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28 results for “locomotor performance”
TRPM8 thermosensation in ectotherms mediates both skin colour and locomotor performance responses to cold temperature
<p>Thermoregulation is a homeostatic process to maintain an organism's internal temperature within a physiological range compatible with life. In ectotherms, body temperature fluctuates with that of the environment, with both physiological and behavioral responses employed to modify body temperature. Changing skin colour/reflectance and locomotor activity are both well-recognized temperature regulatory mechanisms, but little is known of the participating thermosensor/s. We find that <em>Xenopus laevis</em> tadpoles put in the cold exhibit a temperature-dependent and rapid melanosome aggregation in melanophores, which lightens the skin. To identify the cold-sensor, we focused on <em>transient receptor potential</em> (trp) channel genes from group 1 (TRPA, TRPM, TRPV and TRPC families). Of particular interest were TRPM family members, known as cold sensors. mRNAs for several TRPMs are present in <em>Xenopus</em> tails, and TRPM8 protein is present in skin melanophores. Temperature-induced melanosome aggregation is mimicked by the Trpm8 agonist menthol (WS12) and blocked by the Trpm8 antagonist PF05105679. The degree of skin lightening induced by cooling or the WS12 TRPM8 agonist correlates with the extent of alterations in locomotor performance. We propose that TRPM8 serves as a cool thermosensor in ectotherms that helps coordinate skin lightening and behavioural locomotor performance as adaptive thermoregulatory responses to cold.</p>
Positive effects of fast growth on locomotor performance in pelagic fish juveniles
<p><span>Many laboratory experiments on aquatic vertebrates that inhabit closed water or coastal areas have highlighted negative effects of fast growth on swimming performance. Nonetheless, field studies on pelagic fishes have provided evidence of survival advantages of faster growing individuals. To reconcile this contradiction, we examined the relationship between growth rate and swimming performance as a continuous function for juveniles of chub mackerel (<em>scomber japonicus</em>) using 3D tracking analysis. For experiments, 20, 24, 27, and 30 days post-hatch individuals within the size range of 14.5–25.3 mm were used. We found that the growth–swimming (burst speed) relationship in chub mackerel was substantially positive and it was supported by morphological traits such as muscle area, which were also positively related with growth rate. This finding is consistent with field observations showing selective survival of fast-growing individuals of this species, reconciling the current contradiction between laboratory experiments and field observations. A dome-shaped quadratic curve described the relationship between growth rate and burst speed better than a linear or cubic function, suggesting that growth may trade off with swimming performance, as reported in many previous studies, when it is extremely fast. These results, obtained from the rarely tested offshore species, strongly suggests the importance of experimental verification using animals that inhabit various types of habitats in understanding the principles underlying the evolution of growth–locomotor relationship.</span></p>
Dynamic evolution of locomotor performance independent of changes in extended phenotype use in spiders
<p>Many animals utilise self-built structures (extended phenotypes) to enhance body functions, such as thermoregulation, prey capture or defence. Yet, it is unclear whether the evolution of animal constructions supplements or substitutes body functions – with disparate feedbacks on trait evolution. Here, using brown spiders (Araneae: marronoid clade), we explored if the evolutionary loss and gain of silken webs as extended prey capture devices correlates with alterations in traits known to play an important role in predatory strikes – locomotor performance (sprint speed) and leg spination (expression of capture spines on front legs). We found that in this group high locomotor performance, with running speeds of over 100 body lengths per second, evolved repeatedly – both in web building and cursorial spiders. There was no correlation with running speed, and leg spination was only poorly correlated, relative to the use of extended phenotypes, indicating that web use does not reduce selective pressures on body functions involved in prey capture and defence per se. Consequently, extended prey capture devices serve as supplements rather than substitutions to body traits and may only be beneficial in conjunction with certain life history traits, explaining the rare evolution and repeated loss of trapping strategies in predatory animals.</p>
Dynamic evolution of locomotor performance independent of changes in extended phenotype use in spiders
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Data from: Linking locomotor performance to morphological shifts in urban lizards
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TRPM8 thermosensation in ectotherms mediates both skin colour and locomotor performance responses to cold temperature
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Positive effects of fast growth on locomotor performance in pelagic fish juveniles
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Data from: Mite load predicts the quality of sexual color and locomotor performance in a sexually dichromatic lizard
Since Darwin, the maintenance of bright sexual colors has recurrently been linked to mate preference. However, the mechanisms underpinning such preferences for bright colors would not be resolved for another century. Likely, the idea of selection for colors that could decrease the chances of survival (e.g. flashy colors that can inadvertently attract predators) was perceived as counterintuitive. It is now widely-accepted that these extreme colors often communicate to mates the ability to survive despite a 'handicap' and act as honest signals of individual quality when they are correlated with the quality of other traits that are directly linked to individual fitness. Sexual colors in males are frequently perceived as indicators of infection resistance, in particular. Still, there remains considerable discord among studies attempting to parse the relationships between the variables associating sexual color and infection resistance, such as habitat type and body size. This discord may arise from complex interactions between these variables. Here, we ask if sexual color in male Florida scrub lizards (Sceloporus woodi) is an honest signal of resistance to chigger mite infection. To this end, we use linear modeling to explore relationships between mite load, different components of sexual color, ecological performance, body size, and habitat type. Our data show that that the brightness of sexual color in scrub lizards is negatively associated with the interaction between mite load and body size, and scrub lizards suffer decreased endurance capacity with increases in mite load. Our data also indicate that mite load, performance, and sexual color in male scrub lizards can vary between habitat types. Collectively these results suggest that sexual color in scrub lizards is an honest indicator of individual quality and further underscore the importance of considering multiple factors when testing hypotheses related to the maintenance of sexual color.
Morphology and locomotor performance of cane toads, Rhinella marina
<p>As is common in biological invasions, the rate at which cane toads (<i>Rhinella marina</i>) have spread across tropical Australia has accelerated through time. Individuals at the invasion-front travel further than range-core conspecifics, and exhibit distinctive morphologies that may facilitate rapid dispersal. However, the links between these morphological changes and locomotor performance have not been clearly documented. We used raceway trials and high-speed videography to document locomotor traits (e.g. hop distances, heights, velocities, and angles of take-off and landing) of toads from range-core and invasion-front populations. Locomotor performance varied geographically, and this variation in performance was linked to morphological features that have evolved during the toads' Australian invasion. Geographic variation in morphology and locomotor ability was evident not only in wild-caught animals, but also in individuals that had been raised under standardized conditions in captivity. Our data thus support the hypothesis that the cane toad's invasion across Australia has generated rapid evolutionary shifts in dispersal-relevant performance traits, and that these differences in performance are linked to concurrent shifts in morphological traits.</p>
Data from: Functional capacity of kangaroo rat hindlimbs: adaptations for locomotor performance
Many cursorial and large hopping species are extremely efficient locomotors with various morphological adaptations believed to reduce mechanical demand and improve movement efficiency, including elongated distal limb segments. However, despite having elongated limbs, small hoppers such as desert kangaroo rats (Dipodomys deserti) are less efficient locomotors than their larger counterparts, which may be in part due to avoiding predators through explosive jumping movements. Despite potentially conflicting mechanical demands between the two movements, kangaroo rats are both excellent jumpers and attain high hopping speeds, likely due to a specialized hindlimb musculoskeletal morphology. This study combined experimental dissection data with a static analysis of muscle moment generating capacities using a newly developed musculoskeletal model to characterize kangaroo rat hindlimb musculoskeletal architecture and investigate how morphology has evolved to meet hopping and jumping mechanical demands. Hindlimb morphology appears biased towards generating constant moment arms over large joint ranges of motion in this species, which may balance competing requirements by reducing the need for posture and movement specific excitation patterns. The ankle extensors are a major exception to the strong positive relationship exhibited by most muscles between muscle architecture parameters (e.g. Lfibre) and joint moment arms. These muscles appear suited to meeting the high moments required for jumping: the biarticular nature of the ankle extensors is leveraged to reduce MTU strain and create a four-bar linkage that facilitates proximal force transfer. The kangaroo rat hindlimb provides an interesting case study for understanding how morphology balances the sometimes competing demands of hopping and jumping.
Data from: The thermal dependency of locomotor performance evolves rapidly within an invasive species
Biological invasions can stimulate rapid shifts in organismal performance, via both plasticity and adaptation. We can distinguish between these two proximate mechanisms by rearing offspring from populations under identical conditions, and measuring their locomotor abilities in standardized trials. We collected adult cane toads (Rhinella marina) from invasive populations that inhabit regions of Australia with different climatic conditions. We bred those toads, and raised their offspring under common-garden conditions before testing their locomotor performance. At high (but not low) temperatures, offspring of individuals from a hotter location (northwestern Australia) outperformed offspring of conspecifics from a cooler location (northeastern Australia). This disparity indicates that, within less than 100 years, thermal performance in cane toads has adapted to the novel abiotic challenges that cane toads have encountered during their invasion of tropical Australia.
Data from: Natural selection on thermal preference, critical thermal maxima and locomotor performance
Climate change is resulting in a radical transformation of the thermal quality of habitats across the globe. Whereas species have altered their distributions to cope with changing environments, the evidence for adaptation in response to rising temperatures is limited. However, to determine the potential of adaptation in response to thermal variation, we need estimates of the magnitude and direction of natural selection on traits that are assumed to increase persistence in warmer environments. Most inferences regarding physiological adaptation are based on interspecific analyses, and those of selection on thermal traits are scarce. Here, we estimate natural selection on major thermal traits used to assess the vulnerability of ectothermic organisms to altered thermal niches. We detected significant directional selection favouring lizards with higher thermal preferences and faster sprint performance at their optimal temperature. Our analyses also revealed correlational selection between thermal preference and critical thermal maxima, where individuals that preferred warmer body temperatures with cooler critical thermal maxima were favoured by selection. Recent published estimates of heritability for thermal traits suggest that, in concert with the strong selective pressures we demonstrate here, evolutionary adaptation may promote long-term persistence of ectotherms in altered thermal environments.
Data from: Locomotor performance of cane toads differs between native-range and invasive populations
Invasive species provide a robust opportunity to evaluate how animals deal with novel environmental challenges. Shifts in locomotor performance—and thus the ability to disperse—(and especially, the degree to which it is constrained by thermal and hydric extremes) are of special importance, because they might affect the rate that an invader can spread. We studied cane toads (Rhinella marina) across a broad geographical range: two populations within the species' native range in Brazil, two invasive populations on the island of Hawai'i and eight invasive populations encompassing the eastern, western and southern limits of the toad invasion in Australia. A toad's locomotor performance on a circular raceway was strongly affected by both its temperature and its hydration state, but the nature and magnitude of those constraints differed across populations. In their native range, cane toads exhibited relatively low performance (even under optimal test conditions) and a rapid decrease in performance at lower temperatures and hydration levels. At the other extreme, performance was high in toads from southern Australia, and virtually unaffected by desiccation. Hawai'ian toads broadly resembled their Brazilian conspecifics, plausibly reflecting similar climatic conditions. The invasion of Australia has been accompanied by a dramatic enhancement in the toads' locomotor abilities, and (in some populations) by an ability to maintain locomotor performance even when the animal is cold and/or dehydrated. The geographical divergences in performance among cane toad populations graphically attest to the adaptability of invasive species in the face of novel abiotic challenges.
Data from: The thermal dependency of locomotor performance evolves rapidly within an invasive species
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Data from: Natural selection on thermal preference, critical thermal maxima and locomotor performance
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Data from: Mite load predicts the quality of sexual color and locomotor performance in a sexually dichromatic lizard
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Data from: Locomotor performance of cane toads differs between native-range and invasive populations
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Moving in fast waters: the exaggerated claw gape of the new river crayfish (Cambarus chasmodactlyus) aids in locomotor performance
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Morphology and locomotor performance of cane toads, Rhinella marina
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Data from: Functional capacity of kangaroo rat hindlimbs: adaptations for locomotor performance
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