Scale Effects In Animal Locomotion

Adopts a broad, cross-taxonomic approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales; addresses how and why animals move, and in what ways they differ in their locomotion and navigation performance; synthesizes our current knowledge of the genetics of movement/migration, including gene flow and local adaptations; provides a future perspective on how patterns of animal migration may change over time, together with the potential evolutionary consequences.--Provided by publisher.

This book provides a clear foundation, based on physical biology and biomechanics, for understanding the underlying mechanisms by which animals have evolved to move in their physical environment. It integrates the biomechanics of animal movement with the physiology of animal energetics and the neural control of locomotion. The author also communicates a sense of the awe and fascination that comes from watching the grace, speed, and power of animals in motion. Movement is a fundamental distinguishing feature of animal life, and a variety of extremely effective mechanical and physiological designs have evolved. Common themes are observed for the ways in which animals successfully contend with the properties of a given physical environment across diversity of life forms and varying locomotor modes. Understanding the common principles of design that span a diverse array of animals requires a broad comparative and integrative approach to their study. This theme persists throughout the book, as various modes and mechanisms of animal locomotion are covered. Since an animal's size is equally critical to its functional design, the effects of scale on locomotor energetics and mechanics are also discussed. Biewener begins by examining the underlying machinery for movement: skeletal muscles used for force generation, skeletons used for force transmission, and spring-like elements used for energy savings. He then describes the basic mechanisms that animals have evolved to move over land, in and on the surface of the water, and in the air. Common fluid dynamic principles are discussed as background to both swimming and flight. In addition to discussing the locomotor mechanisms of complex animals, the locomotor movement of single cells is also covered. Common biochemical features of cellular metabolism are then reviewed before discussing the energetic aspects of various locomotor modes. Strategies for conserving energy and moving economically are again highlighted in this section of the book. Emphasis is placed on comparisons of energetic features across locomotor modes. The book concludes with a discussion of the neural control of animal locomotion. The basic neurosensory and motor elements common to vertebrates and arthropods are discussed, and features of sensori-motor organization and function are highlighted. These are then examined in the context of specific examples of how animals control the rhythmic patterns of limb and body movement that underlie locomotor function and stability.

The physical principles of swimming and flying in animals are intriguingly different from those of ships and airplanes. The study of animal locomotion therefore holds a special place not only at the frontiers of pure fluid dynamics research, but also in the applied field of biomimetics, which aims to emulate salient aspects of the performance and function of living organisms. For example, fluid dynamic loads are so significant for swimming fish that they are expected to have developed efficient flow control procedures through the evolutionary process of adaptation by natural selection, which might in turn be applied to the design of robotic swimmers. And yet, sharply contrasting views as to the energetic efficiency of oscillatory propulsion – especially for marine animals – demand a careful assessment of the forces and energy expended at realistic Reynolds numbers. For this and many other research questions, an experimental approach is often the most appropriate methodology. This holds as much for flying animals as it does for swimming ones, and similar experimental challenges apply – studying tethered as opposed to free locomotion, or studying the flow around robotic models as opposed to real animals. This book provides a wide-ranging snapshot of the state-of-the-art in experimental research on the physics of swimming and flying animals. The resulting picture reflects not only upon the questions that are of interest in current pure and applied research, but also upon the experimental techniques that are available to answer them.

Animals have evolved remarkable biomechanical and physiological systems that enable their rich repertoire of motion. Animal Locomotion offers a fundamental understanding of animal movement through a broad comparative and integrative approach, including basic mathematics and physics, examination of new and enduring literature, consideration of classic and cutting-edge methods, and a strong emphasis on the core concepts that consistently ground the dizzying array of animal movements. Across scales and environments, this book integrates the biomechanics of animal movement with the physiology of animal energetics and the neural control of locomotion. This second edition has been thoroughly revised, incorporating new content on non-vertebrate animal locomotor systems, studies of animal locomotion that have inspired robotic designs, and a new chapter on the use of evolutionary approaches to locomotor mechanisms and performance.

How can geckoes walk on the ceiling and basilisk lizards run over water? What are the aerodynamic effects that enable small insects to fly? What are the relative merits of squids' jet-propelled swimming and fishes' tail-powered swimming? Why do horses change gait as they increase speed? What determines our own vertical leap? Recent technical advances have greatly increased researchers' ability to answer these questions with certainty and in detail. This text provides an up-to-date overview of how animals run, walk, jump, crawl, swim, soar, hover, and fly. Excluding only the tiny creatures that use cilia, it covers all animals that power their movements with muscle--from roundworms to whales, clams to elephants, and gnats to albatrosses. The introduction sets out the general rules governing all modes of animal locomotion and considers the performance criteria--such as speed, endurance, and economy--that have shaped their selection. It introduces energetics and optimality as basic principles. The text then tackles each of the major modes by which animals move on land, in water, and through air. It explains the mechanisms involved and the physical and biological forces shaping those mechanisms, paying particular attention to energy costs. Focusing on general principles but extensively discussing a wide variety of individual cases, this is a superb synthesis of current knowledge about animal locomotion. It will be enormously useful to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and a range of professional biologists, physicists, and engineers.