Gait transition speed, pectoral fin‐beat frequency and amplitude in Cymatogaster aggregata, Embiotoca lateralis and Damalichthys vacca

2002 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1282-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mussi ◽  
A. P. Summers ◽  
P. Domenici
Keyword(s):  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Gait Transition ◽  
Transition Speed ◽  
Embiotoca Lateralis

Pectoral fin locomotion in the striped surfperch. II. Scaling swimming kinematics and performance at a gait transition

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (10) ◽  
pp. 2243-2252 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Drucker ◽  
J Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Maximal Velocity ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Gait Transition ◽  
Transition Speed ◽  
Aspect Ratios ◽  
And Performance

In this study, we report the first allometric equations relating gait parameters and swimming speed to body size for fish employing pectoral fin locomotion. Comparisons of locomotor kinematics and performance among striped surfperch (Teleostei: Embiotocidae) are made at the pectoral­caudal gait transition speed (Up-c). Up-c is considered to elicit physiologically equivalent levels of exercise in animals varying over 100-fold in body mass (Mb) by virtue of dynamically similar pectoral fin movements (constant duty factor, length-specific stride length and fin-beat amplitude) and size-independent propulsive efficiency. At Up-c, pectoral fin-beat frequency scales in proportion to Mb-0.12±0.03, a size-dependence consistent with that observed for stride frequency in fishes swimming by axial undulatory propulsion and in many running tetrapods. It is proposed that the similarity in the scaling of frequency in these vertebrate groups reflects an underlying similarity in the allometry of the maximal velocity of muscle shortening. Absolute Up-c (m s-1) generally increases with body size, but the fastest speeds are not exhibited by the largest animals. A pattern of declining performance in fish 23 cm in standard length and longer may be related to their disproportionately small fin areas and aspect ratios. The pronounced negative allometry of Up-c expressed as standard body lengths per second indicates that a given length-specific speed does not induce comparable levels of activity in large and small fish. Thus, normalization of swimming speed to body length may not be a sufficient correction for kinematic comparisons across size.

Pectoral fin locomotion in the striped surfperch. I. Kinematic effects of swimming speed and body size

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (10) ◽  
pp. 2235-2242 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Drucker ◽  
J Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
The Body ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Transition Speed ◽  
Speed Up

Swimming trials at increasing velocity were used to determine the effects of steady swimming speed on pectoral fin kinematics for an ontogenetic series of striped surfperch Embiotoca lateralis, ranging from 6 to 23 cm in standard length (SL). The fin stroke cycle consisted of a propulsive period, the duration of fin abduction and adduction, and a 'refractory' period, during which the fin remained adducted against the body. Pectoral fin-beat frequency (fp) measured as the inverse of the entire stride period, as in past studies, increased curvilinearly with speed. Frequency, calculated as the reciprocal of the propulsive period alone, increased linearly with speed, as shown previously for tail-beat frequency of fishes employing axial undulation. Fin-beat amplitude, measured as the vertical excursion of the pectoral fin tip during abduction, increased over a limited range of low speeds before reaching a plateau at 0.35­0.40 SL. Pectoral fin locomotion was supplemented by intermittent caudal fin undulation as swimming speed increased. At the pectoral­caudal gait transition speed (Up-c), frequency and amplitude attained maxima, suggesting that the fin musculature reached a physiological limit. The effects of body size on swimming kinematics differed according to the method used for expressing speed. At a given absolute speed, small fish used higher stride frequencies and increased frequency at a faster rate than large fish. In contrast, the relationship between fp and length-specific speed (SL s-1) had a greater slope for large fish and crossed that for small fish at high speeds. We recommend that comparisons across size be made using speeds expressed as a percentage of Up-c, at which kinematic variables influencing thrust are size-independent.

Pectoral fin beat frequency predicts oxygen consumption during spontaneous activity in a labriform swimming fish (Embiotoca lateralis)

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Tudorache ◽  
Anders D. Jordan ◽  
Jon C. Svendsen ◽  
Paolo Domenici ◽  
G. DeBoeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Embiotoca Lateralis

Stability Landscapes of Walking and Running Near Gait Transition Speed

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Li
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Human Locomotion ◽  
Human Motion ◽  
Mathematical Representation ◽  
Gait Transition ◽  
Transition Speed ◽  
Acceleration And Deceleration ◽  
Transition Change ◽  
The Stability

Variability has long been used as an indication of stability in the application of a dynamical systems approach to human motion (i.e., greater variability has been related to a less stable system and vise versa). This paper incorporates the probability of gait transition during walking and running at a certain speed to represent the stability of human locomotion. The mathematical representation concerning the probability of gait transition change with locomotory speed was derived for increasing walking speed and decreasing running speed. Additionally, the influence of acceleration and deceleration on the stability landscapes of walking and running was discussed based on experimental data. The influence of acceleration was also used to explain the different trends of hysteresis observed by various researchers. Walk-to-run transition speed was greater than run-to-walk transition speed, with a greater magnitude of acceleration, while the trend was reversed with a lesser acceleration magnitude. The quantitative measure of the relationship between variability and stability needs to be explored in the future.

Kinematics of Pectoral Fin Propulsion in Cymatogaster Aggregata

1973 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 697-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. W. WEBB
Keyword(s):  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Performance Test ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fish Swimming ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Caudal Fin ◽  
Lift Forces ◽  
Time Of Year ◽  
Refractory Phase

1. The kinematics of pectoral-fin propulsion have been measured for Cymatogaster aggregata, 14·3 cm in length, during an increasing-velocity performance test. Acclimation and test temperature was 15 °C, similar to the fishes' normal environmental temperature for the time of year of the tests. 2. Locomotion was in the labriform mode. Within this mode two pectoral-fin patterns were observed, differing only in the details of fin kinematics. These differences resulted from the length of the propagated wave passed over the fin. At low swimming speeds, up to about 2 L/sec, the wavelength was relatively short, approximately twice the length of the trailing edge of the fin. At higher speeds, a wave of very much longer wavelength was passed over the fin. 3. The pectoral fin-beat cycle was divisible into abduction, adduction and refractory phases. Abduction and adduction phases were of equal duration, and the proportion of time occupied by these phases increased with swimming speed. The duration of the refractory phase decreased with increasing speed. 4. The kinematics indicated that thrust was generated throughout abduction and adduction phases, together with lift forces that cancelled out over a complete cycle. As a result of lift forces and the refractory phase the body moved in a figure-8 motion relative to the flow. 5. Pectoral fin-beat frequency and amplitude increased with swimming speed, and the product of frequencyxamplitude was linearly related to swimming speed. 6. Interactions between pectoral fin-beat frequency, amplitude, refractory phase and kinematic patterns were interpreted as a mechanism to permit the propulsive muscles to operate at optimum efficiency and power output over a wider range of swimming speeds than would otherwise be possible. 7. Pectoral-fin propulsion was augmented by caudal-fin propulsion only at swimming speeds greater than 3·4 L/sec. 8. The mean 45 min critical swimming speed was 3·94 L/sec, and compares favourably with similar levels of activity for fish swimming by means of body and caudal-fin movements.

Functional morphology of undulatory pectoral fin locomotion in the stingray taeniura lymma (Chondrichthyes: dasyatidae)

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (24) ◽  
pp. 3523-3539 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.J. Rosenberger ◽  
M.W. Westneat
Keyword(s):  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Motor Pattern ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Swimming Velocity ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Kinematic Data ◽  
Locomotor System ◽  
Anterior Dorsal ◽  
Undulatory Locomotion

Rajiform locomotion is a unique swimming style found in the batoid fishes (skates and rays) in which thrust is generated by undulatory waves passing down the enlarged pectoral fins. We examined the kinematic patterns of fin motion and the motor patterns of pectoral fin muscles driving the locomotor system in the blue-spot stingray Taeniura lymma. Our goals in this study were to determine overall patterns of fin motion and motor control during undulatory locomotion, to discover how these patterns change with swimming velocity and to correlate muscle function with kinematics and pectoral morphology. Kinematic data were recorded from five individuals over a range of swimming speeds from 22 to 55 cm s(−)(1) (0.9-3.0 DL s(−)(1), where DL is body disc length). Electromyographic (EMG) data were recorded from three individuals over a range of velocities (1.2-3.0 DL s(−)(1)) at seven locations (four dorsal, three ventral) along the pectoral fin. As swimming velocity increases, fin-beat frequency, wavespeed and stride length increase, number of waves and reduced frequency decrease and fin amplitude remains constant. There is variability among individuals in frequency and amplitude at a given speed. An inverse relationship was found in which a high fin-beat frequency is associated with a low fin amplitude and a low fin-beat frequency is associated with a high fin amplitude. The motor pattern of undulatory locomotion is alternate firing activity in the dorsal and ventral muscles as the wave moves along the fin from anterior to posterior. Fin muscles are active along the entire length of the fin except at the lowest speeds. As swimming velocity and fin-beat frequency increase, the time of activation of posterior muscles becomes earlier relative to the onset of activity in the anterior dorsal muscles. The duration of muscle activity is longer in the ventral muscles than in the dorsal muscles, indicating that they play a central role in the power stroke of the fin-beat cycle. The anterior muscles (dorsal and ventral) are active for a relatively longer part of the stride cycle than the posterior muscles. Both the anterior position and the large duty factor of the anterior muscles reflect the role of these muscles in initial wave generation. Synchronous recordings of kinematic data with EMG data reveal that the anterior dorsal and middle ventral muscles do mostly positive work, whereas the dorsal and ventral posterior muscles do negative work at most swimming speeds.

KINEMATICS OF PECTORAL FIN LOCOMOTION IN THE BLUEGILL SUNFISH LEPOMIS MACROCHIRUS

1994 ◽  
Vol 189 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Gibb ◽  
B Jayne ◽  
G Lauder
Keyword(s):  
Swimming Speed ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Lepomis Macrochirus ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Total Force ◽  
Bluegill Sunfish ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Lateral Projection ◽  
Pectoral Fins ◽  
Distal Edge

The pectoral fins of ray-finned fishes are flexible and capable of complex movements, and yet little is known about the pattern of fin deformation during locomotion. For the most part, pectoral fins have been modeled as rigid plates. In order to examine the movements of different portions of pectoral fins, we quantified the kinematics of pectoral fin locomotion in the bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus using several points on the distal fin edge and examined the effects of swimming speed on fin movements. We simultaneously videotaped the ventral and lateral views of pectoral fins of four fish swimming in a flow tank at five speeds ranging from 0.3 to 1.1 total lengths s-1. Four markers, placed on the distal edge of the fin, facilitated field-by-field analysis of kinematics. We used analyses of variance to test for significant variation with speed and among the different marker positions. Fin beat frequency increased significantly from 1.2 to 2.1 Hz as swimming speed increased from 0.3 to 1.0 total lengths s-1. Maximal velocities of movement for the tip of the fin during abduction and adduction generally increased significantly with increased swimming speed. The ratio of maximal speed of fin retraction to swimming speed declined steadily from 2.75 to 1.00 as swimming speed increased. Rather than the entire distal edge of the fin always moving synchronously, markers had phase lags as large as 32 with respect to the dorsal edge of the fin. The more ventral and proximal portions of the fin edge usually had smaller amplitudes of movement than did the more dorsal and distal locations. With increased swimming speed, the amplitudes of the lateral and longitudinal fin movements generally decreased. We used two distal markers and one basal reference point to determine the orientation of various planar fin elements. During early adduction and most of abduction, these planar fin elements usually had positive angles of attack. Because of fin rotation, angles of attack calculated from three-dimensional data differed considerably from those estimated from a simple lateral projection. As swimming speed increased, the angles of attack of the planar fin elements with respect to the overall direction of swimming approached zero. The oscillatory movements of the pectoral fins of bluegill suggest that both lift- and drag-based propulsive mechanisms are used to generate forward thrust. In addition, the reduced frequency parameter calculated for the pectoral fin of Lepomis (sigma=0.85) and the Reynolds number of 5x10(3) indicate that acceleration reaction forces may contribute significantly to thrust production and to the total force balance on the fin.

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