scholarly journals Power and efficiency of insect flight muscle

1985 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. Ellington
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Insect Flight Muscle ◽  
Muscle Properties ◽  
System A ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscles

The efficiency and mechanical power output of insect flight muscle have been estimated from a study of hovering flight. The maximum power output, calculated from the muscle properties, is adequate for the aerodynamic power requirements. However, the power output is insufficient to oscillate the wing mass as well unless there is good elastic storage of the inertial energy, and this is consistent with reports of elastic components in the flight system. A comparison of the mechanical power output with the metabolic power input to the flight muscles suggests that the muscle efficiency is quite low: less than 10%.

The efficiency of an asynchronous flight muscle from a beetle

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (23) ◽  
pp. 4125-4139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Josephson ◽  
Jean G. Malamud ◽  
Darrell R. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Co2 Production ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Metabolic Power ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscles

SUMMARYMechanical power output and metabolic power input were measured from an asynchronous flight muscle, the basalar muscle of the beetle Cotinus mutabilis. Mechanical power output was determined using the work loop technique and metabolic power input by monitoring CO2 production or both CO2 production and O2 consumption. At 35°C, and with conditions that maximized power output (60 Hz sinusoidal strain, optimal muscle length and strain amplitude, 60 Hz stimulation frequency), the peak mechanical power output during a 10 s burst was approximately 140 W kg–1, the respiratory coefficient 0.83 and the muscle efficiency 14–16 %. The stimulus intensity used was the minimal required to achieve a maximal isometric tetanus. Increasing or decreasing the stimulus intensity from this level changed mechanical power output but not efficiency, indicating that the efficiency measurements were not contaminated by excitation of muscles adjacent to that from which the mechanical recordings were made. The CO2 produced during an isometric tetanus was approximately half that during a bout of similar stimulation but with imposed sinusoidal strain and work output, suggesting that up to 50 % of the energy input may go to muscle activation costs. Reducing the stimulus frequency to 30 Hz from its usual value of 60 Hz reduced mechanical power output but had no significant effect on efficiency. Increasing the frequency of the sinusoidal strain from 60 to 90 Hz reduced power output but not CO2 consumption; hence, there was a decline in efficiency. The respiratory coefficient was the same for 10 s and 30 s bursts of activity, suggesting that there was no major change in the fuel used over this time range.The mass-specific mechanical power output and the efficiency of the beetle muscle were each 2–3 times greater than values measured in previous studies, using similar techniques, from locust flight muscles, which are synchronous muscles. These results support the hypothesis that asynchronous flight muscles have evolved in several major insect taxa because they can provide greater power output and are more efficient than are synchronous muscles for operation at the high frequencies of insect flight.

The aerodynamics of hovering insect flight. VI. Lift and power requirements

1984 ◽  
Vol 305 (1122) ◽  
pp. 145-181 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Edge Vortex ◽  
Edge Separation

The lift and power requirements for hovering insect flight are estimated by combining the morphological and kinematic data from papers II and III with the aerodynamic analyses of papers IV and V. The lift calculations are used to evaluate the importance in hovering of two distinct types of aerodynamic mechanisms: (i) the usual quasi-steady mechanism, where the circulation for lift is primarily determined by translation of the wing, and (ii) rotational mechanisms, where the circulation is largely governed by wing rotation at either end of the wingbeat. Power estimates are compared with the available measurements of metabolic rate during hovering to investigate the role of elastic energy storage, the maximum mechanical power output of the flight muscles, and the muscle efficiency. The quasi-steady mechanism proves inadequate for the lift requirements of hover-flies using an inclined stroke plane, and for a ladybird beetle and a crane-fly hovering with a horizontal stroke plane. Observed angles of attack rule out lift enhancement by unsteady modifications to the quasi-steady mechanism, such as delayed stall, but the rotational lift mechanisms proposed in paper IV seem consistent with the kinematics. The rotational mechanisms rely on concentrated vortex shedding from the leading edge during rotation, with attachment of that vorticity as a leading edge separation bubble during the subsequent half-stroke. Strong leading edge vortex shedding should result from delayed pronation for the hover-fly, a near fling and partial fling for the ladybird, and profile flexion for the crane-fly (the flex mechanism). The kinematics for the other insects hovering with a horizontal stroke plane are basically the same as for the anomalous crane-fly, and the quasi-steady mechanism cannot be accepted for them while rejecting it for the crane-fly. All of these insects flex their wings in a similar manner during rotation, and could use the flex mechanism for lift generation. The implication is that most, if not all, hovering animals do not rely on quasi-steady aerodynamics, but use rotational lift mechanisms instead. It is not possible to reconcile the power estimates with the commonly accepted values of both the mechanochemical efficiency of insect flight muscle (about 25%) and its maximum mechanical power output (about 20 W N -1 of muscle). Maximum efficiencies of 12-29% could be obtained only if there is no elastic storage of the kinetic energy of the flapping wings, but this would require more than twice the accepted value for maximum mechanical power output. The available evidence suggests that substantial elastic storage does occur, and that the maximum mechanical power output is close to the accepted value. If so, then the efficiency of both fibrillar and non-fibrillar flight muscle is likely to be only 5-9%.

Power output by an asynchronous flight muscle from a beetle

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (17) ◽  
pp. 2667-2689 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.K. Josephson ◽  
J.G. Malamud ◽  
D.R. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Muscle Temperature ◽  
Work Output ◽  
Stroke Frequency ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Wing Stroke

The basalar muscle of the beetle Cotinus mutabilis is a large, fibrillar flight muscle composed of approximately 90 fibers. The paired basalars together make up approximately one-third of the mass of the power muscles of flight. Changes in twitch force with changing stimulus intensity indicated that a basalar muscle is innervated by at least five excitatory axons and at least one inhibitory axon. The muscle is an asynchronous muscle; during normal oscillatory operation there is not a 1:1 relationship between muscle action potentials and contractions. During tethered flight, the wing-stroke frequency was approximately 80 Hz, and the action potential frequency in individual motor units was approximately 20 Hz. As in other asynchronous muscles that have been examined, the basalar is characterized by high passive tension, low tetanic force and long twitch duration. Mechanical power output from the basalar muscle during imposed, sinusoidal strain was measured by the work-loop technique. Work output varied with strain amplitude, strain frequency, the muscle length upon which the strain was superimposed, muscle temperature and stimulation frequency. When other variables were at optimal values, the optimal strain for work per cycle was approximately 5%, the optimal frequency for work per cycle approximately 50 Hz and the optimal frequency for mechanical power output 60–80 Hz. Optimal strain decreased with increasing cycle frequency and increased with muscle temperature. The curve relating work output and strain was narrow. At frequencies approximating those of flight, the width of the work versus strain curve, measured at half-maximal work, was 5% of the resting muscle length. The optimal muscle length for work output was shorter than that at which twitch and tetanic tension were maximal. Optimal muscle length decreased with increasing strain. The curve relating work output and muscle length, like that for work versus strain, was narrow, with a half-width of approximately 3 % at the normal flight frequency. Increasing the frequency with which the muscle was stimulated increased power output up to a plateau, reached at approximately 100 Hz stimulation frequency (at 35 degrees C). The low lift generated by animals during tethered flight is consistent with the low frequency of muscle action potentials in motor units of the wing muscles. The optimal oscillatory frequency for work per cycle increased with muscle temperature over the temperature range tested (25–40 degrees C). When cycle frequency was held constant, the work per cycle rose to an optimum with increasing temperature and then declined. We propose that there is a temperature optimum for work output because increasing temperature increases the shortening velocity of the muscle, which increases the rate of positive work output during shortening, but also decreases the durations of the stretch activation and shortening deactivation that underlie positive work output, the effect of temperature on shortening velocity being dominant at lower temperatures and the effect of temperature on the time course of activation and deactivation being dominant at higher temperatures. The average wing-stroke frequency during free flight was 94 Hz, and the thoracic temperature was 35 degrees C. The mechanical power output at the measured values of wing-stroke frequency and thoracic temperature during flight, and at optimal muscle length and strain, averaged 127 W kg(−1)muscle, with a maximum value of 200 W kg(−1). The power output from this asynchronous flight muscle was approximately twice that measured with similar techniques from synchronous flight muscle of insects, supporting the hypothesis that asynchronous operation has been favored by evolution in flight systems of different insect groups because it allows greater power output at the high contraction frequencies of flight.

Mechanical and propelling efficiency in swimming derived from exercise using a laboratory-based whole-body swimming ergometer

2012 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Zamparo ◽  
Ian L. Swaine
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Metabolic Power ◽  
Exact Simulation ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Propelling Efficiency ◽  
Overall Efficiency ◽  
Active Drag

Determining the efficiency of a swimming stroke is difficult because different “efficiencies” can be computed based on the partitioning of mechanical power output (Ẇ) into its useful and nonuseful components, as well as because of the difficulties in measuring the forces that a swimmer can exert in water. In this paper, overall efficiency (ηO = ẆTOT/Ė, where ẆTOT is total mechanical power output, and Ė is overall metabolic power input) was calculated in 10 swimmers by means of a laboratory-based whole-body swimming ergometer, whereas propelling efficiency (ηP = ẆD/ẆTOT, where ẆD is the power to overcome drag) was estimated based on these values and on values of drag efficiency (ηD = ẆD/Ė): ηP = ηD/ηO. The values of ηD reported in the literature range from 0.03 to 0.09 (based on data for passive and active drag, respectively). ηO was 0.28 ± 0.01, and ηP was estimated to range from ∼0.10 (ηD = 0.03) to 0.35 (ηD = 0.09). Even if there are obvious limitations to exact simulation of the whole swimming stroke within the laboratory, these calculations suggest that the data reported in the literature for ηO are probably underestimated, because not all components of ẆTOT can be measured accurately in this environment. Similarly, our estimations of ηP suggest that the data reported in the literature are probably overestimated.

scholarly journals GENETIC VARIABILITY OF FLIGHT METABOLISM IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. II. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POWER OUTPUT AND ENZYME ACTIVITY LEVELS

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-868
Author(s):  
C C Laurie-Ahlberg ◽  
P T Barnes ◽  
J W Curtsinger ◽  
T H Emigh ◽  
B Karlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Substitution Lines ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Metabolism Enzymes ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Flight Metabolism ◽  
Flight Muscles

ABSTRACT The major goal of the studies reported here was to determine the extent to which genetic variation in the activities of the enzymes participating in flight metabolism contributes to variation in the mechanical power output of the flight muscles in Drosophila melanogaster. Isogenic chromosome substitution lines were used to partition the variance of both types of quantitative trait into genetic and environmental components. The mechanical power output was estimated from the wingbeat frequency, wing amplitude and wing morphology of tethered flies by applying the aerodynamic models of Weis-Fogh and Ellington. There were three major results. (1) Chromosomes sampled from natural populations provide a large and repeatable genetic component to the variation in the activities of most of the 15 flight metabolism enzymes investigated and to the variation in the mechanical power output of the flight muscles. (2) The mechanical power output is a sensitive indicator of the rate of flight metabolism (i.e., rate of oxygen consumption during tethered flight). (3) In spite of (1) and (2), no convincing cases of individual enzyme effects on power output were detected, although the number and sign of the significant enzyme-power correlations suggests that such effects are not totally lacking.

scholarly journals The changes in power requirements and muscle efficiency during elevated force production in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (7) ◽  
pp. 1133-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
F O Lehmann ◽  
M H Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
The Cost

The limits of flight performance have been estimated in tethered Drosophila melanogaster by modulating power requirements in a 'virtual reality' flight arena. At peak capacity, the flight muscles can sustain a mechanical power output of nearly 80 W kg-1 muscle mass at 24 degrees C, which is sufficient to generate forces of approximately 150% of the animal's weight. The increase in flight force above that required to support body weight is accompanied by a rise in wing velocity, brought about by an increase in stroke amplitude and a decrease in stroke frequency. Inertial costs, although greater than either profile or induced power, would be minimal with even modest amounts of elastic storage, and total mechanical power energy should be equivalent to aerodynamic power alone. Because of the large profile drag expected at low Reynolds numbers, the profile power was approximately twice the induced power at all levels of force generation. Thus, it is the cost of overcoming drag, and not the production of lift, that is the primary requirement for flight in Drosophila melanogaster. By comparing the estimated mechanical power output with respirometrically measured total power input, we determined that muscle efficiency rises with increasing force production to a maximum of 10%. This change in efficiency may reflect either increased crossbridge activation or a favorable strain regime during the production of peak forces.

A Comparison of Mechanical and Energetic Estimates of Flight Cost for Hovering Sphinx Moths

1981 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY M. CASEY
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Flight Mechanics ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Power Requirement ◽  
Power Cost ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Specific Power Input

Mechanical power output, based on measured power input, is compared with calculated values for aerodynamic and inertial power output in sphinx moths ranging from 350 to 3400 mg. Aerodynamic power output, calculated from momentum and blade-element aerodynamic theories, scales with the 1.08 power of body mass, amounting to about 40% of the mechanical power output of large moths to about 15% in the smallest individuals. Calculated value for the inertial power cost of hovering represents a larger fraction of the mechanical power output than the aerodynamic cost in all moths, with the value increasing as body mass decreases. Independent estimates of inertial power output based on metabolic data are similar to those obtained from calculations of the moment of inertia for the wings. These data suggest that inertial power output represents the largest power requirement for hovering sphinx moths, and that elastic torques do not significantly reduce the mechanical power output. Higher mass-specific power input of small sphinx moths appears to be the result of greater mass-specific inertial power requirements. Estimates of flight cost based on morphology and flight mechanics of sphinx moths yield values for mechanical power output which are similar to values estimated from their flight metabolism.

Flight Energetics of Euglossine Bees in Relation to Morphology and Wing Stroke Frequency

1985 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY M. CASEY ◽  
MICHAEL L. MAY ◽  
KENNETH R. MORGAN
Keyword(s):  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Power Output ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Mechanical Power ◽  
Euglossine Bees ◽  
Stroke Frequency ◽  
Dynamic Power ◽  
Mechanical Power Output ◽  
Wing Stroke

Mass-specific oxygen consumption of euglossine bees during free hove ringflight is inversely related to body mass, varying from 66 mlO2 g−1 h−1 in a 1.0 -g bee to 154 mlO2 g−1 h−1 in a 0.10 -g bee. Individuals of Eulaema and Eufreisea spp. have smaller wings and higher wing stroke frequency and energy metabolism at any given mass than bees of Euglossa spp. or Exaeretefrontalis. Calculated aero dynamic power requirements represent only a small fraction of the energy metabolism, and apparent flight efficiency aero dynamic power (= induced + profile power)/power input decreases as sizedeclines. If efficiency of flight muscle = 0.2, the mechanical power output of hovering bees varies inversely with body mass from about 480 to 1130 W kg−1 of muscle. These values are 1.9 to 4.5 times greater than previous predictions of maximum mechanical power output (Weis-Fogh & Alexander, 1977; see also Ellington, 1984c). Mass-specific energy expenditure per wing stroke is independent of body mass and essentially the same for all euglossines. Differences in energy metabolism among bees having similar body mass isprimarily related to differences in wing stroke frequency. Scaling of energy metabolism in relation to mass is generally similar to the relationship for sphingid moths despite the fact that bees have asynchronous flight musclewhereas moths have synchronous muscle.

scholarly journals The activities of pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and fructose diphosphatase in muscles from vertebrates and invertebrates

1972 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Crabtree ◽  
S. J. Higgins ◽  
E. A. Newsholme
Keyword(s):  
Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase ◽  
Pyruvate Carboxylase ◽  
Flight Muscle ◽  
Insect Flight ◽  
Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle ◽  
Mitochondrial Fraction ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Insect Flight Muscle ◽  
Carboxylase Activity ◽  
Flight Muscles

1. The activities of pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and fructose diphosphatase in crude homogenates of vertebrate and invertebrate muscles are reported. 2. Pyruvate carboxylase activity was present in all insect flight muscles that were investigated: in homogenates of bumble-bee flight muscle the activity was inhibited by ADP and activated by acetyl-CoA, and it was distributed mainly in the mitochondrial fraction. This is the first demonstration of pyruvate carboxylase activity in muscle. However, the activity appears to be restricted to insect flight muscle, since it was not found in other invertebrate or vertebrate muscles. 3. Since the three enzymes were never found together in the same muscle, it is concluded that these enzymes cannot provide a pathway for the synthesis of glycogen from lactate or pyruvate in muscle. Other roles for these enzymes in muscle are suggested. In particular, pyruvate carboxylase may be present in insect flight muscle for the provision of oxaloacetate to support the large increase in activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle which occurs when an insect takes flight.

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