RUI: Power Requirements and Efficiency of Fish Swimming

在许多动物的日常能量消耗中，运动占了相当大的比例。在游动的鱼中，肌肉利用这种能量来产生机械动力。这会产生一波弯曲，沿着身体轴线传递，产生升力和推力。游泳过程中产生的肌肉力量的数量还没有被量化，主要是因为很难测量身体肌肉的局部活动。将使用可注射微球作为血流示踪剂，对游泳的鲑鱼和鳗鱼肌肉的血流量进行区域性测量。这将表明沿身体轴线的肌肉招募和能量消耗。通过揭示肌肉活动的模式，并将这些数据与体外进行的肌肉功率输出测量相结合，将确定游泳所需的机械功率。对游动鱼类耗氧量的测量将用来指示游泳过程中的新陈代谢能量输入。机械功率输出与新陈代谢功率输入的比较将表明游泳效率。除了提供对主要脊椎动物运动模式的洞察外，对鱼类游泳性能和能源成本的了解的改善可能具有更广泛的生态意义。收集的数据将适用于生物学以外的领域，为机器人设计提供仿生方法。拟议的工作还将对培养对生物科学感兴趣的有才华的年轻女性的研究机会产生更广泛的影响。PI在一家单一性别的机构工作，本科生将在项目上合作，学习宝贵的研究技能，在全国会议上展示他们的工作成果，并共同撰写论文。

Locomotion accounts for a significant proportion of the daily energy expenditure of many animals. In swimming fish this energy is used by myotomal muscle to generate mechanical power. This creates a wave of bending that passes along the body axis producing lift and thrust. The amount of muscle power generated during swimming has not been quantified, primarily because of difficulties in measuring the regional activity of muscle along the body. Regional measurements of blood flow to the myotomal muscles will be made in swimming trout and eels using injectable microspheres as a blood flow tracer. This will indicate muscle recruitment and energy expenditure along the body axis. By revealing patterns of muscle activity, and combining these data with measurements of muscle power output made in vitro, the mechanical power required for swimming will be determined. Measurements of the oxygen consumption of swimming fish will be used to indicate the metabolic power input during swimming. Comparison of the mechanical power output to the metabolic power input will indicate swimming efficiency. In addition to providing insight into a major vertebrate locomotor mode, improved knowledge of fish swimming performance and energy costs is likely to be of broader, ecological significance. The data collected will be applicable beyond biology, informing biomimetic approaches to robotic design. The proposed work will also have the broader impact of fostering research opportunities for talented young women interested in the biological sciences. The PI works at a single-gender institution and undergraduate students will collaborate on the projects, learning valuable research skills, presenting results from their work at national meetings, and co-authoring papers.