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The biomechanics of bloated bloodsuckers Dave Ellerby, Wellesley College Understanding Animal Movement Energy, Performance and Fitness Muscle and movement …muscles move skeletal elements to transfer power Muscle and movement: hydrostatic skeletons Rowlerson & Blackshaw (1991), J. Exp. Biol 157: 299. Muscle and movement Muscle and movement …segmental shape changes drive movement Neural and neurochemical control Behavior also influenced by neurotransmitters/ hormones Friesen & Kristan (2007), Curr. Op. Neur 17: 704. Soft robots Harvard University ‘Starfish’ - Harvard Chembot – iRobot GoQBot – Tufts University Crawling …extreme changes in body shape Swimming …totally different movement, same motor …still the same motor, plus massive change in size Dimensional changes during movement Gerry SP and Ellerby DJ (2011). Biology Letters 7, 885-888. Structural simplicity – functional flexibility Swimming Crawling Feeding How is this achieved? Evolutionary implications? Don’t swim after eating… …not a hydrodynamically favorable shape! …crawl instead? Recovering mobility after feeding Slow swimming recovery, crawling barely impaired. Muscle and expansion Serotonin added No serotonin Vertebrate muscle Muscle and expansion Vertebrate cross-striated muscle Obliquely striated muscle Hormonal modulation of muscle contraction No serotonin Serotonin added …integration of behavioral and mechanical effects Evolution of blood feeding Apakupakul et al. (1999). Mol. Phylo. Evol. 12, 350-359.. Blood feeding is the ancestral state The biomechanics of bloated bloodsuckers •Structural simplicity but functional flexibility •Supported by muscle mechanical properties •Neurochemicals integrate behavior and biomechanics Acknowledgements Shannon Gerry Amanda Hitchcock Johanna Ascher Karin Darakananda Kara Feilich Malika Hayashi Cataia Ives Janet Jeong Grace Jung Arbor Quist Jessica Liao Allison Robbins Michelle Vogelzang Jasmine Wang