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Substrate Diameter (substrate + diameter)
Selected AbstractsThe effects of morphology and substrate diameter on climbing and locomotor performance in male spidersFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010John Prenter Summary 1.,Spiders are the most sexually size dimorphic terrestrial animals and the evolution of this dimorphism is controversial. Patterns of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in spiders have been related to individual performance and size. In 2002 Moya-Laraño, Halaj & Wise proposed the ,gravity hypothesis' to explain patterns of sexual size dimorphism in spiders whereby species building webs high in the vegetation are predicted to show greater SSD than those that build lower down. They advocated an advantage in climbing speed in smaller males searching for females in high places. The gravity hypothesis predicts a negative relationship between male size and climbing speed. In 2007 Brandt & Andrade questioned this interpretation and proposed that the pattern of SSD in spiders is better explained by an advantage for larger males of low-dwelling species to run faster along the ground. 2.,We induced male spiders to run a standard distance up vertical poles of different diameters to examine the predicted relationship between size and climbing speed. We tested two species of extremely size-dimorphic orb-web spiders, Argiope keyserlingi and Nephila plumipes, that differ in the height at which females tend to build webs, and one species of jumping spider, Jacksonoides queenslandica, with low levels of size dimorphism. We also examined morphological determinants of horizontal motility by inducing males to run along a raceway. 3.,Substrate diameter was consistently found to influence climbing performance. In N. plumipes, climbing speed was slowest on the widest diameter substrate. In A. keyserlingi, size-adjusted leg length and substrate diameter interacted to determine climbing speed, while in J. queenslandica, there was an interaction between body size and substrate diameter on climbing speed. In the effect of substrate diameter, we have identified a potential bias in previous tests of the gravity hypothesis. 4.,Our results do not support the prediction of the gravity hypothesis. There was no evidence of a negative relationship between body size and climbing speed in the two orb-web species with high levels of SSD. Our results are also not consistent with a recent modification of the gravity hypothesis that suggests a curvilinear relationship between climbing speed and size. 5.,Body size was positively associated with maximum running speed only in the cursorial hunter J. queenslandica. For this spider, results are more consistent with Brandt & Andrade's explanation for variation in SSD in spiders, that larger males are selected for superior running ability in low-dwelling species, rather than selection for smaller size for climbing to females in high-dwelling species. [source] Substrate determines asymmetrical gait dynamics in marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis)AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Jesse W. Young Abstract Studies of skeletal pathology indicate that injury from falling accounts for most long bone trauma in free-ranging primates, suggesting that primates should be under strong selection to manifest morphological and behavioral mechanisms that increase stability on arboreal substrates. Although previous studies have identified several kinematic and kinetic features of primate symmetrical gaits that serve to increase arboreal stability, very little work has focused on the dynamics of primate asymmetrical gaits. Nevertheless, asymmetrical gaits typify the rapid locomotion of most primates, particularly in smaller bodied taxa. This study investigated asymmetrical gait dynamics in growing marmosets and squirrel monkeys moving on terrestrial and simulated arboreal supports (i.e., an elevated pole). Results showed that monkeys used several kinematic and kinetic adjustments to increase stability on the pole, including reducing peak vertical forces, limiting center of mass movements, increasing substrate contact durations, and using shorter and more frequent strides (thus limiting disruptive whole-body aerial phases). Marmosets generally showed greater adjustment to pole locomotion than did squirrel monkeys, perhaps as a result of their reduced grasping abilities and retreat from the fine-branch niche. Ontogenetic increases in body size had relatively little independent influence on asymmetrical gait dynamics during pole locomotion, despite biomechanical theory suggesting that arboreal instability is exacerbated as body size increases relative to substrate diameter. Overall, this study shows that 1) symmetrical gaits are not the only stable way to travel arboreally and 2) small-bodied primates utilize specific kinematic and kinetic adjustments to increase stability when using asymmetrical gaits on arboreal substrates. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||