EAGER: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A New Integrated Quantitative Metrics Approach for Identifying Coordinated Gaits in Swimming Animals

动物游泳性能的定量评估对于了解水生物种在环境中竞争和承受环境变化的能力至关重要。对游泳性能的透彻理解需要量化推进器的运动和由此产生的流体流动。 对于使用它们的无数水生动物来说，同时量化其各种推进器产生的流体流动的能力受到当前仅在两个维度上测量流动的方法论方法的限制。在这个项目中，研究人员提出了一种新的3D方法来研究游泳动物。 他们将重点关注鱿鱼的两个独立但协调的推进系统（喷射和鳍），如下：（1）收集游泳鱿鱼产生的完整流体流（尾流）的3D数据（鳍和喷射尾流同时）和游泳运动的3D运动学数据;（2）应用新的数学工具来定量区分流体动力学和运动学模式（即，步态）;以及（3）评估推进性能（即，推力和效率）与步骤2中识别的步态相关联。 这种定量的方法将阐明选择性的压力驱动的结构，力学和动力学的肌肉骨骼系统的权力和支持的推进器。 这项研究为任何游泳者或飞行者的步态识别开发了一个通用框架，特别是那些使用多个推进器的人，因此可能会改变目前研究运动的方法。 在生物学领域之外，这种定量的3D方法可以为生物启发推进系统的工程师提供一个有价值的框架，他们可能正在寻求类似于大自然提供的紧凑设计中改进推进性能。 最后，该项目的跨学科协作性质将使具有生理学、生物力学和工程学不同背景的本科生和研究生能够进行互动并获得尖端技术的培训。

Quantitative assessment of animal swimming performance is essential to gaining an understanding the ability of aquatic species to compete in and withstand changes in their environment. A thorough understanding of swimming performance requires quantifying both the motion of the propulsors and the resulting fluid flow. For the myriad aquatic animals that use them, the ability to quantify simultaneously fluid flows produced by their various propulsors is constrained by the current methodological approaches that measure flow in only two dimensions. In this project, the investigators propose a novel 3D approach for studying swimming animals. They will focus on the two separate, but coordinated, propulsive systems of squid (jets and fins) as follows: (1) collect 3D data of the complete fluid flow (wake) generated by swimming squid (both fin and jet wakes simultaneously) and 3D kinematic data of the swimming motion; (2) apply new mathematical tools to quantitatively distinguish between hydrodynamic and kinematic patterns (i.e., gaits) based on their physical features; and (3) evaluate the propulsive performance (i.e., thrust and efficiency) associated with gaits identified in step 2. This quantitative approach will illuminate the selective pressures driving the structure, mechanics, and dynamics of the musculoskeletal system that powers and supports the propulsors. This research holds great promise for developing a universal framework for gait identification in any swimmer or flyer, especially those employing multiple propulsors, and thus may potentially transform current methods for studying locomotion. Beyond the field of biology, this quantitative, 3D approach could provide a valuable framework for engineers of bioinspired propulsion systems, who may be seeking improved propulsive performance in compact designs similar to what nature offers. Finally, the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of this project will allow undergraduate and graduate students with diverse backgrounds in physiology, biomechanics, and engineering to interact and acquire training in cutting edge technologies.