Dr. Alexander Stößel

Profilbild A. Stoessel
Foto: Dr. A. Stoessel

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung
mit Phyletischem Museum, Ernst-Haeckel-Haus und Biologiedidaktik

Erbertstr. 1
07743 Jena
Profilbild

Fon: 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
Foto: Dr. A. Stoessel

Vita

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

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENTS AND POSITIONS

Since May ’17

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

Since Oct ’16

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

Aug ’11 – Sep ‘16

PostDoc at Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary anthropology (MPI-EVA) Leipzig

Mar ’07 – Jul ‘11

Scientific staff member Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU)

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION

Mar ’07 - Jun ’11

Ph.D. {Dissertation (Dr. rer. nat.)} Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU);

Doctoral thesis: Die Bipedie der Vögel – Eine funktionsmorphologische Analyse des Fortbewegungsapparates dominant-terrestrischer Vögel, 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

Diplomathesis: Die Morphologie der Regio ethmoidalis von Orycteropus afer (Mammalia – Tubulidentata) – Zugleich eine phylogenetisch-systematische Studie der Ethmoidalregion der Eutheria, supervised by Prof. Dr. M.S. Fischer (Jena) & Prof. Dr. W. Maier (Tübingen)

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

Research

I am an evolutionary biologist with a focus on human evolution and functional and evolutionary morphology of vertebrates, particularly focusing on mammals and birds.

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

My main research interest focuses 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 am also leading a micro CT facility at MPI-SHH) of hard and soft tissues I am trying to understand how morphological changes of 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 like australopiths or Neandertals I am aiming to understand how acoustic communication has evolved with 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 scientific caution, to understand the behavior and way of life of extinct groups. This research is also inevitably connected to the question on the origin of human spoken language, sometimes called as ‘one of the hardest problems in science’. Thus, together with my Ph.D. student Joaquin Del Rio (in a project funded by the Max Planck Society that is just about to start), we are studying variability of hearing and auditory morphology in a large sample of human individuals.

Finally, since many of the bony structures of the auditory region have shown to express a species or even population specific morphology I am using these structures as markers for taxonomic assignment of fragmented fossil remains or for reconstructing migratory patterns.

in-situ reconstruction of the ossicular chain
Foto: 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 of small mammals (Ph.D. Joaquin Del Rio), functional morphology of the carnivore auditory system (Ph. D. thesis Roxana Taszus), allometry and function of the otolith organ system (vestibule) of mammals (Master’s thesis Rebecca Pflug), the function of the vestibular system of lampreys and myxines (Master’s thesis Moritz Predel) and allometry of the mammalian auditory system (Master’s thesis Ana Gomes). Working closely together with Adrian Richter from the entomology lab of the Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research and using our Bruker^TM SkyScan 2211 multiscale X-ray Nanotomograph I am also working on improving CT scanning of arthropods, with particular emphasis on the sub-micron level of image spatial resolution.

experimental set-up
Foto: 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 Paleolithic 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). Ein ägyptischer Junge aus Südamerika. 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 Czechia. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5 , 820-825.

Luo, X.-Z., Jałoszyński, P., Stoessel, A., Beutel, R. (2021). The specialized 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 specialized 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 diminution in bonobos. Current Biology, 29: R734-R735.

Janssens, L*, Gunz, P., Stenger, T., Fischer, M.S., Boone, M., Stoessel, A.* (2019). Bony labyrinth shape differs distinctively 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 Neandertal 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 morphology and function of the semicircular duct system: introducing new in-situ visualization and 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

Die Morphologie des Innenohres (2019). In: Udo Ganßloser und Kate Kitchenham (eds.). Hunde-Forschung aktuell: Anatomie, Ökologie, Verhalten. 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 if the bonobo and common chimpanzee middle ear function. 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). Middle ear transfer function characterisation of chimpanzees (Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes) and its comparison to the 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 Neandertal 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 Neandertal 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 Neandertals. 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 Germn 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, Praha, Czech Republic.

Stoessel, A., Ossmann, S., Bornitz, M, Lasurashvili, N., Neudert, M. (2018). First experimental analysis if 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 modern human and chimpanzee middle ear transfer function. 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 Neandertal 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 visualization 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 Neandertal 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 bearing on phylogenetic relations 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 Summerschool, Brown University, Providence, USA

Stoessel, A. (2009). Die Bipedie der Vögel – Funktionsmorphologie in der Ornithologie. Nachwuchstagung Ornithologie, 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. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft, Jena, Germany. Abstractband der 101. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft 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.