Meeting Abstract
In case the bite force of an organism can’t be measured in vivo, it can be estimated mathematically using static-state equilibrium models. However, these models represent different levels of simplifications of the reality. To investigate the impact of such simplifications of the musculoskeletal topography and the parameters describing muscle function, three different models are compared in this study. The first model describes the topography using 3D-coordinates and calculates muscle contraction force by using a series of parameters (including the muscle’s origin and insertion, fiber and tendon lengths and pennation angle). As the lower jaw becomes depressed, this model accounts for changes in muscle physiology parameters according to this movement. The second model uses the same 3D-coordinates, but calculates muscle force based on the physiological cross section area (PCSA) of the muscle. In this model, the muscle force is a theoretical maximal isometric force that remains constant throughout the simulation of different gape angles. The third model projects lever arms and the muscle’s line of action to the midsagittal plane and uses the PCSA (as measured in 3D) to infer muscle force. Input-data for these models is obtained from the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Several isometric- and allometric-scaled morphs are deduced from a yellow eel specimen and implemented in the models. These results are compared, and validated against in vivo bite force data of yellow eels. Bite force calculations of earlier life stages (leptocephali and glass eels) were also simulated using the same models. These comparisons therefore allow defining constraints on the predictive power of different models generally used to calculate bite forces.
