Stride lengths and frequencies of arboreal walking in seven species of didelphid marsupials

Delciellos, Ana Cláudia; Vieira, Marcus Vinícius

doi:10.1007/bf03194205

Cited by 36 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…) spanning the mean climbing velocity and similar to those of other arboreal mammals (Delciellos and Vieira, 2007;Stevens, 2008). To convert E/m b to units of distance from units of time, we divided the estimate of E/m b by v to obtain the mass-specific metabolic energy (cost) required to move 1m (C Tot-hor , Jkg ).…”

Section: Energetic Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gliding saves time but not energy in Malayan colugos

Byrnes

Libby

Lim

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Gliding is thought to be an economical form of locomotion. However, few data on the climbing and gliding of free-ranging gliding mammals are available. This study employed an animal-borne three-dimensional acceleration data-logging system to collect continuous data on the climbing and gliding of free-ranging Malayan colugos, Galeopterus variegatus. We combined these movement data with empirical estimates of the metabolic costs to move horizontally or vertically to test this long-standing hypothesis by determining whether the metabolic cost to climb to sufficient height to glide a given distance was less than the cost to move an equivalent distance horizontally through the canopy. On average, colugos climb a short distance to initiate glides. However, due to the high energetic cost of climbing, gliding is more energetically costly to move a given horizontal distance than would be predicted for an animal travelling the same distance through the canopy. Furthermore, because colugos spend a small fraction of their time engaged in locomotor activity, the high costs have little effect on their overall energy budget. As a result, the energetic economy hypothesis for the origins of gliding is not supported. It is likely that other ecologically relevant factors have played a greater role in the origins of gliding in colugos and other mammals.

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Section: Energetic Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gliding saves time but not energy in Malayan colugos

Byrnes

Libby

Lim

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…This study contributes new data to a growing body of comparative literature addressing kinematic responses of (adult) small-bodied mammals to arboreal substrates, including those that are arboreally adapted with grasping extremities (Pridmore, 1994;Schmitt, 2003b;Schmitt and Lemelin, 2004;Delciellos and Vieira, 2006;Stevens, 2006;Delciellos and Vieira, 2007;Scheibe et al, 2007;Stevens, 2007;Nyakatura et al, 2008;Nyakatura and Heymann, 2010) and those that lack grasping capability and are predominantly terrestrial (Lemelin et al, 2003;Lammers and Biknevicius, 2004;Lammers, 2007;Lammers and Gauntner, 2008;Lammers, 2009;Schmidt and Fischer, 2010;Lammers and Zurcher, 2011). Much insight on L. J. Shapiro and J. W. Young arboreal adaptations has been gained from these studies, but this study is one of very few to provide ontogenetic kinematic data for mammals in an arboreal context (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Starting with the basic assumption that in arboreal mammals, stability is inversely related to relative body size, we hypothesized that sugar gliders would employ kinematic stabilizing mechanisms as body size increased relative to substrate diameter. Previous studies have tested for the effects of decreasing substrate diameter on quadrupedal kinematics in arboreal (Schmitt, 2003a;Delciellos and Vieira, 2006;Stevens, 2006;Delciellos and Vieira, 2007;Scheibe et al, 2007;Stevens, 2007;Lemelin and Cartmill, 2010) and non-arboreal (Lammers and Biknevicius, 2004; Lammers, 2007; Schmidt and Fischer, 2010) mammals, but these studies have been restricted to adult subjects at a given body size. By including both adults and juveniles in our sample, and by tracking kinematics longitudinally through ontogeny, our study has the added advantage of permitting the assessment of the effects of relative body (to substrate) size on locomotion across a more extensive range of body sizes within a single species (see also Young, 2009a).…”

Section: Discussion Substrate Diameter Affects Quadrupedal Kinematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our data on sugar gliders is consistent with that prediction, supporting the association of these stride characteristics with navigation of relatively small substrates. Delciellos and Vieira compared relative stride lengths among seven species of terrestrial and arboreal didelphids moving across a flat surface vs cylindrical supports of four diameters (Delciellos and Vieira, 2006;Delciellos and Vieira, 2007). The arboreal taxa used relatively longer strides on the thinnest supports compared with terrestrial taxa, but differences in relative stride length within (Spezzano and Jayne, 2004).…”

Section: Locomotor Ontogeny In Sugar Glidersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even the one significant difference observed (adults used significantly greater relative stride lengths than juveniles across all substrates) was opposite in direction to that predicted. It is possible that juveniles used relatively short strides compared with adults as a means to reduce vertical fluctuations of the body's center of mass (Muir et al, 1996;Muir, 2000;Delciellos and Vieira, 2007), but the lack of significant differences in relative stride length between juveniles and adults on poles alone, or in relative stride frequency across any substrate, weakens this hypothesis.…”

Section: Age Affects Quadrupedal Kinematics In P Brevicepsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Kinematics of quadrupedal locomotion in sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps): effects of age and substrate size

Shapiro

Young

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Arboreal mammals face unique challenges to locomotor stability. This is particularly true with respect to juveniles, who must navigate substrates similar to those traversed by adults, despite a reduced body size and neuromuscular immaturity. Kinematic differences exhibited by juveniles and adults on a given arboreal substrate could therefore be due to differences in body size relative to substrate size, to differences in neuromuscular development, or to both. We tested the effects of relative body size and age on quadrupedal kinematics in a small arboreal marsupial (the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps; body mass range of our sample 33-97 g). Juvenile and adult P. breviceps were filmed moving across a flat board and three poles 2.5, 1.0 and 0.5 cm in diameter. Sugar gliders (regardless of age or relative speed) responded to relative decreases in substrate diameter with kinematic adjustments that promote stability; they increased duty factor, increased the average number of supporting limbs during a stride, increased relative stride length and decreased relative stride frequency. Limb phase increased when moving from the flat board to the poles, but not among poles. Compared with adults, juveniles (regardless of relative body size or speed) used lower limb phases, more pronounced limb flexion, and enhanced stability with higher duty factors and a higher average number of supporting limbs during a stride. We conclude that although substrate variation in an arboreal environment presents similar challenges to all individuals, regardless of age or absolute body size, neuromuscular immaturity confers unique problems to growing animals, requiring kinematic compensation.

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Effects of Substrate Size and Orientation on Quadrupedal Gait Kinematics in Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

2016

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As the smallest living primate, the mouse lemur is a suitable model for reconstructing the locomotor mechanisms by which primate ancestors might have responded to the challenges of an arboreal environment. In this study, we tested the effects of substrate diameter and orientation on quadrupedal gait kinematics in mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). Mouse lemurs highly preferred asymmetrical to symmetrical gaits as they moved across a flat board and poles of three diameters (2.5, 1.0, and 0.5 cm), set at horizontal, 30°inclined, and 30°declined orientations. During symmetrical gaits, mouse lemurs used diagonal sequence walking and ambling gaits on the same substrates and at the same duty factors for which some similarly sized nonprimate mammals use lateral sequence gaits, suggesting that reliance on diagonal sequence walking in primates may not be explicitly a response to body size relative to substrate diameter. When using asymmetrical gaits, kinematic adjustments to small diameter and/or nonhorizontal substrates included a preference for transverse gallops over other gaits, the avoidance of whole-body suspensions, increases in limb contact duration, and increases in the time interval between the landing of trailing and leading limbs. All of these adjustments are consistent with increasing locomotor stability by dampening center of mass movements and reducing the forces imparted to the substrate. Like mouse lemurs, small-bodied ancestral primates likely used symmetrical gaits occasionally, but more frequently used asymmetrical gaits that were adjusted in response to challenging substrates. Therefore, asymmetrical gait dynamics should be incorporated into hypotheses addressing early primate locomotor evolution.

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Stride lengths and frequencies of arboreal walking in seven species of didelphid marsupials

Cited by 36 publications

References 33 publications

Gliding saves time but not energy in Malayan colugos

Gliding saves time but not energy in Malayan colugos

Kinematics of quadrupedal locomotion in sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps): effects of age and substrate size

Effects of Substrate Size and Orientation on Quadrupedal Gait Kinematics in Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

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