Morphology, evolution, and the whole organism imperative: Why evolutionary questions need multi-trait evolutionary...

Area of Science:

• Primate evolutionary biology
• Quantitative genetics
• Human evolution

Background:

• Traditional comparative and functional approaches to primate morphology often conflate function with fitness and assume independent trait evolution.
• These methods are insufficient for addressing complex evolutionary processes and genetic integration among anatomical regions.
• Examining anatomical elements in isolation limits our understanding of evolutionary complexity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for the use of model-bound quantitative genetic methods in primate evolution research.
• To provide a review of evolutionary quantitative genetics fundamentals for researchers.
• To demonstrate the application of these methods for analyzing trait non-independence in human anatomy.

Main Methods:

• Review of evolutionary quantitative genetics principles, including neutral evolutionary theory.
• Explanation of calculating evolutionary potential for multiple traits under selection.
• Application of model-bound quantitative genetic methods to human limbs, limb girdles, and basicranium.

Main Results:

• Model-bound quantitative genetic methods can uncover unexpected genetic covariances among multiple traits.
• These methods provide a novel and measurable understanding of evolutionary complexity.
• Demonstrated non-independence in evolutionary responses across different human anatomical regions.

Conclusions:

• Evolutionary quantitative genetics provides a robust framework for investigating primate morphological evolution.
• Integrating multiple anatomical regions with quantitative genetic models is crucial for advancing the field.
• Adoption of these methods will ensure the continued relevance of primate evolutionary studies.