Molecular-Based Phylogeny of Asian Miocene Primates
ESR3 Ryan Sinclair Paterson
I obtained my undergraduate degree in biological anthropology at the University of Toronto, receiving practical experience with Miocene fossil primates under the eye of Dr. David Begun. I completed an MSc under the supervision of Natalia Rybczynski, where I was first exposed to the utility of proteomics applied to fossil mammals.
In between degrees, I’ve conducted archaeological excavations and analyses in several different countries, involving both field- and labwork, for private companies and the government of Canada. My time within the private and public sectors has made me keenly aware of the legislative hurdles associated with the protection of natural and cultural heritage, and the ethical concerns associated with our investigative techniques.
My PhD Project
My specific PhD project will primarily revolve around the extraction and analysis of proteomic data from Asian Miocene primates, with a focus on Gigantopithecus, Sivapithecus, and other allied taxa. Additionally, proteomic data will be used alongside 3-D geometric morphometrics to quantitatively discern the degree of sexual dimorphism in fossil hominoids, and investigate the evolution of sexual mating systems in the lineage. In addition to the obvious implications this project holds in reconstructing the divergence and dispersal of great apes, this project also serves to assess the true diversity of Miocene apes using cutting-edge biomolecular methodologies. Furthermore, this study project will provide a significant contribution to studies of sexual dimorphism within the clade to which humans belong (Hominoidea). While several studies have used geometric morphometrics to quantitatively assess sexual dimorphism in fossil taxa and reconstruct the evolution of mating systems and sexually-selected traits, these studies have not confirmed sexual identifications using molecular data. The present investigation will use palaeoproteomics to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships of Gigantopithecus and other Asian Miocene apes, and provide a framework from which we can reliably assess the evolution of different mating systems in hominoids.
Secondments
Comparative Genomics Lab at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) with Dr. Tomas Marques-Bonet and Université de Bordeaux with Dr. Clement Zanolli
CV
2013-2015, 2017-2020
Field Archaeologist, Zooarchaeologist, Palaeoenvironmental Scientist with various private companies (Archaeological Services Inc., Border Archaeology, AMEC) and the Government of Canada (Parks Canada – Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage).
2015 – 2017
Master of Science with Distinction Carleton University/Canadian Museum of Nature – Earth Sciences (Vertebrate Palaeontology)
MSc Thesis: Evidence for the independent acquisition of aquatic specializations in pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses): insights from the study of the phylogenetic position, locomotory behavior, and description of the stem pinniped, Puijila darwini.
2009 – 2013
Honours Bachelor of Science with High Distinction.
University of Toronto – Evolutionary Anthropology Specialist
Publications
Paterson, R. S., Madupe, P. P., & Cappellini, E. (2024). Paleoproteomics sheds light on million-year-old fossils. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 1-2.
Koenig, C., Bortel, P., Paterson, R. S., Rendl, B., Madupe, P. P., Troché, G. B., ... & Olsen, J. V. (2024). Automated high-throughput biological sex identification from archeological human dental enamel using targeted proteomics. Journal of Proteome Research, 23(11), 5107-5121.
Paterson, R. S. S., Mackie, M., Capobianco, A., Heckeberg, N. S., Fraser, D., Munir, F., ... & Cappellini, E. (2024). A 20+ Ma old enamel proteome from Canada's High Arctic reveals diversification of Rhinocerotidae in the middle Eocene-Oligocene. bioRxiv, 2024-06.
Krueger, J., Fong Zazueta, R., Alba, D. M., Aymerich, X., Beck, R. M., Cappellini, E., ... & Lizano, E. (2024). Phylogenetic signal in primate tooth enamel proteins and its relevance for paleoproteomics. bioRxiv, 2024-02.
Taurozzi, A. J., Rüther, P. L., Patramanis, I., Koenig, C., Sinclair Paterson, R., Madupe, P. P., ... & Cappellini, E. (2024). Deep-time phylogenetic inference by paleoproteomic analysis of dental enamel. Nature Protocols, 1-32.
Kubat, J., Paterson, R., Patramanis, I., Barker, G., Demeter, F., Filoux, A., ... & Bacon, A. M. (2023). Geometric morphometrics and paleoproteomics enlighten the paleodiversity of Pongo. Plos one, 18(12), e0291308.
Paterson RS, Rybczynski N, Kohno N, and Maddin HC. 2019. A total evidence approach to pinniped phylogeny: the possibility of parallel evolution within a monophyletic framework. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00457
Mann A, Paterson RS. 2019. Cranial osteology and systematics of the enigmatic early ‘sail-backed’ synapsid, Echinerpeton intermedium (Reisz, 1972), and a review of the earliest ‘pelycosaurs’. Journal of Systematic Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2019.1648323.
Paterson RS, Samuels JX, Rybczynski N, Ryan MJ, and Maddin HC. 2019. The earliest mustelid in North America. Journal of the Linnaean Society 188(4): 1318-1339. DOI:zlz091.
Paterson R, Rybczynski N, Bohaska DJ, and Pitulko VV. 2017. “Deep Time: The Narwhal and Beluga fossil record” in Narwhal: revealing an Arctic Legend, edited by Fitzhugh WW, and Nweeia MT., 84-88. Hanover, New Hampshire and Washington, DC: IPI Press and Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center.
