Ecological divergence in the medial cuneiform and talus of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Open AccessMountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) live in two geographically discontinuous populations that inhabit the Virunga Massif of Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Though separated by just 35 km, the ecology and behaviors of these two populations vary in relation to altitudinal elevation; compared to Virunga gorillas (2,630-3,850m), Bwindi gorillas (1,160–2,600 m) show increased frugivory, vertical climbing and longer day ranges. Here we test the hypothesis that mountain gorilla foot morphology varies in relation to differences in arboreal behavior. Compared to the Virunga population, we predict that Bwindi gorillas will exhibit talocrural and hallucial tarsometatarsal joints that facilitate a more medially oriented foot set and greater mobility of the hallux, respectively. Our comparative sample includes three-dimensional models derived from 123 Gorilla specimens (N=8 G. b. beringei from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; N=35 G. b. beringei from the Virunga Massif; N=46 G. b. graueri, and N=33 G. g. gorilla). The hallucial facet on the medial cuneiform was significantly more curved in Bwindi gorillas (p = 0.015), but the trochlear facet on the talus was not significantly different from that of Virunga gorillas (p = 0.15). Overall these findings suggest that differences in local ecology play a role in determining population-level variation in functional morphology of the hominoid foot skeleton, which has relevance for understanding the behavior and ecology of extinct taxa.
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