Lea Gresens
My name is Lea and I am currently pursuing a Bachelor degree in Biology. My interests are not only in the evolutionary adaptations of species to different lifestyles but also the reason behind those differences or similarities.
I am currently working on my bachelor thesis within the Caviomorpha project, focusing specifically on the cross-sectional properties of the femur. With the help of ORS Dragonfly, segmenting the femora out of the full CT-Scans and orienting them in a standardized orientation was possible. All the data will be analyzed with R. The main focus of my project is to evaluate whether differences in locomotor ecology (e.g., climbing, digging, running) are reflected in the cross-sectional properties.
Research
Project: Ecomorphology of Caviomorpha
This project focusses on the evolutionary diversity of caviomorph rodents, a radiation of more than 200 species that adapted to various lifestyles. In comparative analyses, we study different aspects of the appendicular musculoskeletal system. Bones are analysed based in micro CT data in terms of shape, cross-sectional properties, and bone internal structure. Further we try to understand ecomorphological adaptations at the level of lever systems, leveraging 3D modelling to determine instantaneous muscle moment arms.
