A test of the effect of hindlimb elongation on jumping performance using Longshanks mice
Date
2019-04-26
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Abstract
This study is the first to study mammalian jumping performance at the population level by using a forward-engineered body plan. Jumping mammals, including jumping primates, have long hindlimbs relative to their forelimbs and relative to generalized quadrupedal species. The influence of hindlimb elongation on the dynamics of jumping has rarely been studied within a species, especially within mammals. The Longshanks mice, which were selectively bred for longer tibiae, allowed for a direct test of which aspects of jumping dynamics change when an animal has relatively longer hindlimbs. Longshanks mice voluntarily jumped higher than random-bred Control mice. Near behavioral maximum, Longshanks exerted lower maximal ground reaction forces than Control mice jumping to the same height. Using Longshanks, I was able to link hindlimb elongation with differences in hindlimb force generation that occur independent of muscular changes. These biomechanical data can help to understand the selective advantages that shaped the extreme elongation of hindlimbs in jumping primate species.
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Keywords
Paleoanthropology, Biomechanics, Evolutionary Biomechanics, Artificial Selection, Longshanks
Citation
Bradley, M. M. (2019). A test of the effect of hindlimb elongation on jumping performance using Longshanks mice (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.