A Comparative Study of the Musculoskeletal Mechanics of BirdFlight

詹金斯博士的研究记录了鸟类飞行中以前不为人知的方面。例如，欧椋鸟的叉骨就像一个弹簧，在向下划水时横向弯曲，在向上划水时后坐以帮助肩膀收缩。事实上，鸟类的整个肩部（即锁骨、肩胛骨、喙和相关的胸骨）在每次拍翼时都会发生相当剧烈的偏移。此外，通过监测飞行肌肉的活动模式，研究人员开始了解单个肌肉对翼拍循环的特定阶段的贡献。本研究计划旨在扩展和量化研究人员的原始观察结果，并对其他鸟类进行可比研究，以探索飞行力学的可变性。

Dr. Jenkins' research has documented previously unknown aspects of bird flight. For example, the wishbone in starlings appears to act as a spring, bending laterally during downstroke and recoiling to assist shoulder retraction during upstroke. In fact, the entire avian shoulder (i.e., clavicles, scapulae, coracoids, and the associated sternum) undergoes a rather dramatic excursion during each wingbeat. In addition, by monitoring the activity patterns of flight muscles the researchers are beginning to understand the contribution of individual muscles to specific phases of the wingbeat cycle. The present research proposal is designed to extend and quantify the researchers' original observations and undertake comparable studies on other bird species to explore the variability of flight mechanics.