WATT*, M.J.; FORSTER, G.L.; JOSS, J.M.P.; University of South Dakota; University of South Dakota; Macquarie University, Australia: Perception of Honest Signals mediates Aggressive Responses of Male Jacky Dragons Male Jacky Dragons (Amphibolurus muricatus) utilize stereotyped motor displays to convey aggression and territoriality. Individual variation exists within one component of this display, such that the frequency […]

BRANDT, Y.; Indiana University, Bloomington: Diminished Locomotor Performance: a tool for Quantifying Display Costs Handicap models of signaling propose that display honesty can be maintained by variation in display costs, since the fitness benefits of increasing signal expression are offset by increasing fitness costs. Testing this hypothesis requires a practical means of measuring the fitness […]

HUBER, S.K.; University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Coordination of vocal production and flight in the cockatiel Nymphaticus hollandicus. The evolution of communication signals in animals may be limited by the proximate mechanisms which underlie signal production, such as energetic constraints on physiological function or evolutionary constraints on morphology. The evolution of flight songs in birds may […]

KORZAN, Wayne J; OVERLI, Oyvind; WATT, Michael J; FORSTER, Gina L; HOGLUND, Erik; SUMMERS, Cliff H; University of South Dakota; University of South Dakota; University of South Dakota; University of South Dakota; Oslo University; University of South Dakota: Behavior in Established Social Hierarchies are Influenced by Visual Sympathetic Signals Many species of animals utilize elaborate […]

ROBERTS, T.J.; HIGGINSON, B.K.; NELSON, F.E.; GABALDON, A.M.; Oregon State University; Oregon State University; Oregon State University; Oregon State University: Versatile function of muscle stretch-shorten cycles during running. The muscles that power running must be remarkably flexible in their mechanical function. For example, the muscular system performs almost zero net mechanical work during level running, […]

HERMANSON, J.W.*; MITCHELL, R.M.; BETOF, A.S.; RISKIN, D.K.; Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY: Muscle design and function in relation to locomotion: star-nosed moles and other “primitive” mammals. Primitive placental mammals include shrews and moles, comprising the Insectivora of some authors. Shrews, considered to be relatively basal among living mammals, have been shown to contain locomotor muscles […]

DUDEK, D.M.; FULL, R.J.; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Mechanical Properties of the Support Tripod in Running Insects Terrestrial runners produce ground reaction forces that can be modeled as a spring-mass system. Two beneficial consequences of bouncing while running include: 1) the ability to use springs to store and return elastic strain energy and 2) passive […]

CARLSON, K.J.; Stony Brook University: Links between limb bone cross-sectional geometry and locomotor behaviors of African apes African apes, whose locomotor repertoire is well-known from field observations, provide a unique opportunity for quantitatively assessing the relationship between limb morphology and locomotion. The narrow phylogenetic relationship of African apes, coupled with their diverse locomotor behaviors, magnifies […]

AHN, A.N.; BIEWENER, A.A.; Harvard University; Harvard University: IN VIVO LENGTH CHANGES IN RELATION TO IN VITRO FORCE-LENGTH PROPERTIES IN THE TOAD SEMIMEMBRANOSUS MUSCLE. There is evidence that adjacent muscle segments can contract heterogeneously under in vivo conditions implying that the two segments (& their sarcomeres) may operate on different regions of their force-length relationships […]

HIGHAM, T.E.*; JAYNE, B.C.; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of Cincinnati: Effects of incline on the in vivo muscle activity in the hindlimb of the arboreal lizard, Chamaeleo calyptratus Arboreal animals, especially lizards, often move on surfaces with variable inclines, but the effects of incline on hindlimb muscle activity are poorly understood. Thus, we studied […]