Ontogenetic Variability in Collagen Fiber Orientation at the Midshaft Femur of Virunga Mountain Gorillas
Open AccessPrior research has established that collagen fiber orientation (CFO) is an important determinant of bone’s ability to resist different modes of mechanical loading (Ascenzi and Bonucci, 1976), and that spatial patterns of CFO within mammalian limb elements co-varies with the distribution of mechanical strains due to locomotion. However, we lack the information on the various patterns of CFO organization in response to varying locomotor behaviors in primates, specifically cercopithecoids and apes, as a way to comparatively study humans and their earliest hominin ancestors. This study demonstrates the potential to reveal the internal structure of bone, by establishing an avenue for understanding the adaptive changes in regard to locomotor behavior in mountain gorillas, through the analysis of CFO. By focusing on a small sample of mountain gorilla femora across age classes, I address whether there are consistent spatial patterns of CFO in the midshaft femur of mountain gorillas that reflect their locomotor repertoire. Significant differences in age and regional variation were found across bone cross-sections. The preferential distribution of longitudinal CFO found in this study is concordant to prior research.
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