Allison Nesbit

Graduate Student, Stony Brook University

Anthropological Sciences

Specialty: Biological Anthropology, Osteology, Geometric Morphometrics & Forensic Anthropology

AGEP-T FRAME Research Mentors: Dr. Frederick E. Grine, Dr. William L. Jungers

Email: Allison.Nesbitt@stonybrook.edu 

I am a biological anthropology doctoral candidate in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences at Stony Brook University. I use geometric morphometric and multivariate analyses to analyze sexual dimorphism, growth and development, variation and evolution of the human head. In addition, I am an anatomist with practical experience in osteology and forensic anthropology. For my dissertation, I am analyzing the relationship between the size and shape of the face and dentition in humans and chimpanzees. My dissertation research is supported by grants from the Leakey Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.

Seminar Title: Evolution and the morphological integration of the skull

Description: The study of morphological integration characterizes the pattern and magnitude of the association between two anatomical parts. The magnitude of integration may influence evolution in that high integration may constrain the direction of change to the form and structure of an organism, thereby maintaining correlated evolution of morphological traits. However, weak integration may enable mosaic evolution where traits can change independently. This presentation will discuss the evolutionary significance of morphological integration and examine the morphological integration or covariation between different regions of the skull.

Publications:

Nesbitt A, Baab K.2015. The magnitude of covariation among regions of the human cranium. Am J Phys Anthropol S60:235.

Mongle CS, Nesbitt A, Grine FE. 2015. A re-examination of maxillary shape variation and the attribution of Early Pleistocene fossils to the genus Homo. Am J Phys Anthropol S60:228.

Wallace IJ, Nesbitt A, Mongle C, Gould ES, Grine FE. 2014.Age-related variation in limb bone diaphyseal structure among Inuit foragers from Point Hope, northern Alaska. Arch Osteoporos 9: 202-212. doi: 10.1007/s11657-014-0202-3

Maiolino SA, Pain E., Perlman R, Nesbitt A, Thompson NE. 2013. Chasing monkeys and finding fossils under the sunsphere. Evol Anthropol 22: 161-163. doi: 10.1002/evan.21363

Nesbitt A, Baab KL. 2013. Morphological integration of the maxillary dentition and the cranium in hominoids. Am J Phys Anthropol S56:206.