The Diet, Anatomy, and Ecological Niche of Hominins.
Introduction
The feeding habits, ecology, behavior, and anatomy of hominins are the primary focus of many primatologists’ studies. The relationship between a hominin’s diet, its home range, behavior, and anatomy allows paleontologists to understand their subjects. Diet is the basis of many differences that separate species, families, and genera. For extant taxa, the most reliable way of determining diet is observation (Ungar 205). For extinct taxa, it is the comparison of the characteristics of teeth found fossil assemblage with attributes of the dental formula of existing hominins (Ungar 205). Diet also influences the brain size of a primate. The consumption of high energy food such as meat facilitated the increase of brain size in hominins (DeCasien et al., 3). An organism’s diet is critical in determining its ecological niche. What a hominin feeds on determines how it interacts with the biotic and abiotic factors in its environment.
Hypothesis.
- A primate’s diet corresponds with its dental morphology since the dental formula of hominins is designed to allow adequate consumption of its preferred food. A hominin with heavy meat consumption has sharper canines.
- A primate’s diet will directly influence its brain size. An increase in brain size requires a corresponding increase in the energy level of food a primate consumes. Therefore, the higher the energy level of a primate’s diet, the larger its brain size will be.
- The dietary needs of a primate determine its home range. If the foods that constitute the diet of a primate are available within a small area, the primate will tend to stick to that area. If not, the primate will increase its home range to satisfy its needs.
Works Cited.
DeCasien, Alex R., Scott A. Williams, and James P. Higham. “Primate Brain size is predicted by diet but not sociality.” Nature ecology & evolution 1.5 (2017): 1-7.
Ungar, Peter. “Dental allometry, morphology, and wear as evidence for diet in fossil primates.” Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews: Issues, News, and Reviews 6.6 (1998): 205-217.