Meeting Abstract
102.6 Thursday, Jan. 7 I can score more than you! Investigating the importance of skill on whole organism performance in a complex environment DAVID, Gwendolyn*; ORTIZ-BARRIENTOS, Daniel; SMITH, Michelle; WILSON, Robbie; Univ. of Queensland, Brisbane g.david@uq.edu.au
Skill, the ability to effectively execute a learned motor task, plays a fundamental role in the ecology and evolution of species. Success in important ecological tasks such as foraging, hunting, sexual signalling and male-male competition should be greatly affected by skill. Furthermore, the cognitive ability to learn is determined by genetic and environmental factors, and therefore skill should play a major role in the evolution of many species. However, despite the large body of literature addressing physiological performance and its effect on whole organism performance in nature, little attention is given to the role of skill. Quantifying performance of organisms in ecological tasks in nature is complex because individuals experience many abiotic, intra- and inter-specific interactions. In addition, quantifying skill in non-human model systems can be logistically problematic. Therefore, in this study we measured athletic performance and skill in humans as a model system, and quantified the relative importance of these traits on performance in a highly complex environment. Multiple physiological and skill tasks were measured in male soccer players ex situ, and performance was assessed in competitive, 11 vs 11 soccer matches. Soccer matches are an ideal model system for assessing individual performance in a complex environment. Analogous to nature, soccer matches represent a complex environment in which individuals experience many intraspecific and abiotic interactions, and an individual’s performance relies on their underlying skill, athletic ability and morphology. Moreover, many of these interactions can be easily quantified along with whole organism performance. The results of this research are discussed with particular reference to studying the evolution of skill in non-human models.
