Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 218, Issue 7, Pages 1028-1034Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.111393
Keywords
Terrestrial locomotion; Size; Body mass; Geometric similarity; Energetics
Categories
Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [G01138/1, I0021116/1]
- Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Manchester Museum
- BBSRC [BB/I021116/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/I021116/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Natural Environment Research Council [1097279] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The minimum metabolic cost of transport (CoTmin; J kg(-1) m(-1)) scales negatively with increasing body mass (proportional to M-b(-1/3)) across species from a wide range of taxa associated with marked differences in body plan. At the intraspecific level, or between closely related species, however, CoTmin does not always scale with M-b. Similarity in physiology, dynamics of movement, skeletal geometry and posture between closely related individuals is thought to be responsible for this phenomenon, despite the fact that energetic, kinematic and morphometric data are rarely collected together. We examined the relationship between these integrated components of locomotion in leghorn chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) selectively bred for large and bantam (miniature) varieties. Interspecific allometry predicts a CoTmin similar to 16% greater in bantams compared with the larger variety. However, despite 38% and 23% differences in M-b and leg length, respectively, the two varieties shared an identical walking CoTmin, independent of speed and equal to the allometric prediction derived from interspecific data for the larger variety. Furthermore, the two varieties moved with dynamic similarity and shared geometrically similar appendicular and axial skeletons. Hip height, however, did not scale geometrically and the smaller variety had more erect limbs, contrary to interspecific scaling trends. The lower than predicted CoTmin in bantams for their M-b was associated with both the more erect posture and a lower cost per stride (J kg(-1) stride(-1)). Therefore, our findings are consistent with the notion that a more erect limb is associated with a lower CoTmin and with the previous assumption that similarity in skeletal shape, inherently linked to walking dynamics, is associated with similarity in CoTmin.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available