Anatomy Research Featured in Prominent Outlets

Research by Postdoctoral Fellow Edwin Dickinson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Michael Granatosky, Ph.D., and NYITCOM student Melody Young appeared in the New York Times, New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, and others. The findings suggest that parrots use their beak as a third limb to swing from branch to branch, much like monkeys. Dickinson tells New Scientist that animal anatomy and behaviors don’t always match up in obvious ways; animals can co-opt body parts to do things beyond the purposes for which they evolved. “In the case of the parrots, you’re basically using your feeding system to move, and that’s a pretty complicated task from a neurological perspective,” he says.