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Biomechanics

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Full-Text Articles in Integrative Biology

Evolutionary Biomechanics In Cetartiodactyla: Impacts Of Ecological Shifts On Bone Material Properties And Control Surface Morphology, Danielle S. Adams Aug 2025

Evolutionary Biomechanics In Cetartiodactyla: Impacts Of Ecological Shifts On Bone Material Properties And Control Surface Morphology, Danielle S. Adams

All Dissertations

Extreme ecological transitions expose organisms to novel selective pressures that can reshape morphology and performance. This dissertation investigates how the transition from land to water has influenced form and material properties in cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), a clade that has undergone dramatic morphological and physiological adaptations to a fully aquatic lifestyle. I integrate comparative morphology, material property testing, and phylogenetic analyses, to explore how ecological demands, particularly related to foraging mode and prey detection, have shaped multiple aspects of cetacean morphology and function. Using nanoindentation and microCT, I measured elastic modulus and bone density of the skull and mandible …

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Pelvic Sucker Form And Function In Waterfall Climbing Gobies: Variation In Morphology And Adhesive Performance Can Inspire Biomimetic Innovation, Amanda Palecek Mcclung Aug 2024

Pelvic Sucker Form And Function In Waterfall Climbing Gobies: Variation In Morphology And Adhesive Performance Can Inspire Biomimetic Innovation, Amanda Palecek Mcclung

All Dissertations

Adhesive systems have evolved in many animal lineages and have appeared multiple times among the fishes. Bioadhesion in the gobies, a group found around the world, plays a role in both station-holding and even climbing. Among the Hawaiian streams, we find four species of amphidromous gobies which must face predators as juveniles and climb streams up to hundreds of feet tall to reach adult habitats. These gobies exhibit a range of climbing and adhesive abilities that result in an elevation-dependent species stratification, in which increasingly proficient climbing species are found in streams at increasingly higher elevations. This group is therefore …

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Biomechanics Of Mantis Prey Capture, Danielle S. Taylor Jan 2023

Biomechanics Of Mantis Prey Capture, Danielle S. Taylor

Honors Theses

Mantis species have a variety of different morphologies, so do the extreme forms of mantis limbs trade prey catching capability for camouflage? We hypothesize that some extreme forms of mantis limbs that are associated with cryptic species may be associated with a tradeoff of the capability of those limbs. Previous research has developed 2D morphologies of several hundred species of mantises. We are creating a 3D morphology by using micro dissection, micro CT imaging to construct our 3D biomechanical model. We found the attachment points of the ligaments and muscles from a Tenodera forearm and have constructed a 2D biomechanical …

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Amphisbaenian Head Movement And Burrowing Forces In Damp Granular Media, Jacob Newell Jan 2023

Amphisbaenian Head Movement And Burrowing Forces In Damp Granular Media, Jacob Newell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Damp granular media is a difficult environment to study because it is both practically complex and it lacks equations which fully describe its behavior. In this study, an oscillatory lateral head movement and its effects while penetrating damp granular media were tested using a robophysical model. This experimental research was inspired by the burrowing behavior of the clade Amphisbaenia, a group of usually limbless squamates that employ a variety of different burrowing behaviors, but it can apply to a wide range of burrowers. This research could help with both human burrowing technologies and the further investigation of animal behaviors.

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The Contribution Of The Pectoral Fins, Body, And The Ribbon Fin To Turning Maneuvers Of A Gymnotiform Swimmer, Olivia Hawkins Apr 2021

The Contribution Of The Pectoral Fins, Body, And The Ribbon Fin To Turning Maneuvers Of A Gymnotiform Swimmer, Olivia Hawkins

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Turning is an ecologically important maneuver in fishes as it is used in prey detection, predator avoidance, and to navigate complex environments. Fishes with traditional control surfaces primarily use body bending and pectoral fins to turn. However, little is known about how fishes with atypical control surfaces facilitate turning. This study investigated the weakly electric Black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons: Apteronotidae) with an atypical control surface, namely a ribbon fin. To investigate how a fish with an atypical control surface performs turning maneuvers, A. albifrons was filmed performing small and large turns and during steady swimming using high …

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A Ctenophore (Comb Jelly) Employs Vortex Rebound Dynamics And Outperforms Other Gelatinous Swimmers, Brad J. Gemmell, Sean P. Colin, John H. Costello, Kelly R. Sutherland Jan 2019

A Ctenophore (Comb Jelly) Employs Vortex Rebound Dynamics And Outperforms Other Gelatinous Swimmers, Brad J. Gemmell, Sean P. Colin, John H. Costello, Kelly R. Sutherland

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Gelatinous zooplankton exhibit a wide range of propulsive swimming modes. One of the most energetically efficient is the rowing behaviour exhibited by many species of schyphomedusae, which employ vortex interactions to achieve this result. Ctenophores (comb jellies) typically use a slow swimming, cilia-based mode of propulsion. However, species within the genus Ocyropsis have developed an additional propulsive strategy of rowing the lobes, which are normally used for feeding, in order to rapidly escape from predators. In this study, we used high-speed digital particle image velocimetry to examine the kinematics and fluid dynamics of this rarely studied propulsive mechanism. This mechanism …

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Functional Morphology And Feeding Mechanics Of Billfishes, María Laura Habegger Nov 2014

Functional Morphology And Feeding Mechanics Of Billfishes, María Laura Habegger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Billfishes (marlins, spearfishes, sailfishes and swordfish) are one of the fastest and largest marine apex predators, and perhaps their most recognizable attribute is their bill or rostrum. The proposed function for this novel structure has ranged from hydrodynamic enhancement to defensive weaponry. However, the most supported hypothesis for its function has been linked to feeding. Billfishes have been observed to subdue their prey with their rostrum, either stunning or cutting them into pieces before ingestion. Due to their large body sizes and pelagic lifestyles a thorough investigation of the function of this structure has been logistically challenging. The goal of …

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Comparative Analysis Of Selected Model Species Used In Intervertebral Disc Research, Lauren A. Monaco Jan 2014

Comparative Analysis Of Selected Model Species Used In Intervertebral Disc Research, Lauren A. Monaco

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Animal models are frequently used in place of human specimens to study the progression of injury and/or disease of the intervertebral disc (IVD). This project aimed to compare the geometry, hydration, histology, and mechanical properties of selected animal models: bovine (cow) tail, porcine (pig) lumbar, and ovine (sheep) lumbar IVDs. X-ray images were taken and used to determine the anterior, posterior, and lateral IVD and vertebral heights in order to calculate IVD: vertebral height ratios. Water content was determined by comparing IVD weight before (wet weight) and after (dry weight) 24 hours of incubation at 65°C. Mechanical properties …

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