Meeting Abstract

S1-2.4  Friday, Jan. 4  What is fast? PATEK, S. N.*; DEVRIES, M. S.; MURPHY, E.A.K.; University of Massachusetts Amherst; University of California Berkeley; University of Virginia patek@bio.umass.edu

Predators are often assumed to be the fastest organisms and being fast is typically associated with speed. However, the notion of fast involves multiple kinematic parameters, such as duration, speed and acceleration, and not all of these parameters are necessarily relevant for particular predatory strategies. In the context of this symposium’s focus on the motor systems underlying predatory attacks, this study examines the definition of fast, the macroevolution of fast organisms, and addresses which facets of fast are actually relevant to predatory movements. In addition, we examine mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda), a group of extreme marine predators that exhibit substantial variation in the kinematics, morphology and strategies of prey capture. The results of these analyses show that the fastest movements are not synonymous with classic notions of predatory attack and that using the appropriate kinematic measure is key to correctly interpreting the function of fast movements.