Barth W Wright
Biographic Data
| ID | 626674 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barth W Wright |
| GIVEN NAMES | Barth W |
| FAMILY NAME | Wright |
| SIGNATURE | WRIGHT B W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Kansas City University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1192-7998 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 182 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Taking a big bite: Working together to better understand the evolution of feeding in primates
The study of adaptation requires the integration of an array of different types of data. A single individual can find such integration daunting, if not impossible. In an effort to clarify the role of diet in the evolution of the primate craniofacial and dental apparatus, we assembled a team of researchers that have various types and degrees of expertise. This interaction has provided a range of insights for all contributors, and this has helped t…
Age‐related variation in the mechanical properties of foods processed by S apajus libidinosus
OBJECTIVES: The diet of tufted capuchins (Sapajus) is characterized by annual or seasonal incorporation of mechanically protected foods. Reliance on these foods raises questions about the dietary strategies of young individuals that lack strength and experience to access these resources. Previous research has demonstrated differences between the feeding competencies of adult and juvenile tufted capuchins. Here we test the hypothesis that, compare…
Primate dietary ecology in the context of food mechanical properties
Viewpoints: Diet and dietary adaptations in early hominins: The hard food perspective
Recent biomechanical analyses examining the feeding adaptations of early hominins have yielded results consistent with the hypothesis that hard foods exerted a selection pressure that influenced the evolution of australopith morphology. However, this hypothesis appears inconsistent with recent reconstructions of early hominin diet based on dental microwear and stable isotopes. Thus, it is likely that either the diets of some australopiths include…
Relationships between the diet and dentition of Asian leaf monkeys
Colobines have been generally described as primates that use the anterior teeth minimally, but the posterior teeth extensively, to process leaves and related food items. However, variation among leaf monkeys in both anterior and posterior dental morphology has been recognized for decades. In this study, we turn to Hylander's (Science 189 (1975) 1095–1098) analysis of anterior incisor row length and Kay's (Adaptations for foraging in nonhuman prim…
Microwear, mechanics and the feeding adaptations of Australopithecus africanus
A finite element analysis of masticatory stress hypotheses
Understanding how the skull transmits and dissipates forces during feeding provides insights into the selective pressures that may have driven the evolution of primate skull morphology. Traditionally, researchers have interpreted masticatory biomechanics in terms of simple global loading regimes applied to simple shapes (i.e., bending in sagittal and frontal planes, dorsoventral shear, and torsion of beams and cylinders). This study uses finite e…
The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Australopithecus africanus
The African Plio-Pleistocene hominins known as australopiths evolved a distinctive craniofacial morphology that traditionally has been viewed as a dietary adaptation for feeding on either small, hard objects or on large volumes of food. A historically influential interpretation of this morphology hypothesizes that loads applied to the premolars during feeding had a profound influence on the evolution of australopith craniofacial form. Here, we te…
Fallback foraging as a way of life: Using dietary toughness to compare the fallback signal among capuchins and implications for interpreting morphological variation
The genus Cebus is one of the best extant models for examining the role of fallback foods in primate evolution. Cebus includes the tufted capuchins, which exhibit skeletal features for the exploitation of hard and tough foods. Paradoxically, these seemingly “specialized” taxa belong to the most ubiquitous group of closely related primates in South America, thriving in a range of different habitats. This appears to be a consequence of their abilit…
Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foods
A number of living primates feed part‐year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods—nuts, seeds, and root vegetables—were tested, with accuracy che…
The importance of fallback foods in primate ecology and evolution
The role of fallback foods in shaping primate ranging, socioecology, and morphology has recently become a topic of particular interest to biological anthropologists. Although the use of fallback resources has been noted in the ecological and primatological literature for a number of decades, few attempts have been made to define fallback foods or to explore the utility of this concept for primate evolutionary biologists and ecologists. As a prefa…
Is primate conservation essential to ecosystem conservation
It’s Tough Out There: Variation in the Toughness of Ingested Leaves and Feeding Behavior Among Four Colobinae in Vietnam
Mechanical properties of foods used in experimental studies of primate masticatory function
In vivo studies of jaw-muscle behavior have been integral factors in the development of our current understanding of the primate masticatory apparatus. However, even though it has been shown that food textures and mechanical properties influence jaw-muscle activity during mastication, very little effort has been made to quantify the relationship between the elicited masticatory responses of the subject and the mechanical properties of the foods t…
Viewpoints: Diet and dietary adaptations in early hominins: The hard food perspective
Recent biomechanical analyses examining the feeding adaptations of early hominins have yielded results consistent with the hypothesis that hard foods exerted a selection pressure that influenced the evolution of australopith morphology. However, this hypothesis appears inconsistent with recent reconstructions of early hominin diet based on dental microwear and stable isotopes. Thus, it is likely that either the diets of some australopiths include…
Fallback foraging as a way of life: Using dietary toughness to compare the fallback signal among capuchins and implications for interpreting morphological variation
The genus Cebus is one of the best extant models for examining the role of fallback foods in primate evolution. Cebus includes the tufted capuchins, which exhibit skeletal features for the exploitation of hard and tough foods. Paradoxically, these seemingly “specialized” taxa belong to the most ubiquitous group of closely related primates in South America, thriving in a range of different habitats. This appears to be a consequence of their abilit…
It’s Tough Out There: Variation in the Toughness of Ingested Leaves and Feeding Behavior Among Four Colobinae in Vietnam
The importance of fallback foods in primate ecology and evolution
The role of fallback foods in shaping primate ranging, socioecology, and morphology has recently become a topic of particular interest to biological anthropologists. Although the use of fallback resources has been noted in the ecological and primatological literature for a number of decades, few attempts have been made to define fallback foods or to explore the utility of this concept for primate evolutionary biologists and ecologists. As a prefa…
Primate dietary ecology in the context of food mechanical properties
Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foods
A number of living primates feed part‐year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods—nuts, seeds, and root vegetables—were tested, with accuracy che…
Microwear, mechanics and the feeding adaptations of Australopithecus africanus
A finite element analysis of masticatory stress hypotheses
Understanding how the skull transmits and dissipates forces during feeding provides insights into the selective pressures that may have driven the evolution of primate skull morphology. Traditionally, researchers have interpreted masticatory biomechanics in terms of simple global loading regimes applied to simple shapes (i.e., bending in sagittal and frontal planes, dorsoventral shear, and torsion of beams and cylinders). This study uses finite e…
Age‐related variation in the mechanical properties of foods processed by S apajus libidinosus
OBJECTIVES: The diet of tufted capuchins (Sapajus) is characterized by annual or seasonal incorporation of mechanically protected foods. Reliance on these foods raises questions about the dietary strategies of young individuals that lack strength and experience to access these resources. Previous research has demonstrated differences between the feeding competencies of adult and juvenile tufted capuchins. Here we test the hypothesis that, compare…
Relationships between the diet and dentition of Asian leaf monkeys
Colobines have been generally described as primates that use the anterior teeth minimally, but the posterior teeth extensively, to process leaves and related food items. However, variation among leaf monkeys in both anterior and posterior dental morphology has been recognized for decades. In this study, we turn to Hylander's (Science 189 (1975) 1095–1098) analysis of anterior incisor row length and Kay's (Adaptations for foraging in nonhuman prim…
Mechanical properties of foods used in experimental studies of primate masticatory function
In vivo studies of jaw-muscle behavior have been integral factors in the development of our current understanding of the primate masticatory apparatus. However, even though it has been shown that food textures and mechanical properties influence jaw-muscle activity during mastication, very little effort has been made to quantify the relationship between the elicited masticatory responses of the subject and the mechanical properties of the foods t…
Is primate conservation essential to ecosystem conservation
It’s Tough Out There: Variation in the Toughness of Ingested Leaves and Feeding Behavior Among Four Colobinae in Vietnam
The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Australopithecus africanus
The African Plio-Pleistocene hominins known as australopiths evolved a distinctive craniofacial morphology that traditionally has been viewed as a dietary adaptation for feeding on either small, hard objects or on large volumes of food. A historically influential interpretation of this morphology hypothesizes that loads applied to the premolars during feeding had a profound influence on the evolution of australopith craniofacial form. Here, we te…
Fallback foraging as a way of life: Using dietary toughness to compare the fallback signal among capuchins and implications for interpreting morphological variation
The genus Cebus is one of the best extant models for examining the role of fallback foods in primate evolution. Cebus includes the tufted capuchins, which exhibit skeletal features for the exploitation of hard and tough foods. Paradoxically, these seemingly “specialized” taxa belong to the most ubiquitous group of closely related primates in South America, thriving in a range of different habitats. This appears to be a consequence of their abilit…
Indentation as a technique to assess the mechanical properties of fallback foods
A number of living primates feed part‐year on seemingly hard food objects as a fallback. We ask here how hardness can be quantified and how this can help understand primate feeding ecology. We report a simple indentation methodology for quantifying hardness, elastic modulus, and toughness in the sense that materials scientists would define them. Suggested categories of fallback foods—nuts, seeds, and root vegetables—were tested, with accuracy che…
The importance of fallback foods in primate ecology and evolution
The role of fallback foods in shaping primate ranging, socioecology, and morphology has recently become a topic of particular interest to biological anthropologists. Although the use of fallback resources has been noted in the ecological and primatological literature for a number of decades, few attempts have been made to define fallback foods or to explore the utility of this concept for primate evolutionary biologists and ecologists. As a prefa…
A finite element analysis of masticatory stress hypotheses
Understanding how the skull transmits and dissipates forces during feeding provides insights into the selective pressures that may have driven the evolution of primate skull morphology. Traditionally, researchers have interpreted masticatory biomechanics in terms of simple global loading regimes applied to simple shapes (i.e., bending in sagittal and frontal planes, dorsoventral shear, and torsion of beams and cylinders). This study uses finite e…
Relationships between the diet and dentition of Asian leaf monkeys
Colobines have been generally described as primates that use the anterior teeth minimally, but the posterior teeth extensively, to process leaves and related food items. However, variation among leaf monkeys in both anterior and posterior dental morphology has been recognized for decades. In this study, we turn to Hylander's (Science 189 (1975) 1095–1098) analysis of anterior incisor row length and Kay's (Adaptations for foraging in nonhuman prim…
Microwear, mechanics and the feeding adaptations of Australopithecus africanus
Viewpoints: Diet and dietary adaptations in early hominins: The hard food perspective
Recent biomechanical analyses examining the feeding adaptations of early hominins have yielded results consistent with the hypothesis that hard foods exerted a selection pressure that influenced the evolution of australopith morphology. However, this hypothesis appears inconsistent with recent reconstructions of early hominin diet based on dental microwear and stable isotopes. Thus, it is likely that either the diets of some australopiths include…
Age‐related variation in the mechanical properties of foods processed by S apajus libidinosus
OBJECTIVES: The diet of tufted capuchins (Sapajus) is characterized by annual or seasonal incorporation of mechanically protected foods. Reliance on these foods raises questions about the dietary strategies of young individuals that lack strength and experience to access these resources. Previous research has demonstrated differences between the feeding competencies of adult and juvenile tufted capuchins. Here we test the hypothesis that, compare…
Primate dietary ecology in the context of food mechanical properties
Taking a big bite: Working together to better understand the evolution of feeding in primates
The study of adaptation requires the integration of an array of different types of data. A single individual can find such integration daunting, if not impossible. In an effort to clarify the role of diet in the evolution of the primate craniofacial and dental apparatus, we assembled a team of researchers that have various types and degrees of expertise. This interaction has provided a range of insights for all contributors, and this has helped t…
Primate Behavior and Ecology (12 works) · Biology (10 works) · Ecology (9 works) · Ecology (7 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Evolutionary biology (5 works) · Primate (4 works) · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation (4 works) · Zoology (4 works) · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior (3 works)