4.5 Article

Geckos decouple fore- and hind limb kinematics in response to changes in incline

期刊

FRONTIERS IN ZOOLOGY
卷 13, 期 -, 页码 -

出版社

BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12983-016-0144-2

关键词

Gecko; Incline; Decline; Adhesive system; Forelimb; Hind limb

类别

资金

  1. NSF [NSF IOS-1147043]
  2. Direct For Biological Sciences [1147043] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
  3. Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [1147043] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Background: Terrestrial animals regularly move up and down surfaces in their natural habitat, and the impacts of moving uphill on locomotion are commonly examined. However, if an animal goes up, it must go down. Many morphological features enhance locomotion on inclined surfaces, including adhesive systems among geckos. Despite this, it is not known whether the employment of the adhesive system results in altered locomotor kinematics due to the stereotyped motions that are necessary to engage and disengage the system. Using a generalist pad-bearing gecko, Chondrodactylus bibronii, we determined whether changes in slope impact body and limb kinematics. Results: Despite the change in demand, geckos did not change speed on any incline. This constant speed was achieved by adjusting stride frequency, step length and swing time. Hind limb, but not forelimb, kinematics were altered on steep downhill conditions, thus resulting in significant de-coupling of the limbs. Conclusions: Unlike other animals on non-level conditions, the geckos in our study only minimally alter the movements of distal limb elements, which is likely due to the constraints associated with the need for rapid attachment and detachment of the adhesive system. This suggests that geckos may experience a trade-off between successful adhesion and the ability to respond dynamically to locomotor perturbations.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.5
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据