Errata: Evolutionary Change in the Morphological Complexity of the Mammalian Vertebral Column

Evolution ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1286
Author(s):  
Daniel W. McShea
Keyword(s):  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Morphological Complexity

scholarly journals Stepwise shifts underlie evolutionary trends in morphological complexity of the mammalian vertebral column

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina E. Jones ◽  
Kenneth D. Angielczyk ◽  
Stephanie E. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Evolutionary Models ◽  
Evolutionary Trends ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Geologic Time ◽  
Stem Lineage ◽  
Competing Hypotheses ◽  
Fossil Data ◽  
Increasing Trends

Abstract A fundamental concept in evolutionary biology is that life tends to become more complex through geologic time, but empirical examples of this phenomenon are controversial. One debate is whether increasing complexity is the result of random variations, or if there are evolutionary processes which actively drive its acquisition, and if these processes act uniformly across clades. The mammalian vertebral column provides an opportunity to test these hypotheses because it is composed of serially-repeating vertebrae for which complexity can be readily measured. Here we test seven competing hypotheses for the evolution of vertebral complexity by incorporating fossil data from the mammal stem lineage into evolutionary models. Based on these data, we reject Brownian motion (a random walk) and uniform increasing trends in favor of stepwise shifts for explaining increasing complexity. We hypothesize that increased aerobic capacity in non-mammalian cynodonts may have provided impetus for increasing vertebral complexity in mammals.

scholarly journals Fast running restricts evolutionary change of the vertebral column in mammals

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (31) ◽  
pp. 11401-11406 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Galis ◽  
D. R. Carrier ◽  
J. van Alphen ◽  
S. D. van der Mije ◽  
T. J. M. Van Dooren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Fast Running

Reading Longer Words: Insights Into Multisyllabic Word Reading

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Heggie ◽  
Lesly Wade-Woolley
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Reading Difficulties ◽  
Instructional Programs ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Reading Accuracy ◽  
Grade 3

Students with persistent reading difficulties are often especially challenged by multisyllabic words; they tend to have neither a systematic approach for reading these words nor the confidence to persevere (Archer, Gleason, & Vachon, 2003; Carlisle & Katz, 2006; Moats, 1998). This challenge is magnified by the fact that the vast majority of English words are multisyllabic and constitute an increasingly large proportion of the words in elementary school texts beginning as early as grade 3 (Hiebert, Martin, & Menon, 2005; Kerns et al., 2016). Multisyllabic words are more difficult to read simply because they are long, posing challenges for working memory capacity. In addition, syllable boundaries, word stress, vowel pronunciation ambiguities, less predictable grapheme-phoneme correspondences, and morphological complexity all contribute to long words' difficulty. Research suggests that explicit instruction in both syllabification and morphological knowledge improve poor readers' multisyllabic word reading accuracy; several examples of instructional programs involving one or both of these elements are provided.

Effects of lexical status and morphological complexity in masked priming

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna A. Morris ◽  
James Porter ◽  
Jonathan Grainger ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb
Keyword(s):  
Masked Priming ◽  
Lexical Status ◽  
Morphological Complexity

From Phenotype to Genotype And Back Again

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Richtsmeier ◽  
K.M. Lesciotto
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Change ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Phenotypic Trait ◽  
Critical Feature ◽  
Developmental Mechanism ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Physical Forces ◽  
Collaborative Efforts ◽  
Current Emphasis

Traditionally, anthropologists study evolutionary change throughmorphological analysis of fossils and comparative primate data. For the analysis of the genotypephenotype continuum, the current emphasis on genes is misplaced because genes don’t make structure. Developmental processes make structure through the activity of cells that use instructions specified by genes. A critical mechanism underlying any phenotypic trait is the genetically guided change in developmental events that produce the trait. But even when a developmental mechanism is identified, the links between genetically guided instructions and phenotypic outcome are lengthy, complicated, flexible, and sensitive to physical forces of functioning organs. We use the study of craniofacial phenotypes of craniosynostosis (premature closure of sutures) to demonstrate how patterns produced by the covariation of cranial traits cannot always reveal mechanism. Next we turn to encephalization, a critical feature of human evolution that covaries with cranial phenotypes, and show how experimental approaches can be used to analyze mechanism underlying this well-documented pattern in human evolution. With the realization that no single line of evidence can explain the dramatic changes in cranial morphology that characterize human evolution come fundamental changes in the way we conduct anthropological inquiry - collaborative efforts from scientists with diverse expertise will continue to push the field forward.

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