experimental biomechanical data, we will develop a validated bioinspired robotic model to take a modular approach to examining the effect of pelvic morphology on walking performance in extant and extinct fishes and tetrapods. Funded by the National Science Foundation Rules of Life initiative, this research will inform our understanding of mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of morphological innovation. The broader impacts of this project will promote teaching, training, and learning by offering new educational opportunities and access to research equipment to high school students in a diverse and underprivileged community and by bringing a diverse population of undergraduates to do foreign fieldwork and work on all aspects of this project.

Author(s):

Callie Crawford, Pamela Hart, Zachary Randall, Prosanta Chakrabarty, Larry Page, & Brooke Flammang

Funding Acknowledgements:

NSF Understanding the Rules of Life grant #1839915, Duke University RTNN Free Use Award, ASIH Raney Award, AMNH Lerner-Gray Grant, and Sigma Xi GIAR