Meeting Abstract
Many ecologically relevant tasks require an animal to perform quickly, powerfully, and accurately. However these endeavours are not mutually conducive; biomechanical constraints mean that in almost all cases, increasing speed results in a decrease in accuracy. In order to maximise their probability of success, animals should attempt to achieve the best possible combination of performance values to optimise their trade-off between performance traits. Our work uses optimality modelling to predict exactly what these performance values are and tests to see whether this is how animals perform in nature. We are using this process to examine the trade-off between speed and accuracy in two different systems: a rule-based human system (elite tennis), and a natural population of Antechinus flavipes. We determined the optimal serve speed for elite tennis players in order to win a game at various points in the match, and found that optimal speed was heavily dependent on the individual’s trade-off between serve speed and serve accuracy. We also found that players did not often serve at their optimal speed, despite it frequently being lower than their maximum and less physiologically challenging. We are also investigating this question in a natural population by examining the speed an individual runs along a branch of constant thickness in order to catch a prey item. Using optimality modelling, we will determine the optimal running speed for different individuals on different branch thicknesses, and determine whether they perform at this speed in a nature-simulating environment.
