scholarly journals Biomechanics of Flight in Neotropical Butterflies: Morphometrics and Kinematics

1990 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT DUDLEY
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Flight Speed ◽  
Morphological Parameters ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Body Angle ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Wing Kinematics ◽  
Positional Angle ◽  
Comparable Magnitude ◽  
Stroke Amplitude

Wing and body kinematics of free cruising flight are described for 37 species of Panamanian butterflies ranging over two orders of magnitude in body mass. Butterflies exhibit considerable diversity in body and wing shape, but morphological design is, in general, isometric. Wing loading and mean body diameter show positive allometry. The cruising flight of butterflies is characterized by low wingbeat frequencies (here averaging 11 Hz), stroke amplitudes averaging 103°, and forward speeds in excess of 1m s−1. Body angles during flight are close to horizontal, and stroke plane angles are correspondingly high. Advance ratios are typically greater than 0.9, indicating that the forward and flapping velocity vectors are of comparable magnitude. Flight speed scales with morphological parameters in general accordance with predictions based on isometric design. Interspecifically, no consistent correlation exists between wing kinematics and absolute flight speed. However, maximum positional angle and stroke amplitude tend to increase while body angle decreases with increased relative flight speed.

scholarly journals Kinematics Measurement and Power Requirements of Fruitflies at Various Flight Speeds

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4271
Author(s):  
Hao Jie Zhu ◽  
Mao Sun
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Flight Speed ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Body Angle ◽  
Flying Insects ◽  
Speed Range ◽  
Full Speed ◽  
Stroke Amplitude

Energy expenditure is a critical characteristic in evaluating the flight performance of flying insects. To investigate how the energy cost of small-sized insects varies with flight speed, we measured the detailed wing and body kinematics in the full speed range of fruitflies and computed the aerodynamic forces and power requirements of the flies. As flight speed increases, the body angle decreases and the stroke plane angle increases; the wingbeat frequency only changes slightly; the geometrical angle of attack in the middle upstroke increases; the stroke amplitude first decreases and then increases. The mechanical power of the fruitflies at all flight speeds is dominated by aerodynamic power (inertial power is very small), and the magnitude of aerodynamic power in upstroke increases significantly at high flight speeds due to the increase of the drag and the flapping velocity of the wing. The specific power (power required for flight divided by insect weigh) changes little when the advance ratio is below about 0.45 and afterwards increases sharply. That is, the specific power varies with flight speed according to a J-shaped curve, unlike those of aircrafts, birds and large-sized insects which vary with flight speed according to a U-shaped curve.

Relationships between body mass, motor output and flight variables during free flight of juvenile and mature adult locusts, Schistocerca gregaria

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (18) ◽  
pp. 2723-2735 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Fischer ◽  
W. Kutsch
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Schistocerca Gregaria ◽  
Flight Speed ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Mature Adult ◽  
Body Angle ◽  
Flight System ◽  
Functional Relationships

Little information is available about how the adult locust flight system manages to match the aerodynamic demands that result from an increase in body mass during postmoult maturation. In Schistocerca gregaria of both sexes, flight variables, including flight speed, ascent angle and body angle, were investigated under closed-loop conditions (i.e. during free flight) as a function of adult maturation. Motor patterns were examined by telemetric electromyography in juvenile and adult mature animals of both sexes. Functional relationships between particular flight variables were investigated by additional loading of the animals and by reductions in wing area. The results indicate that an increase in flight speed as the flight system matures enables it to match the aerodynamic demands resulting from increases in body mass. Furthermore, the data suggest that this postmoult increase in flight speed is not simply a consequence of the increase in wingbeat frequency observed during maturation. The instantaneous body angle during flight is controlled mainly by aerodynamic output from the wings. In addition, the mean body angle decreases during maturation in both sexes, and this may play an important part in the directional control of the resultant flight force vector.

scholarly journals FLIGHT PHYSIOLOGY OF NEOTROPICAL BUTTERFLIES: ALLOMETRY OF AIRSPEEDS DURING NATURAL FREE FLIGHT

1994 ◽  
Vol 191 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Dudley ◽  
R Srygley
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Flight Speed ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Wing Area ◽  
Wing Aspect Ratio

Airspeed measurements during natural free flight were made on a total of 270 neotropical butterflies representing 62 species. Morphological data were obtained from the same individuals for which airspeeds had been determined. Flight speed was positively correlated with body mass, thoracic mass and wing loading. Controlling for body mass, higher wing loadings were correlated with increased flight speed. Flight speed and wing aspect ratio were negatively correlated. No consistent correlations were found between airspeed and wing length, wing area or body length. Released butterflies and butterflies encountered in natural free flight did not differ substantially in flight speed allometry. The observed scaling of flight speeds was similar to that derived for a much smaller sample of butterflies flying in an insectary, although absolute values of flight speed were approximately three times higher in natural flight and correlation coefficients of allometric regressions were typically lower. These results suggest that butterfly airspeeds under natural conditions can reasonably be predicted from morphological measurements, and that studying flight in enclosed spaces preserves the allometry of flight speeds.

scholarly journals Mechanics of evolutionary digit reduction in fossil horses (Equidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1861) ◽  
pp. 20171174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna K. McHorse ◽  
Andrew A. Biewener ◽  
Stephanie E. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Bone Geometry ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Load Bearing ◽  
Beam Analysis ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Major Trend ◽  
The Cost

Digit reduction is a major trend that characterizes horse evolution, but its causes and consequences have rarely been quantitatively tested. Using beam analysis on fossilized centre metapodials, we tested how locomotor bone stresses changed with digit reduction and increasing body size across the horse lineage. Internal bone geometry was captured from 13 fossil horse genera that covered the breadth of the equid phylogeny and the spectrum of digit reduction and body sizes, from Hyracotherium to Equus . To account for the load-bearing role of side digits, a novel, continuous measure of digit reduction was also established—toe reduction index (TRI). Our results show that without accounting for side digits, three-toed horses as late as Parahippus would have experienced physiologically untenable bone stresses. Conversely, when side digits are modelled as load-bearing, species at the base of the horse radiation through Equus probably maintained a similar safety factor to fracture stress. We conclude that the centre metapodial compensated for evolutionary digit reduction and body mass increases by becoming more resistant to bending through substantial positive allometry in internal geometry. These results lend support to two historical hypotheses: that increasing body mass selected for a single, robust metapodial rather than several smaller ones; and that, as horse limbs became elongated, the cost of inertia from the side toes outweighed their utility for stabilization or load-bearing.

scholarly journals Ontogenetic scaling patterns and functional anatomy of the pelvic limb musculature in emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis P Lamas ◽  
Russell P Main ◽  
John R. Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Dromaius Novaehollandiae ◽  
Pelvic Limb

Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) are exclusively terrestrial, bipedal and cursorial ratites with some similar biomechanical characteristics to humans. Their growth rates are impressive as their body mass increases eighty-fold from hatching to adulthood whilst maintaining the same mode of locomotion throughout life. These ontogenetic characteristics stimulate biomechanical questions about the strategies that allow emus to cope with their rapid growth and locomotion, which can be partly addressed via scaling (allometric) analysis of morphology. In this study we have collected pelvic limb anatomical data (muscle architecture, tendon length, tendon mass and bone lengths) and calculated muscle physiological cross sectional area (PCSA) and average tendon cross sectional area from emus across three ontogenetic stages (n=17, body masses from 3.6 to 42 kg). The data were analysed by reduced major axis regression to determine how these biomechanically relevant aspects of morphology scaled with body mass. Muscle mass and PCSA showed a marked trend towards positive allometry (26 and 27 out of 34 muscles respectively) and fascicle length showed a more mixed scaling pattern. The long tendons of the main digital flexors scaled with positive allometry for all characteristics whilst other tendons demonstrated a less clear scaling pattern. Finally, the two longer bones of the limb (tibiotarsus and tarsometatarsus) also exhibited positive allometry for length and the two others (femur and first phalanx of digit III) had trends towards isometry. These results indicate that emus experience a relative increase in their muscle force-generating capacities, as well as potentially increasing the force-sustaining capacities of their tendons, as they grow. Furthermore, we have clarified anatomical descriptions and provided illustrations of the pelvic limb muscle-tendon units in emus.

scholarly journals Ontogenetic scaling patterns and functional anatomy of the pelvic limb musculature in emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae)

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis P Lamas ◽  
Russell P Main ◽  
John R. Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Cross Sectional Area ◽  
Sectional Area ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Dromaius Novaehollandiae ◽  
Pelvic Limb

Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) are exclusively terrestrial, bipedal and cursorial ratites with some similar biomechanical characteristics to humans. Their growth rates are impressive as their body mass increases eighty-fold from hatching to adulthood whilst maintaining the same mode of locomotion throughout life. These ontogenetic characteristics stimulate biomechanical questions about the strategies that allow emus to cope with their rapid growth and locomotion, which can be partly addressed via scaling (allometric) analysis of morphology. In this study we have collected pelvic limb anatomical data (muscle architecture, tendon length, tendon mass and bone lengths) and calculated muscle physiological cross sectional area (PCSA) and average tendon cross sectional area from emus across three ontogenetic stages (n=17, body masses from 3.6 to 42 kg). The data were analysed by reduced major axis regression to determine how these biomechanically relevant aspects of morphology scaled with body mass. Muscle mass and PCSA showed a marked trend towards positive allometry (26 and 27 out of 34 muscles respectively) and fascicle length showed a more mixed scaling pattern. The long tendons of the main digital flexors scaled with positive allometry for all characteristics whilst other tendons demonstrated a less clear scaling pattern. Finally, the two longer bones of the limb (tibiotarsus and tarsometatarsus) also exhibited positive allometry for length and the two others (femur and first phalanx of digit III) had trends towards isometry. These results indicate that emus experience a relative increase in their muscle force-generating capacities, as well as potentially increasing the force-sustaining capacities of their tendons, as they grow. Furthermore, we have clarified anatomical descriptions and provided illustrations of the pelvic limb muscle-tendon units in emus.

scholarly journals EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FITNESS PROGRAMS ON THE MORPHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WOMEN AGED 30–40 YEARS

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
E Perevalina ◽  
M Shestakov ◽  
S Laggao
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Mass ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Morphological Parameters ◽  
Fat Tissue ◽  
Functional Training ◽  
Basic Stage ◽  
Morphological Status ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Fitness Programs

Aim. The article deals with establishing the features of changes in the morphological parameters of women aged 30–40 years involved in different fitness programs at the basic stage. Materials and methods. 85 women aged 30–40 years participated in different fitness programs during 9 weeks: 17 – gym, 19 – traditional aerobics, 17 – strength aerobics, 17 – functional training, 15 – fitness-yoga. 60-minute fitness lessons were conducted 3 times per week. We measured the following parameters: height, weight, body circumference, skin-fat fold volume, the absolute and relative values of the muscle and fat tissues. Results. In women, body mass reduces under the effect of gym training, traditional aerobics, and functional training. The reduction of body circumference measurements occurs under the effect of gym training, traditional aerobics, strength aerobics, and functional training. Muscle mass increases as a result of gym training and decreases after traditional aerobics. The absolute and relative mass of the fat tissue reduces under the effect of gym training, traditional aerobics, and functional training. Conclusion. Different fitness programs influence differently morphological status in women aged 30-40 years.

Gill and Body Surface Areas of the Carp in relation to Body Mass, With Special Reference To The Metabolism-Size Relationship

1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHIN OIKAWA ◽  
YASUO ITAZAWA
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Body Surface ◽  
Larval Stage ◽  
The Body ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Surface Areas ◽  
Gill Area ◽  
Resting Metabolism ◽  
The Relationship

The relationships of resting metabolism per unit mass of body to gill and body surface areas were examined by measuring gill, body surface and fin areas of carp ranging from 0.0016 to 2250g. There was a triphasic allometry for the relationship between gill area and body mass: during the prelarval (0.0016–0.003 g) and postlarval (0.003–0.2g) stages there was a positive allometry (slopes of 7.066 and 1.222, respectively), during the juvenile and later stages (0.2–2250 g) there was a negative allometry with a slope of 0.794. There was a diphasic negative allometry for the relationship between surface area of the body or the fins and body mass, with a slope of 0.596 or 0.523 during the larval stage and 0.664 or 0.724 during the juvenile and later stages, respectively. Except for the 3rd phase (juvenile to adult) of gill area, these slopes were significantly different (P<0.01) from the slope for the relationship between resting metabolism and body mass of intact carp (0.84; value from Winberg, 1956). It is considered, therefore, that gill, body surface and fin areas do not directly regulate the resting metabolism of the fish, in the larval stage at least.

Addition of Artificial Loads to Long-Eared Bats Plecotus Auritus: Handicapping Flight Performance

1991 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATSY M. HUGHES ◽  
JEREMY M. V. RAYNER
Keyword(s):  
Total Mass ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flight Speed ◽  
Wing Loading ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Predicted Values ◽  
Optimal Approach

A series of experiments is described in which two brown long-eared bats Plecotus auritus Linnaeus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) were flown in a 1mx1mx4.5m flight enclosure at a range of body masses (n=9 experiments for a female bat, and n = 11 for a male bat). The highest three of these masses incorporated artificial loads. Stroboscopic stereophotogrammetry was used to make three-dimensional reconstructions (n=124) of the bats' flight paths. Over the entire range of experiments, wing loading was increased by 44% for the female and 46% for the male bat. Effects arising from captivity were controlled for: experiments at certain wing loadings were repeated after a period in captivity and the response to load was found to be unaltered. Flight speed fell with total mass M or with wing loading, varying as M−0.49 in the female and M−0.42 in the male bat. Wingbeat frequency increased with total mass or wing loading, varying as M0.61 in the female and M0.44in the male bat. Hence frequency, but not speed, changed with mass in the direction predicted by aerodynamic theory. These results were used in a mathematical model to predict wingbeat amplitude, flight power and cost of transport. The model was also used to estimate the optimal flight speeds Vmr and Vmp. The model predicted that amplitude increases with load. Measurements of wingbeat amplitude did not differ significantly from the predicted values. The observed flight speed was below the predicted minimum power speed Vmp (which increases with load), and diverged further from this with progressive loading. The increase in cost of flight calculated by the model over the range of wing loadings was approximately double that which it would have been had the bats adopted the optimal approach predicted by the model. The limitations inherent in the theoretical model, and the possible constraints acting on the animals, are discussed.

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