Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · 2007 · 470 citations · 67 references
EngineeringLiving FossilMicromechanicsMechanical EngineeringContinuum MechanicComputational MechanicsPhylogeneticsMechanicsMammalogyBiomechanicsDigital StructureMorphological EvidenceMechanical ModelingEvolutionary BiomechanicsSolid MechanicsExtinct Animal Fe-modelsMechanical DeformationFinite Element AnalysisBiologyFinite Element MethodDevelopmental BiologyNatural SciencesEvolutionary BiologyZoogeographyFossil OrganismsStructural MechanicsPrimate FossilMechanics Of Materials
Finite element analysis reconstructs stress, strain, and deformation in digital structures and, after decades of use in engineering and orthopedics, is now being applied in zoology and paleontology to investigate organismal morphology, function, and evolution. The authors propose that expanding validation across diverse taxa will enable phylogenetic bracketing of extinct animal FE models, thereby improving confidence in input parameters and unlocking FEA’s potential to answer form‑function questions. Validation studies confirm that FE‑inferred strain matches in vivo or in vitro strain measurements.
Finite element analysis (FEA) is a technique that reconstructs stress, strain, and deformation in a digital structure. Although commonplace in engineering and orthopedic science for more than 30 years, only recently has it begun to be adopted in the zoological and paleontological sciences to address questions of organismal morphology, function, and evolution. Current research tends to focus on either deductive studies that assume a close relationship between form and function or inductive studies that aim to test this relationship, although explicit hypothesis-testing bridges these two standpoints. Validation studies have shown congruence between in vivo or in vitro strain and FE-inferred strain. Future validation work on a broad range of taxa will assist in phylogenetically bracketing our extinct animal FE-models to increase confidence in our input parameters, although currently, FEA has much potential in addressing questions of form-function relationships, providing appropriate questions are asked of the existing data.
67