Dr Alexander Stößel

Profilbild A. Stoessel
Image: Dr. A. Stoessel

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Science
with the Phyletic Museum, the Ernst Haeckel House and the Department of Biology Education

Erbertstr. 1
07743 Jena
Profile picture

Tel: 0049 3641 94 91 13
Fax: 0049 3641 94 91 42
alexander.stoessel@uni-jena.de

bony and soft-tissue structures of the middle and inner ear
Image: Dr. A. Stoessel

Curriculum Vitae

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research with the Phyletic Museum, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (FSU), and Head of the Digital Anthropology Laboratory at the Department of Archaeogenetics (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena (MPI-SHH))

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND POSITIONS

Since May ’17

Head of the Digital Anthropology Laboratory at the Department of Archaeogenetics (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena (MPI-SHH))

Since October 2016

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU)

August ’11 – September ’16

Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA), Leipzig

March ’07 – July ’11

Research Associate at the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU)

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

Mar ’07 – Jun ’11

PhD {(doctoral) thesis (Dr. rer. nat.)} Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU);

Doctoral thesis: Bipedalism in Birds – A functional morphological analysis of the locomotor apparatus of predominantly terrestrial birds, supervised by Prof. Dr M.S. Fischer (Jena), Prof. Dr R. Blickhan (Jena) & Prof. Dr H.R. Duncker (Gießen)

Oct ’00 – Feb ’07

Diploma in Biology, Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU): Zoology, Biochemistry, Genetics & Neurobiology

Jul ’06 – Feb ’07

Diploma thesis: The morphology of the ethmoid region of Orycteropus afer (Mammalia – Tubulidentata) – Also a phylogenetic and systematic study of the ethmoidal region of Eutheria, supervised by Prof. Dr M.S. Fischer (Jena) & Prof. Dr W. Maier (Tübingen)

Three skulls from different species
Image: Dr. A. Stoessel

Research

I am an evolutionary biologist specialising in human evolution and the functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, with a particular focus on mammals and birds.

Skulls in front of A. Stoessel
Image: Dr. A. Stoessel

My main research interest centres on the function, evolution and variability of the organs of acoustic communication (the auditory region and the larynx) in primates, and in particular hominoids. Using a comparative approach and combining state-of-the-art experimental techniques (e.g., laser Doppler vibrometry), 3D morphometrics and modern 3D imaging techniques (I also head a micro-CT facility at the MPI-SHH) for hard and soft tissues, I am seeking to understand how morphological changes in the structures of the auditory region (outer, middle and inner ear) and the sound-producing apparatus (larynx, oral cavity, tongue, etc.) relate to differences in sound perception and production. Using these data and incorporating information from fossil hominids—and in particular fossil hominins such as australopithecines or Neanderthals—I aim to understand how acoustic communication has evolved amongst primates and, in particular, within the human lineage. In this way, I am able to reconstruct morphological changes over evolutionary time scales and even, with all due scientific caution, to gain an understanding of the behaviour and way of life of extinct groups. This research is also inevitably linked to the question of the origin of human spoken language, sometimes referred to as ‘one of the hardest problems in science’. Consequently, together with my PhD student Joaquin Del Rio (as part of a project funded by the Max Planck Society that is about to begin), we are studying the variability of hearing and auditory morphology in a large sample of human individuals.

Finally, as many of the bony structures in the auditory region have been shown to exhibit species- or even population-specific morphology, I am using these structures as markers for the taxonomic classification of fragmentary fossil remains or for reconstructing migratory patterns.

in-situ reconstruction of the ossicular chain
Image: Dr. A Stoessel

However, my research is not limited to primates and hominins. Together with my research group, I am currently investigating the functional morphology of the auditory system in small mammals (PhD: Joaquin Del Rio), the functional morphology of the auditory system in carnivores (PhD thesis: Roxana Taszus), allometry and function of the otolith organ system (vestibule) in mammals (Master’s thesis by Rebecca Pflug), the function of the vestibular system in lampreys and hagfish (Master’s thesis by Moritz Predel) and allometry of the mammalian auditory system (Master’s thesis by Ana Gomes). Working closely with Adrian Richter from the entomology laboratory at the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, and using our^Bruker™ SkyScan 2211 multiscale X-ray nanotomograph, I am also working on improving CT scanning of arthropods, with a particular focus on achieving sub-micron spatial resolution in the images.

experimental set-up
Image: Dr. A. Stoessel

Publications

Taszus, R., Del Rio, J., Stoessel, A., Nowotny, M. (in press). The Shape of Water – Adaptations of Cochlea Morphology in Seals and Otters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Posth, C., Yu H., Ghalichi, A., Rougier, H., Crevecoeur, I., Huang Y., Ringbauer, H., Rohrlach, A., Naegele, K., Villalba-Mouco, V., Radzeviciute, R., Ferraz, T., Stoessel, A., [……], Krause, J., Vai, S. (2023). Paleogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers. Nature, 615(7950), 117–126.

Del Rio, J., Taszus, R., Nowotny, M., & Stoessel, A. (2023). Variations in cochlea shape reveal different evolutionary adaptations in primates and rodents. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 2235.

Araújo, R., David, R., Benoit, J., Lungmus, J. K., Stoessel, A., Barrett, P. M., Jessica A. Maisano, J.A., Ekdale, E., Orliac, M., Luo, Z.X., Martinelli, A.G., Hoffman, E.A., Sidor, C.A., Martins, R.M.S., Spoor, F., Angielczyk, K. D. (2022). Inner ear biomechanics reveals a Late Triassic origin for mammalian endothermy. Nature, 607 (7920), 726–731.

Brown, S., Massilani, D., Kozlikin, M.B., Shunkov, M.V., Derevianko, A.P., Stoessel, A., Jope-Street, B., Meyer, M., Kelso, J., Pääbo, S., Higham, T., Douka, K. (2022). The earliest Denisovans and their cultural adaptation. *Nature Ecology & Evolution*, 6, 28–35.

Tessmann, B., Stoessel, A., Bianco, R. (2021). An Egyptian boy from South America. Mitteilungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, 41, 107–118.

Prüfer, K., Posth, C., Yu, H., Stoessel, A., Spyrou, M., Deviese, T., Mattonai, M., Ribechini, E., Higham, T., Velemínský, P., Brůžek, J., Krause, J., (2021). A genome sequence from a modern human skull over 45,000 years old from Zlatý kůň in the Czech Republic. *Nature Ecology & Evolution*, 5, 820–825.

Luo, X.-Z., Jałoszyński, P., Stoessel, A., Beutel, R. (2021). The specialised thoracic skeletomuscular system of the myrmecophile Claviger testaceus (Pselaphinae, Staphylinidae, Coleoptera). Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 1–19.

Scherberich, J., Taszus, R., Stoessel, A., & Nowotny, M. (2020). Comparative micromechanics of bushcricket ears with and without a specialised auditory fovea region in the crista acustica. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287(1929), 20200909.

Grawunder, S., Crockford, C., Clay, Z., Kalan, A.K., Stevens, J.M.G., Stoessel, A., Hohmann, G. (2019). Response to Garcia and Dunn: No evidence that maximum fundamental frequency reflects selection for signal attenuation in bonobos. Current Biology, 29: R734–R735.

Janssens, L*, Gunz, P., Stenger, T., Fischer, M.S., Boone, M., Stoessel, A.*(2019). The shape of the bony labyrinth differs distinctly between modern wolves and dogs. Zoomorphology 5: 1–9. *authors contributed equally

Liu, S.-P., Richter, A., Stoessel, A., Beutel R.G. (2019). The mesosomal anatomy of Myrmecia nigrocincta workers and evolutionary transformations in Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny, 77: 1–19.

Grawunder, S., Crockford, C., Clay, Z., Kalan, A.K., Stevens, J.M.G., Stoessel, A., Hohmann, G. (2018). Higher fundamental frequency in bonobos is explained by larynx morphology, not body size. Current Biology, 28: R1188–R1189

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Schmidt, T., Spoor, F., Hublin, J.-J. (2016). Morphology and Function of Neanderthal and Modern Human Ear Ossicles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA (PNAS), Vol. 113, 41: 11489–11494

David, R., Stoessel, A., Berthoz, A., Spoor, F., Bennequin, D. (2016). Assessing the morphology and function of the semicircular duct system: introducing new in-situ visualisation and a software toolbox. Scientific Reports 6.

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., David, R., Spoor, F. (2016). Comparative Anatomy of the Middle Ear Ossicles of Extant Hominids – Introducing a Geometric Morphometric Protocol. Journal of Human Evolution, 91: 1–25.

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Kuhrig, M., Hublin, J.J., Spoor, F. (2015). The bony labyrinth of the Oberkassel hominins. In: Liane Giemsch & Ralf W. Schmitz (eds.): Oberkassel 1914–2014. 100 years of research on the late glacial burial. Rheinische Ausgrabungen, pp. 175–180.

Stoessel, A., Kilbourne, B.M., Fischer, M.S. (2013). Morphological integration versus ecological plasticity in the avian pelvic limb skeleton. Journal of Morphology, 274: 483–495.

Stoessel, A. & Fischer, M.S. (2012). Comparative intralimb coordination in avian bipedal locomotion. Journal of Experimental Biology, 215: 4055–4069.

Stoessel, A., Junold, A., Fischer, M.S. (2010). The morphology of the eutherian ethmoidal region and its implications for higher-order phylogeny. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 48: 167–180.

BOOK CHAPTER

The morphology of the inner ear (2019). In: Udo Ganßloser and Kate Kitchenham (eds.). Current Research on Dogs: Anatomy, Ecology, Behaviour. Pp. 328–331.

PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., & Neudert, M. (2019). Functional morphology of the middle ear of Homo and Pan – implications for the evolution of human hearing capacities. Journal of Morphology, 280(S1), S225–S225.

David, R., Gunz, P., Stoessel, A., Spoor, F. (2019). Accurately predicting head motion in fossil primates using soft-tissue information. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 8 (p. 44).

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., Neudert, M. (2018). First experimental analysis of middle ear function in bonobos and common chimpanzees. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 7 (p. 182).

Neudert, M., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., Zahnert, T., Stoessel, A. (2018). Characterisation of the middle ear transfer function in chimpanzees (Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes) and its comparison with that of Homo sapiens. Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie, 97(S 02), 10412.

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Hublin, J.-J., Spoor, F. (2017). Shape and function of the hominid auditory region. *Folia Primatologica*. 88:2: 154–155.

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Schmidt, T., Spoor, F., Hublin, J.-J. (2016). Different shapes but similar function of Neanderthal and anatomically modern human ear ossicles. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 5 (p. 228).

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F., David, R., Schmidt, T., Hublin, J.J. (2014). Small bones, big differences – A comparison of modern human and Neanderthal ear ossicles. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 3 (p. 160).

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F. (2014). Comparative anatomy of ear ossicles in African apes and modern humans – Introducing a geometric morphometric measurement protocol. American Journal of Physical Anthropology (pp. 246–247).

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F. (2013). Geometric morphometric analysis of ear ossicles in African apes and modern humans. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 2 (p. 217).

Gunz, P., Stoessel, A., Neubauer, S., Kuhrig, M., Hoyka, M., Hublin, J.-J., Spoor, F. (2013). Morphological integration of the bony labyrinth and the cranial base in modern humans and Neanderthals. Proceedings of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution 2 (p. 104).

Stoessel, A., Junold, A., Fischer, M.S. (2007). The morphology of the eutherian ethmoidal region and its relevance for higher-order eutherian phylogeny. Journal of Morphology, 122: 268 (12): 1138.

CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS AS PRESENTER (PODIUM)

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., & Neudert, M. (2019). Functional morphology of the middle ear of Homo and Pan. 112th Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society, Jena, Germany.

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., & Neudert, M. (2019). Functional morphology of the middle ear of Homo and Pan – implications for the evolution of human hearing capacities. 12th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Prague, Czech Republic.

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., & Neudert, M. (2018). First experimental analysis of the bonobo and common chimpanzee middle ear function. 8th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, Faro, Portugal.

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M., Lasurashvili, N., Neudert, M. (2018). First comparison of the middle ear transfer function in modern humans and chimpanzees. 8th International Symposium on Middle Ear Mechanics in Research and Otology, Shanghai, China.

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Hublin, J.-J., Spoor, F. (2017). Shape and function of the hominid auditory region. 7th European Federation of Primatology Meeting, Strasbourg, France.

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Schmidt, T., Spoor, F., Hublin, J.-J. (2016). Different shapes but similar function of Neanderthal and anatomically modern human ear ossicles. 6th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, Madrid, Spain.

Stoessel, A., David, R., Gunz, P., Ossmann, S., Hublin, J.-J., Spoor, F. (2016). Exploring the evolution of the auditory morphology of primates using in situ soft-tissue visualisation and geometric morphometrics. 11th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Washington, DC, USA.

Stoessel, A. (2015). Evolution of modern human middle ear ossicles – Evidence from extant and extinct species. 7th International Symposium on Middle Ear Mechanics in Research and Otology, Aalborg, Denmark.

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F., David, R., Schmidt, T., Hublin, J.J. (2014). Small bones, big differences – A comparison of modern human and Neanderthal ear ossicles. 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, Florence, Italy.

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F. (2014). Comparative anatomy of ear ossicles in African apes and modern humans – Introducing a geometric morphometric measurement protocol. 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), Calgary, Canada.

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., David, R., Spoor, F. (2013). The bony labyrinth of extant hominids and its implications for the phylogenetic relationships and locomotion of fossil hominins. 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona, Spain.

Stoessel, A. & Fischer, M.S. (2010). 2D/3D kinematics of avian terrestrial locomotion. 9th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Stoessel, A. (2009). Avian bipedal locomotion – a biplane high-speed motion analysis. XROMM Summer School, Brown University, Providence, USA

Stoessel, A. (2009). Bipedalism in birds – functional morphology in ornithology. Young Researchers’ Conference on Ornithology, MPI Seewiesen, Germany

CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS AS PRESENTER (POSTER)

Stoessel, A., Gunz, P., Spoor, F. (2013). Geometric morphometric analysis of ear ossicles in African apes and modern humans. 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution, Vienna, Austria.

Stoessel, A. (Stößel) (2008). Avian Striding Locomotion: Hindlimb Kinematics and Spatio-Temporal Gait Characteristics. Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society, Jena, Germany. Abstracts from the 101st Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society in Jena.

Stoessel, A. (Stößel), Junold, A., Fischer, M.S. (2007). The morphology of the eutherian ethmoidal region and its relevance for higher-order eutherian phylogeny. 8th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Paris, France.