DEUFEL, A.*; CUNDALL, D.: Feeding in stiletto snakes Stiletto snakes (Atractaspis) resemble vipers in having a short maxilla bearing a long fang associated with a large venom gland. Previous studies of Atractaspis have described an unusual envenomation strategy in which one fang is unilaterally everted from the closed mouth and stabbed into the prey by […]

LADUC, T.J.: Effects of body size on the predatory strike of the western diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus atrox ) Changes in body size can be of particular importance to feeding mechanics, yet little information is available for allometric effects on terrestrial vertebrate feeding systems. The predatory strike of rattlesnakes, along with the great range of […]

BIRCH, J.M.*; DICKINSON, M.D.: The influence of wing-wake interactions on aerodynamic force generation in insects The aerodynamic forces that wings generate are dependent on both fluid velocity and angle of attack. A complicated relationship develops between the wing and these two parameters during the flapping of hovering flight. During hovering, each stroke generates a wake […]

ROBERTS, SP*; FRAZIER, MR; KIRKTON, SD; HARRISON, JF: Temperature Sensitivity of Drosophila Development and Flight Performance In Drosophila and other small dipterans, wing length and body size are inversely related to developmental temperature. It has been hypothesized that dipteran wing-loading decreases following development at low temperatures and that this is an adaptive response to enhance […]

TRIMBLE, A.C.: Musculoskeletal Control of Flight in the Hawkmoth Manduca sexta: a new model coupling muscle forces to wing motion. Insect flight arises from complex interactions of the nervous system, muscles, exoskeleton and aerodynamics. Physical coupling of the power muscles to the wings through the thoracic exoskeleton forms the core of the flight apparatus. The […]

FRY, SN *; DICKINSON, MH: Kinematics and aerodynamics of free flight maneuvers in Drosophila The impressive aerial maneuvers performed by flies pose interesting questions for neurophysiology, biomechanics and behavior. Recent research has identified several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms that explain how hovering insects generate lift forces large enough to remain aloft. With this knowledge as a […]

FLICK, K.C.; TU, M.S.; DANIEL, T.L.: Flight control by steering muscles in Manduca sexta Coupling between neural control, musculoskeletal mechanics, and aerodynamics remains a central issue in the study of insect flight. The large size and stereotyped flight behaviors of the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, make it an attractive animal in which to investigate wing hinge […]

COMBES, S.A.; DANIEL, T.L.: Dynamic bending in insect wings: origins and consequences of structural complexity Insect wings are complex, flexible structures displaying both inhomogeneous and anisotropic mechanical properties. While several studies have addressed the complexity of insect wing structure from a qualitative standpoint, we lack an understanding of how wing structure affects dynamic wing bending, […]

KING, A.J.*; SCHMIDT, M.H.; ADAMO, S.A.; Dalhousie University, Halifax; IWK Health Sciences Centre; Dalhousie University, Halifax: The first use of ultrasound to image cardiovascular and respiratory structures in cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis, class Cephalopoda) Cephalopods have elevated metabolic rates and cardiovascular systems that are surprisingly similar to those of vertebrates. Oxygen transport, however, is constrained by […]

NICKERSON, J.G.*; DUGAN, S.G.; DROUIN, G.; MOON, T.W.; Univ. of Ottawa; Univ. of Ottawa; Univ. of Ottawa; Univ. of Ottawa: The β-Adrenergic Receptor System of the Rainbow Trout – Function and Molecular Biology. Our understanding of the β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) system in fish is based primarily on the use of mammalian-AR specific agonists and antagonists and […]