Ambient occlusion and PCV (portion de ciel visible): A new dental topographic metric and proxy of morphological wear resistance

Berthaume, Michael A.; Winchester, Julia M.; Kupczik, Kornelius

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215436

Cited by 30 publications

(39 citation statements)

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“…A prerequisite for using functional morphologies as ecological proxies, however, is the identification of ecomorphological traits that can be applied to higher level clades. Strong links between tooth morphology and diet have been previously established in mammals (Evans et al 2007;Boyer 2008;Christensen 2014;Pineda-Munoz et al 2017;Berthaume et al 2019), proving to be especially valuable for paleontological studies (Van Valkenburgh 1988;Janis 1995;Wilson et al 2012;Slater 2015;Grossnickle and Newham 2016;Chen et al 2019). The jaw correlates of diet presented in this study, especially JAPr distance and JAPr angle, may offer new functional traits that can be easily applied to broad studies of extant and fossil mammals.…”

Section: Macroevolutionary Studiesmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…; Berthaume et al. ), proving to be especially valuable for paleontological studies (Van Valkenburgh ; Janis ; Wilson et al. ; Slater ; Grossnickle and Newham ; Chen et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Berthaume et al. ). This indicates that feeding ecology is a major driver of tooth shape diversification.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…; Berthaume et al. ). And a majority of studies on mammalian jaw shape and diet are qualitative (e.g., Maynard Smith and Savage ), lack statistical correction for phylogenetic non‐independence (e.g., Grossnickle and Polly ), or focus on mammalian subclades rather than all of Mammalia (Radinsky ; Radinsky ; Anapol and Lee ; Janis ; Mendoza et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…I examine mammalian jaw morphology because of its direct functional link to feeding ecology (Maynard Smith and Savage 1959;Turnbull 1970;Grossnickle and Polly 2013). Further, investigations of jaw morphology and diet across Mammalia are rare, especially in comparison to similar studies of mammalian tooth shape (Evans et al 2007;Boyer 2008;Christensen 2014;Pineda-Munoz et al 2017;Berthaume et al 2019). And a majority of studies on mammalian jaw shape and diet are qualitative (e.g., Maynard Smith and Savage 1959), lack statistical correction for phylogenetic non-independence (e.g., Grossnickle and Polly 2013), or focus on mammalian subclades rather than all of Mammalia (Radinsky 1981;Radinsky 1985;Anapol and Lee 1994;Janis 1995;Mendoza et al 2002;Nogueira et al 2005;Figueirido et al 2010;Meloro and O'Higgins 2011;Monteiro and Nogueira 2011;Ross et al 2012;Lazagabaster et al 2016;Maestri et al 2016;Arregoitia et al 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

Grossnickle

2020

Evolution

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Ecological specialization is a central driver of adaptive evolution. However, selective pressures may uniquely affect different ecomorphological traits (e.g., size and shape), complicating efforts to investigate the role of ecology in generating phenotypic diversity. Comparative studies can help remedy this issue by identifying specific relationships between ecologies and morphologies, thus elucidating functionally relevant traits. Jaw shape is a dietary correlate that offers considerable insight on mammalian evolution, but few studies have examined the influence of diet on jaw morphology across mammals. To this end, I apply phylogenetic comparative methods to mandibular measurements and dietary data for a diverse sample of mammals. Especially powerful predictors of diet are metrics that capture either the size of the angular process, which increases with greater herbivory, or the length of the posterior portion of the jaw, which decreases with greater herbivory. The size of the angular process likely reflects sizes of attached muscles that produce jaw movements needed to grind plant material. Further, I examine the impact of feeding ecology on body mass, an oft‐used ecological surrogate in macroevolutionary studies. Although body mass commonly increases with evolutionary shifts to herbivory, it is outperformed by functional jaw morphology as a predictor of diet. Body mass is influenced by numerous factors beyond diet, and it may be evolutionarily labile relative to functional morphologies. This suggests that ecological diversification events may initially facilitate body mass diversification at smaller taxonomic and temporal scales, but sustained selective pressures will subsequently drive greater trait partitioning in functional morphologies.

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Section: Macroevolutionary Studiesmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…; Berthaume et al. ), proving to be especially valuable for paleontological studies (Van Valkenburgh ; Janis ; Wilson et al. ; Slater ; Grossnickle and Newham ; Chen et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Berthaume et al. ). This indicates that feeding ecology is a major driver of tooth shape diversification.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 96%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

Grossnickle

2020

Evolution

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Technical note: A freeware, equitable approach to dental topographic analysis

Morley

Berthaume

2023

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Dental topographic analysis has proved a valuable tool for quantifying dental morphology. Established workflows often use proprietary software for pre‐processing dental surfaces, rendering the method expensive and inaccessible to many. This study explores the use of freeware pre‐processing alternatives. We tested 4 decimation tools and 13 smoothing tools across 7 different freeware packages. Surfaces generated via proprietary software could not be replicated, but it was possible to obtain statistically similar measurements using freeware. Based on this investigation, we propose a freeware workflow for researchers to conduct dental topographic analysis, with the expectation that their results will be comparable to that obtained through proprietary methods.

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Dental sculpting and compensatory shearing crests demonstrated in a WEAR series of Presbytis rubicunda (Cercopithecoidea, Colobidae) with dental topography analysis

Pampush,

Morse,

Kay

2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesMaintaining effective and efficient occlusal morphology presents adaptive challenges for mammals, particularly because mastication produces interactions with foods and other materials that alters the geometry of occlusal surfaces through macrowear and/or catastrophic failure (i.e. “chipping”). Altered occlusal morphologies are often less effective for masticating materials of given diet—but not always—some species exhibit dental sculpting, meaning their dentitions are set up to harness macrowear to hone their occlusal surfaces into more effective morphologies (i.e. secondary morphologies). Here we show that dental sculpting is present in the folivorous Presbytis rubicunda of Borneo.MethodsThirty‐one undamaged lower second molars of P. rubicunda exhibiting various stages of macroscopic wear were micro‐CT scanned and processed into digital surfaces. The surfaces were measured for convex Dirichlet normal energy (vDNE, a measure of surface sharpness), and degree of surface wear. Regression analyses compared surface sharpness with several measures of wear to test for the presence and magnitude of dental sculpting.ResultsPositive correlations between the wear proxies and vDNE reveal that P. rubicunda wear in such a way as to become sharper, and therefore more effective chewing surfaces by exposing enamel‐dentine junctions on their occlusal surfaces and then honing these junctions into sharpened edges. Compared to another primate folivore in which increasing surface sharpness with macrowear has been demonstrated (i.e., Alouatta palliata), the worn surfaces are similarly sharp, but the dental sculpting process appears to be different.DiscussionThe results presented here suggest that not only do some primates exhibit dental sculpting and the attendant secondary morphology, but that there appear to be multiple different morphological configurations that can achieve this result. P. rubicunda has thicker enamel and a more stereotyped wear pattern than A. palliata, although both show positive correlations of occlusal surface sharpness (vDNE) with various wear proxies. These findings shed light on the varied approaches for the maintenance of effective and efficient occlusal surfaces in primates.

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Ambient occlusion and PCV (portion de ciel visible): A new dental topographic metric and proxy of morphological wear resistance

Cited by 30 publications

References 29 publications

Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

Feeding ecology has a stronger evolutionary influence on functional morphology than on body mass in mammals

Technical note: A freeware, equitable approach to dental topographic analysis

Dental sculpting and compensatory shearing crests demonstrated in a WEAR series of Presbytis rubicunda (Cercopithecoidea, Colobidae) with dental topography analysis

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