CAREER: BIOMAPS: Comparative analysis of locomotor biomechanics and control in fishes

鱼有一系列不同的身体形状。有些是高度流线型和鱼雷形;其他的是扁平和高大。似乎有些体型更适合快速游泳，有些体型更适合稳定游泳。然而，很难建立这些联系，因为鱼体的内部机制也不同。有些比较硬，有些则很灵活。在这个项目中，一组具有不同体型的鱼类将被研究，因为它们在具有漩涡或其他复杂流动模式的水中游泳。他们的身体动作和肌肉活动将被记录，这将允许他们的稳定性和效率进行测量。然后，在实验的基础上，开发一个计算机模型来模拟水的运动和鱼的柔性体。计算机模型可以描述如果身体形状或身体力学改变会发生什么。该模型将发布给其他研究人员，供他们解决类似问题，其结果将有助于设计出更好的水下航行器和由柔性材料制成的机器人。在一个教育部分，科学研究生将接受培训，以更好地传播科学，与塔夫茨STEM大使计划协调，以接触当地的初中和高中。最后，将在波士顿科学博物馆开展互动式博物馆活动。 在此活动中，参观者可以设计自己的灵活鱼，并在比赛中测量其效率。在本项目中，将对不同体型的相关鱼类群体的游泳性能与身体形态、内部力学和行为之间的关系进行研究。身体的动力学特性，包括刚度和阻尼，将被测量，肌肉被动和主动。基于这些测量，将开发一个三维计算模型来模拟柔性体和流体之间的耦合相互作用。然后，在振荡流和涡流中游泳期间测量游泳性能，以估计鱼在复杂流中游泳的稳定性和能量的主动和被动贡献。这项工作将使用微小的惯性测量单元来测量鱼类游泳时的身体方向和加速度，这将使我们能够估计稳定性的措施。然后，这些测量结果将用于计算模型，从其中一条鱼的身体特性开始，并改变它，以检查神经控制策略，身体力学和身体形状变化的功能影响，以及它们如何有助于游泳性能。使用计算模型来探索比较分析的含义将是一个强大的新范式，允许操纵无法通过实验完成的单个变量。这些技术将有助于揭示身体形状和力学如何在鱼类和其他动物的多样性中对运动性能做出贡献。

Fish have an extraordinary array of different body shapes. Some are highly streamlined and torpedo shaped; others are flattened and tall. It seems likely that some body shapes are better for swimming fast, others might be more maneuverable, and others might be more stable. It has been difficult to make these connections, however, because the internal mechanics of fish bodies also differ. Some are relatively stiff; others are very flexible. In this project, a group of fishes with different body shapes will be studied as they swim in water with eddies or other complex flow patterns. Their body movements and muscle activity will be recorded, which will allow their stability and efficiency to be measured. Then, based on the experiments, a computer model will be developed to simulate both the water movement and the flexible bodies of the fishes. The computer model can describe what might happen if the body shapes or body mechanics change. The model will be released for other researchers to use on similar problems, and the results will help in the design of better underwater vehicles and robots made out of flexible materials. In one educational component, science graduate students will be trained to communicate science better, coordinating with the Tufts STEM ambassadors program to reach out to local middle and high schools. Finally, an interactive museum activity at the Boston Museum of Science will be developed. The activity will allow museum visitors to design their own flexible fish and race it while measuring its efficiency.In this project, the connection between swimming performance and body morphology, internal mechanics, and behavior will be investigated in related groups of fishes that differ in overall body shape. The dynamical properties of the body, including stiffness and damping, will be measured, with the muscles passive and active. Based on these measurements, a 3D computational model will be developed to simulate the coupled interaction between the flexible body and the fluid. Then, swimming performance will be measured during swimming in oscillating flow and vortices, in order to estimate the active and passive contributions to stability and energetics for fish swimming in complex flows. This work will use tiny inertial measurement units to measure the body orientation and acceleration of fishes as they swim, which will allow us to estimate measures of stability. These measurements will then be used in computational models, starting with the body properties of one of the fishes and varying it to examine the functional effects of changes in the neural control strategy, body mechanics, and body shape, and how they contribute to swimming performance. The use of computational models to explore the implications of comparative analyses will be a powerful new paradigm, allowing manipulation of individual variables that cannot be done experimentally. These techniques will help reveal how body shape and mechanics contribute to locomotor performance across the diversity in fishes and other animals.