Moving in complex environments: a biomechanical analysis of locomotion on inclined and narrow substrates

Clemente, Christofer J.; Dick, Taylor J. M.; Wheatley, Rebecca; Gaschk, Joshua L.; Nasir, Ami Fadhillah Amir Abdul; Cameron, Skye F.; Wilson, Robbie S.

doi:10.1101/382028

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Squirrel monkeys, on the other hand, increased forelimb duty factor inconsistently across substrate conditions and decreased hindlimb duty factor on compliant supports, in direct contradiction to our predictions. Studies of animals as diverse as lizards, rodents, marsupials, and primates have broadly shown an inverse correlation between duty factor and support size, such that animals increase duty factor as support diameters become more narrow—even after controlling for variation in speed (Chadwell & Young, 2015; Clemente et al, 2019; Dunham et al, 2019, 2020; Foster & Higham, 2012; Gaschk et al, 2019; Karantanis et al, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c, 2017d, 2015; Lemelin & Cartmill, 2010; A. Schmidt & Fischer, 2010; Shapiro et al, 2016, 2014; Shapiro & Young, 2010, 2012; Wölfer et al, 2021; Young & Chadwell, 2020; Young et al, 2016). Squirrel monkeys' inconsistent adjustment of duty factor in response to variation in support precarity is, thus, particularly aberrant, indicating robust locomotor performance in the face of stability challenges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust locomotor performance of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) in response to simulated changes in support diameter and compliance

Schapker

Chadwell²,

Young

2022

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Arboreal environments require overcoming navigational challenges not typically encountered in other terrestrial habitats. Supports are unevenly distributed and vary in diameter, orientation, and compliance. To better understand the strategies that arboreal animals use to maintain stability in this environment, laboratory researchers must endeavor to mimic those conditions. Here, we evaluate how squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) adjust their locomotor mechanics in response to variation in support diameter and compliance. We used high-speed cameras to film two juvenile female monkeys as they walked across poles of varying diameters (5, 2.5, and 1.25 cm). Poles were mounted on either a stiff wooden base ("stable" condition) or foam blocks ("compliant" condition). Six force transducers embedded within the pole trackway recorded substrate reaction forces during locomotion. We predicted that squirrel monkeys would walk more slowly on narrow and compliant supports and adopt more "compliant" gait mechanics, increasing stride lengths, duty factors, and an average number of limbs gripping the support, while the decreasing center of mass height, stride frequencies, and peak forces. We observed few significant adjustments to squirrel monkey locomotor kinematics in response to changes in either support diameter or compliance, and the changes we did observe were often tempered by interactions with locomotor speed. These results differ from a similar study of common marmosets (i.e., Callithrix jacchus, with relatively poor grasping abilities), where variation in diameter and compliance substantially impacted gait kinematics.Squirrel monkeys' strong grasping apparatus, long and mobile tails, and other adaptations for arboreal travel likely facilitate robust locomotor performance despite substrate precarity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust locomotor performance of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) in response to simulated changes in support diameter and compliance

Schapker

Chadwell²,

Young

2022

J Exp Zool Pt A

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“…However, despite the importance of this underlying assumption, we have limited data on accidents. This is not because accidents never occur; rather, many laboratory studies observe and exclude trials containing accidents in an effort to measure optimal or maximal movement parameters (Huey & Hertz 1984;Losos & Sinervo 1989;Sinervo & Losos 1991;Losos & Irschick 1996;Clemente et al 2019) and/or present a qualitative description of accidents without empirical data (Sinervo & Losos 1991;Gese & Grothe 1995;Byrnes & Jayne 2010;Machovsky Capuska et al 2011;Gilman et al 2012). The relatively few studies that have collected empirical data on accidents suggest that both the specifics of movement and features of the landscape affect the likelihood that accidents will happen (Gerald et al 2008), and confirm that animals moderate their behaviour to minimise this (Daley et al 2006;Clark & Higham 2011;Wheatley et al 2015;Wynn et al 2015;Amir Abdul Nasir et al 2017;Wheatley et al 2018a;Wheatley et al 2018b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not because accidents never occur; rather, many laboratory studies observe and exclude trials containing accidents in an effort to measure optimal or maximal movement parameters (Huey & Hertz 1984; Losos & Sinervo 1989; Sinervo & Losos 1991; Losos & Irschick 1996; Clemente et al . 2019) and/or present a qualitative description of accidents without empirical data (Sinervo & Losos 1991; Gese & Grothe 1995; Byrnes & Jayne 2010; Machovsky Capuska et al . 2011; Gilman et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accidents alter animal fitness landscapes

et al. 2021

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Animals alter their habitat use in response to the energetic demands of movement (‘energy landscapes’) and the risk of predation (‘the landscape of fear’). Recent research suggests that animals also select habitats and move in ways that minimise their chance of temporarily losing control of movement and thereby suffering slips, falls, collisions or other accidents, particularly when the consequences are likely to be severe (resulting in injury or death). We propose that animals respond to the costs of an ‘accident landscape’ in conjunction with predation risk and energetic costs when deciding when, where, and how to move in their daily lives. We develop a novel theoretical framework describing how features of physical landscapes interact with animal size, morphology, and behaviour to affect the risk and severity of accidents, and predict how accident risk might interact with predation risk and energetic costs to dictate movement decisions across the physical landscape. Future research should focus on testing the hypotheses presented here for different real‐world systems to gain insight into the relative importance of theorised effects in the field.

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Moving in complex environments: a biomechanical analysis of locomotion on inclined and narrow substrates

Cited by 2 publications

References 45 publications

Robust locomotor performance of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) in response to simulated changes in support diameter and compliance

Robust locomotor performance of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) in response to simulated changes in support diameter and compliance

Accidents alter animal fitness landscapes

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