This project seeks to understand how chewing motor patterns in two species of mammalian herbivores, goats (Capra hircus) and alpacas (Lama pacos), develop during early ontogeny. EMG activity of the jaw adductors are recorded from approximately 2 weeks to 3 years. During this time, major morphological changes in the masticatory apparatus occur, such as tooth eruption and replacement in both species and ossification of the mandibular symphysis in alpacas. Thus, in ongoing studies, we are also determining whether the development of muscle coordination is correlated with skeletal and dental growth and development. Finally, as chewing is a highly rhythmic activity, one component of this project, led by former undergraduate Honors Tutorial College student Kristin Stover, seeks to understand how chewing cycle length, chewing rhythm and muscle activity patterns change during ontogeny and across adult body sizes within species.

Collaborators and Students: JoAnna Sidote (OUCOM), Kristin Stover (featured at right; currently an MS student in the Dept of Biology College of Charleston), Jillian Davis (PhD Student in OU-EEB). Funded by the National Science Foundation, Ohio University, OU-COM and the 1804 Foundation.