Meeting Abstract
Whereas the majority of terrestrial and aquatic locomotion involves complex muscle interactions such that no one muscle dominates, the power needed for bird flight is primarily provided by only two muscles: the pectoralis and the supracoracoideus. The pectoralis in particular, produces the majority of the aerodynamic lift needed for flight, and is the dominant muscle during the downstroke. The dominant nature of this single muscle, makes the downstroke a simpler model system for studying the function of muscles in general than most other modes of locomotion. In order to quantify pectoralis muscle function during flight for doves, we combine multiple measurement techniques synced in high speed. First, we measure the performance of the pectoralis using sonomicrometry to measure muscle strain, and electromyography (EMG) to measure muscle activation. Second, with an external array of cameras and projectors, we use structured-light to reconstruct the morphing 3D shape of the bird wings. Lastly, the flight arena itself is an aerodynamic force platform which measures the vertical and horizontal aerodynamic forces produced by birds flying from perch to perch. Together, these measurements enable us to trace how internal pectoralis muscle forces translate into aerodynamic forces during downstroke, and help us to better understand muscle function in bird flight and animals in general.
