The magnificent antlers of the deer family Cervidae represent one of the classic examples of evolution of an exaggerated character through sexual selection. Empirical evidence widely suggests that deer antlers are evolved and maintained through fitness benefit of males wearing large antlers for access to better resources and mating opportunities. It remains unexplained, however, why different species of deer have different kinds of antlers. The Red Deer wears pointy and elongated antlers while the antler of Fallow Deer and Moose is palmated. Antlers of species inhabiting Asian Rainforests (Muitiacus) and the Andes of Latin America (Pudu) are puny.
In this master’s project, we will seek to answer this question using phylogenetic comparative analyses of antler morphology. As the baseline, we have data of antler volume, mass, and surface area obtained from 3D surface images for over 70 species/subspecies of extant species and 3 species of extinct species including the magnificent Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus). Our main idea is to revisit the ecological hypothesis of deer antler evolution, which posits that the shape of antler reflects its function. That is, some antlers are used primary for direct combat while others are used primary for display and these functional differences are hypothesized to result from their ecological mode of life.
This project will include (1) visits to museums to obtain additional antler images, (2) rendering of 3D photogrammetric objects from images obtained at museums, (3) acquition of ecological and life-history data through literature survey, (4) analyses of phenotypic data with phylogenetic comparative analyses in R statistical environment, and (5) evaluation of obtained results with respect to existing literature on deer antler evolution. Optionally, there are opportunity to explore how ecological and sexual selection hypotheses are related to underlying developmental and genetic constraints through analyses of allometry. There are plenty rooms to incorporate with your own interest and ideas too. You will gain experience in phylogenetic comparative methods, photogrammetry, literature sirvey, and working on museum collection.
If interested, please contact Masahito Tsuboi (masahito.tsuboi@biol.lu.se) for further details of the project.