Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Woojoo Kim, Juliette Amauger, Jungmoon Ha, Thai Hong Pham, Anh Duc Tran, Jae Hong Lee, Jinseok Park, Piotr G. Jablonski, Ho-Young Kim, Sang-Im Lee
Summary: This study demonstrates that large water strider species do not conform to the existing theory of surface tension-dominant jumps and instead utilize surface-breaking jumps to evade underwater predators. This suggests that natural selection can disrupt the theoretical scaling relationship between prey size and jumping performance, leading to an evolutionary shift to a different physical mechanism for protection.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Minseok Gwon, Dongjin Kim, Baekgyeom Kim, Seungyong Han, Daeshik Kang, Je-Sung Koh
Summary: Inspired by semi-aquatic animals, the authors investigate the scale dependency of water jumping performance and verify it through experiments with robots. They find that momentum transfer from the water surface is strongly related to the dynamical scale and morphology of jumping animals. A simplified analytical model is used to calculate the maximum momentum transfer and identifies an intermediate dynamical scale region that is highly disadvantageous for jumping on water. The study also presents a large water-jumping robot that achieves the highest reported take-off speed using drag-based propulsion.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Christopher S. Hanna, Christopher Alihosseini, Hannah M. Fischer, Elizabeth C. Davoli, Michael C. Granatosky
Summary: The study explores the capabilities and spatiotemporal gait patterns of arboreal locomotion in red-backed salamanders moving across various substrate conditions. Red-backed salamanders show decreased locomotor speed, stride frequency, phase and stride length on arboreal substrates, indicating increased arboreal stability. However, they are unable to locomote on small-diameter or vertically-oriented coarse substrates, suggesting that their climbing abilities are solely attributable to mucous adhesion.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART A-ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Han Bi Jeong, Ji-Sung Park, Eunjin Yang, Yunsuk Jeung, Juliette Amauger, Ho-Young Kim
Summary: Although the mechanics of jumping on water dominated by surface tension are well understood, understanding water jumping dominated by drag force remains incomplete. This study demonstrates drag-dominated jump on water using a simple elastic hoop model system and provides a theoretical framework for analyzing jump dynamics propelled by form drag. The results show that the take-off velocity scaled by the hoop's free vibration velocity depends solely on the solid-fluid density ratio.
PHYSICAL REVIEW FLUIDS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Michelle Graham, John J. Socha
Summary: In arboreal habitats, dynamic movements play a crucial role in gap-crossing behaviors of arboreal animals. Research has shown that flying snakes are able to use jumping behaviors to cross larger distances, instead of employing the cantilever crawl used by most snakes. This dynamic jumping behavior allows flying snakes to access greater resources in the arboreal environment.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
J. M. Aretz, C. E. Brown, S. M. Deban
Summary: The study found that salamanders exhibit different gait adjustments in various environments to adapt to different walking conditions. When walking vertically, they use a single-foot gait and widen their contralateral foot spread to increase contact points and reduce the risk of slipping. Salamanders move at a faster velocity when traveling horizontally, and there is no significant difference in speed between upward and downward locomotion.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Hanns Hagen Goetzke, Walter Federle
Summary: The study found that different species of jumping spiders use different leg coordination strategies to avoid slipping during acceleration. Experimental ablation of claw tufts resulted in spiders slipping, confirming the essential role of adhesion for jumps from smooth surfaces.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katherine A. J. Daniels, J. F. Burn
Summary: The study demonstrates that changes in limb kinematics can occur even without introducing mechanical requirements or increasing collision risks due to manipulation of obstacle geometry. Horizontal displacement of a baseline beneath an obstacle induced a horizontal translation of limb trajectory, indicating that systematic changes to limb trajectories can occur without a change in sensed mechanical constraints or optimization. The nature of visuomotor control of human leaping may involve continuous mapping of sensory input to kinematic output rather than being responsive only to information perceived as mechanically relevant.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Max Diesner, Marcel Brenner, Amin Azarsa, Caroline Heymann, Hermann Aberle
Summary: This study investigates the jumping mechanism in larvae of the Mediterranean fruit fly using high-speed videography. The results show that maggots can jump up to 15 times their body length with an acceleration of gravity. Videos reveal the detailed mechanism of latch formation and release during jumping. Additionally, the study finds that body wall muscles in these larvae have adapted to jumping behavior.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Heather Ewart, Peter Tickle, Robert Nudds, William Sellers, Dane Crossley, Jonathan Codd
Summary: Tortoises have an optimum speed range to minimize their metabolic cost of transport. They are economical walkers due to the biomechanics of their walking gait and the specialization of their limb muscle physiology. These findings highlight the unique energy efficiency in tortoise locomotion.
Article
Biology
V. David Munteanu, Kelly M. Diamond, Richard W. Blob
Summary: Across vertebrate diversity, limb bone morphology can reflect differences in habitats and functional tasks. Arboreal vertebrates usually have longer limbs to reach across branches. However, changes in habitat or behavior can affect bone loading. In the case of green iguanas, limb bone adaptations in arboreal habitats were driven by other selective pressures instead of skeletal loading.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Amanda M. Palecek, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Richard W. Blob
Summary: The study found that the passive adhesive performance of climbing gobies is influenced by species and substrate, with the strongest climbers exhibiting the highest shear pull-off forces on rough surfaces. Therefore, differences in adhesive performance may help explain the ability of species to migrate upstream and invade new habitats.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rui Chen, Zean Yuan, Jianglong Guo, Long Bai, Xinyu Zhu, Fuqiang Liu, Huayan Pu, Liming Xin, Yan Peng, Jun Luo, Li Wen, Yu Sun
Summary: This study demonstrates a legless soft robot capable of rapid, continuous, and controlled jumping based on a soft electrohydrostatic bending actuator, showcasing its ability to overcome obstacles and perform turning maneuvers.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Constanze Grohmann, Anna-Lisa Cohrs, Stanislav N. Gorb
Summary: This study describes the behavior of the water-lily leaf beetle when it adheres to surfaces underwater and compares its attachment properties on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces underwater and in the air. The results show that the beetles can adhere to underwater surfaces for a few minutes and move upward when the leaf is inclined. The size of the tarsal air bubble does not differ between hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The beetles achieve the highest traction forces on a hydrophilic surface in the air, the lowest on a hydrophobic surface in air, and intermediate traction on both surfaces underwater. Capillary forces on the tarsal air bubble may play a major role in the adhesion to the studied surfaces.
Article
Entomology
Robert B. Srygley, Robert Dudley, Edgar J. Hernandez, Franz Kainz, Andre J. Riveros, Charlie P. Ellington
Summary: This study aimed to quantify the aerodynamic power required for migration in the butterfly Heliconius sara and predict the adjustment in airspeed necessary to minimize energy consumption in headwinds or tailwinds. The research found that the power required to fly increased non-linearly from a minimum power velocity of 0.9 m/s. The study provides insights into insect movement prediction and fuel efficiency maximization during migration.