Lauren Schroeder- PhD
- Professor (Associate) at University of Toronto
Lauren Schroeder
- PhD
- Professor (Associate) at University of Toronto
About
51
Publications
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1,104
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Introduction
Current institution
Additional affiliations
February 2009 - August 2015
Publications
Publications (51)
The discovery of Homo naledi has expanded the range of phenotypic variation in Homo, leading to new questions surrounding the mosaic nature of morphological evolution. Though currently undated, its unique morphological pattern and possible phylogenetic relationships to other hominin taxa suggest a complex evolutionary scenario. Here, we perform geo...
Hominoid cranial evolution is characterized by substantial phenotypic diversity, yet the cause of this variability has rarely been explored. Quantitative genetic techniques for investigating evolutionary processes underlying morphological divergence are dependent on the availability of good ancestral models, a problem in hominoids where the fossil...
The increasing awareness that hybridization, and resultant gene flow, plays a major role in animal diversification has led to a growing number of studies that have focused on assessing the morphological consequences of this process. Analyses of mammalian hybrids have identified skeletal effects of hybridization, including a suite of anomalous denta...
The Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) was founded 50 years ago when much of the foundation for how we think about human evolution was in place or being put in place, providing the main framework for how we consider our origins today. Here, we will explore historical developments, including early JHE outputs, as they relate to our understanding of th...
This piece reflects on the importance of and focus on heads – especially the collecting of skulls and its impacts – in alpha taxonomy, biological anthropology, and Western science more broadly. We consider how the announcement and overall discovery story of the Taung Child revolutionised our understanding of hominin cranial evolution, but also fit...
While most studies on Daylight Saving Time (DST) focus on human sleep and well-being, there is a dearth of understanding of how this sudden, human-mitigated change affects the routines of companion animals. The objective of this study was to assess how DST influenced the morning activity pattern of dogs (Canis familiaris). We used accelerometers to...
The study of human evolution, also known as palaeoanthropology, focuses on our distant and more recent human past; what shaped us as a lineage, genus, and species; and how we came to be the diverse single species we are today. However, the bulk of this research, knowledge production, and understanding has been driven by the global North to the excl...
While brain size in primates and their relatives within Euarchontoglires is well-studied, less research has examined brain shape, or the allometric trajectories that underlie the relationship between size and shape. Defining these patterns is key to understanding evolutionary trends. 3D geometric morphometric analyses of endocranial shape were perf...
The fragmentary early Homo fossil record represents a temporally expansive and complex lineage that is morphologically and geographically diverse. This large amount of variation, which also captures the transition period from Australopithecus to Homo, has been the focus of a number of studies that have attempted to tease apart taxo-nomic relationsh...
Sympatric animals may consume diets of differing breadths as a strategy to reduce competition. Studying patterns of dietary breadth in extinct taxa is difficult because available data are generally limited to morphology. Dental topographic analysis (DTA) is useful for comparing occlusal morphology and allows for examination of dietary adaptations i...
The evolutionary relationships among extinct African hominin taxa are highly debated and largely unresolved, due in part to a lack of molecular data. Even within taxa, it is not always clear, based on morphology alone, whether ranges of variation are due to sexual dimorphism versus potentially undescribed taxonomic diversity. For Paranthropus robus...
The calculation of morphological integration across living apes and humans may provide important insights into the potential influence of integration on evolutionary trajectories in the hominid lineage. Here, we quantify magnitudes of morphological integration among and within elements of the midfoot in great apes and humans to examine the link bet...
Afro-Eurasian monkeys originated in the Miocene and are the most species-rich modern primate family. Molecular and fossil data have provided considerable insight into their evolutionary divergence, but we know considerably less about the evolutionary processes that underlie these differences. Here, we apply tests developed from quantitative genetic...
There are limited studies investigating the combined effects of biological, environmental, and human factors on the activity of the domestic dog. Sled dogs offer a unique opportunity to examine these factors due to their close relationship with handlers and exposure to the outdoors. Here, we used accelerometers to measure the activity of 52 sled do...
Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a serious concern in aging individuals, but has not been explored for its potential to alter the shape of the inner ear by way of increased remodeling in the otic capsule. The otic capsule, or bony labyrinth, is thought to experience uniquely limited remodeling after development due to high levels of osteoprotegerin....
Objectives
Intraspecific shape variation in the recent Homo sapiens bony labyrinth has been assessed for association with sexual dimorphism, body size, and genetic differences, but has not been fully assessed for association with extrinsic factors, such as subsistence strategy and climate. While the skull overall is known to vary with these variabl...
Variation in postcanine teeth is relevant to answering questions about both taxonomy and diet. In such contexts, understanding the patterns and the amounts of variation present in a single species is fundamentally important. Here we use dental topographic analysis (DTA) to study variation in functional aspects of the lower second molar (n = 51) and...
The origin of the genus Homo is marked by a period of widespread morphological diversity across eastern and southern Africa. While the evolution of early Homo is recognised as a significant evolutionary juncture, this extensive variability makes it difficult to delimit a clear boundary between the australopiths and Homo, with the transition between...
Objectives
Variation in the external nasal region among human populations has long been proposed in the literature to reflect adaptations to facilitate thermoregulation, air conditioning, and moisture retention in local climates and environments. More specifically, adaptations in populations living in colder climates have often been assumed due to...
Maternal malnutrition during gestation and lactation is known to have adverse effects on offspring. We evaluate the impact of maternal diet on offspring bony labyrinth morphology. The bony labyrinth develops early and is thought to be stable to protect vital sensory organs within. For these reasons, bony labyrinth morphology has been used extensive...
This letter addresses the editorial decision to publish the article, “Research on group differences in intelligence: A defense of free inquiry” (Cofnas, 2020). Our letter points out several critical problems with Cofnas's article, which we believe should have either disqualified the manuscript upon submission or been addressed during the review pro...
Osipov and colleagues [American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2(151) 2013] previously posited that the dimensions of the bony labyrinth exhibit sexual dimorphism. Using a recent sample of known sex, they produced an age-independent, multivariate equation to predict biological sex using several of these dimensions. We aim to test the applicabili...
Over the past few decades, paleoanthropology has undergone a transformative shift away from studies focused solely on traditional assessments of skeletal anatomy. Prior to this shift, a review highlighting a year of research may have primarily consisted of a description of new fossil discoveries; in 2019, however, this review also incorporates nove...
Extant hominoid cranial variability, although marked, represents only a remnant of a temporally and geographically expansive evolutionary history. Attempts to reconstruct the evolutionary processes that have played a role in the morphological divergence of this superfamily have been complicated by a sparse hominoid fossil record, and ambiguity rela...
The recent publication by Chan et al (2019) entitled “Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations” fails to meet scientific standards for publication in two ways. First, it neglects its scientific duty to discuss the entire body of scientific evidence around human origins, which leads to unsupportable claims. Second, it...
During the late Pleistocene, isolated lineages of hominins exchanged genes thus influencing genomic variation in humans in both the past and present. However, the dynamics of this genetic exchange and associated phenotypic consequences through time remain poorly understood. Gene exchange across divergent lineages can result in myriad outcomes arisi...
Quantitative genetics is the study of the inheritance and evolution of continuous characteristics, coded for by many gene loci (polygenic) that interact (pleiotropy) in complex ways. Quantitative trait variation is a function of both genetic and environmental variance. The ability of a quantitative trait to respond to a selective pressure is intima...
During the late Pleistocene, genetically isolated lineages of hominins exchanged genes thus influencing genomic variation in humans in both the past and present. However, the dynamics of this genetic exchange and the associated phenotypic consequences through time remain poorly understood. Gene exchange across divergent lineages can result in myria...
Outside of possible evidence for more complex social practices (e.g. longevity post-trauma, preserved infant remains), the fossil record of human evolution is limited in its ability to address the transition towards transcendental forms of wisdom. Indeed, it is difficult to equate our modern intellectual condition with deep past biological indicato...
Objectives
Integration and modularity reflect the coordinated action of past evolutionary processes and, in turn, constrain or facilitate phenotypic evolvability. Here, we analyze magnitudes of integration in the macaque postcranium to test whether 20 a priori defined modules are (1) more tightly integrated than random sets of postcranial traits, a...
Recent fossil finds have highlighted extensive morphological diversity within our genus, Homo , and the co-existence of a number of species. However, little is known about the evolutionary processes responsible for producing this diversity. Understanding the action of these processes can provide insight into how and why our lineage evolved and dive...
The species Homo naledi was recently named from specimens recovered from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. This large skeletal sample lacks associated faunal material and currently does not have a known chronological context. In this paper, we present comprehensive descriptions and metric comparisons of the recove...
Homo naledi is a recently discovered species of fossil hominin from South Africa. A considerable amount is already known about H. naledi but some important questions remain unanswered. Here we report a study that addressed two of them: “Where does H. naledi fit in the hominin evolutionary tree?” and “How old is it?” We used a large supermatrix of c...
Objectives:
Estimation of the variance-covariance (V/CV) structure of fragmentary bioarchaeological populations requires the use of proxy extant V/CV parameters. However, it is currently unclear whether extant human populations exhibit equivalent V/CV structures.
Materials and methods:
Random skewers (RS) and hierarchical analyses of common prin...
Traits of H. naledi and comparative species.
DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09560.029
Holotype and paratype specimens and referred materials.
DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09560.028
Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. na...
Numerous studies suggest that the transition from Australopithecus to Homo was characterized by evolutionary innovation, resulting in the emergence and coexistence of a diversity of forms. However, the evolutionary processes necessary to drive such a transition have not been examined. Here, we apply statistical tests developed from quantitative evo...
Hybridization may have played a substantial role in shaping the diversity of our evolving lineage. Although recent genomic evidence has shown that hybridization occurred between anatomically modern humans (AMHS) and Neanderthals, it remains difficult to pin down precisely where and when this gene flow took place. Investigations of the hybrid phenot...
Since the announcement of the species Australopithecus sediba, questions have been raised over whether the Malapa fossils represent a valid taxon or whether inadequate allowance was made
for intraspecific variation, in particular with reference to the temporally and geographically proximate species Au. africanus. The morphology of mandibular remain...
SK 847 and StW 53 have often been cited as evidence for early Homo in South Africa. To examine whether midfacial morphology is in agreement with these attributions, we analyze Euclidean distances calculated from 3-D coordinates on the maxillae of SK 847 and StW 53, as well as Australopithecus africanus (Sts 5, Sts 71), Paranthropus robustus (SK 46,...
