Pitch then power: Limitations to acceleration in quadrupeds

Biology Letters

Volumn 5, Issue 5, 2009, Pages 610-613

  Williams, Sarah B ^a,b   Tan, Huiling ^a   Usherwood, James R ^a   Wilson, Alan M ^a  

^a ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Acceleration; Biomechanics; Morphology; Muscle power; Pitch

Indexed keywords

ACCELERATION; ADAPTATION; BIOMECHANICS; HOMINID; MORPHOLOGY; MUSCLE; SURVIVAL;

ACCELERATION; ARTICLE; BIOMECHANICS; BODY MASS; DECELERATION; DOG; GEOMETRY; GREYHOUND; HORSE; KINEMATICS; MORPHOMETRICS; MUSCLE MASS; MUSCLE STRENGTH; PRIORITY JOURNAL; QUADRUPED;

ANIMALIA;

EID: 70349293716     PISSN: 17449561     EISSN: 1744957X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0360     Document Type: Article

References (22)

1. Aerts, P. 1998 Vertical jumping in Galago senegalensis: the quest for an obligate mechanical power amplifier. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 353, 1607-1620. (doi:10.1098/ rstb.1998.0313) (Pubitemid 28490552)
2. Aerts, P., Van Damme, R., d'Aout, K. & Van Hooydonck, B. 2003 Bipedalism in lizards: whole-body modelling reveals a possible spandrel. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 358, 1525-1533. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2003.1342)
3. Askew, G. N., Marsh, R. L. & Ellington, C. P. 2001 The mechanical power output of the flight muscles of blue-breasted quail (Coturnix chinensis) during take off. J. Exp. Biol. 204, 3601-3619.
4. Bennet-Clark, H. C. 1975 The energetics of the jump of the locust Schistocerca gregaria. J. Exp. Biol. 63, 58-83.
5. Biewener, A. A. 1989 Scaling body support in mammals: limb posture and muscle mechanics. Science 245, 45-48. (doi:10.1126/science.2740914)
6. Brackenbury, J. & Hunt, H. 1993 Jumping in springtails: mechanism and dynamics. J. Zool. Lond. 229, 217-236. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1993.tb02632.x)
7. Burrows, M. 2006 Jumping performance of froghopper insects. J. Exp. Biol. 209, 4607-4621. (doi:10.1242/jeb.02539)
8. Cavagna, A. G., Komarek, L. & Mazzoleni, S. 1971 The mechanics of sprint running. J. Physiol. 217, 709-721.
9. Gray, J. 1944 Studies in the mechanics of the tetrapod skeleton. J. Exp. Biol. 20, 88-116.
10. Hill, A. V. 1938 The heat of shortening and the dynamic constants of muscle. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 126, 136-195. (10. 1098/rspb.1938.0050)
11. Janssen, I., Heymsfield, S. B., Wang, Z. & Ross, R. 2000 Skeletal muscle mass and distribution in 468 men and women aged 18-88 yr. J. Appl. Physiol. 89, 81-88. (Pubitemid 30482566)
12. Lee, D. V., Bertram, J. E. & Todhunter, R. J. 1999 Acceleration and balance in trotting dogs. J. Exp. Biol. 202, 3565-3573.
13. McGowan, C. P., Baudinette, R. V. & Biewener, A. A. 2005 Joint work and power associated with acceleration and deceleration in tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii ). J. Exp. Biol. 208, 41-53. (doi:10.1242/jeb. 01305)
14. Parsons, K. J. & Wilson, A. M. 2006 The use of MP3 recorders to log data from equine hoof mounted accelerometers. Eq. Vet. J. 38, 675-680. (doi:10.2746/ 042516406X156578)
15. Pfau, T., Witte, T. H. & Wilson, A. M. 2005 A method for deriving displacement data during cyclical movement using an inertial sensor. J. Exp. Biol. 208, 2503-2514. (doi:10.1242/jeb.01658) (Pubitemid 41085829)
16. Roberts, T. J. & Scales, J. A. 2002 Mechanical power output during running accelerations in wild turkeys. J. Exp. Biol. 205, 1485-1494.
17. Tan, H., Wilson, A. M. & Lowe, J. 2008 Measurement of stride parameters using a wearable GPS and inertial measurement unit. J. Biomech. 41, 1398-1406. (doi:10. 1016/j.jbiomech.2008.02.021)
18. Usherwood, J. R. & Wilson, A. M. 2005 Biomechanics: no force limit on greyhound sprint speed. Nature 438, 753-754. (doi:10.1038/438753a)
19. Walker, J. A. 1998 Estimating velocities and accelerations of animal locomotion: a simulation experiment comparing numerical differentiation algorithms. J. Exp. Biol. 201, 981-995.
20. Williams, S. B., Wilson, A. M., Daynes, J., Peckham, K. & Payne, R. 2008 Functional anatomy and muscle moment arms of the thoracic limb of an elite sprint athlete: the racing greyhound. J. Anat. 213, 361-372. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.00961.x)
21. Williams, S. B., Usherwood, J. R., Jespers, K., Channon, A. J. & Wilson, A. M. 2009 Exploring the mechanical basis for acceleration: pelvic limb locomotor function during accelerations in racing greyhounds (Canis familiaris). J. Exp. Biol. 212, 550-565. (doi:10.1242/jeb. 018093)
22. Witte, T. H., Knill, K. & Wilson, A. M. 2004 Determination of peak vertical ground reaction force from duty factor in the horse (Equus caballus). J. Exp. Biol. 207, 3639-3648. (doi:10.1242/jeb.01182) (Pubitemid 39484182)