INTEGRATIVE BIOMECHANICS OF MARINE ORGANISMS: Locomotor systems dynamics

我的研究项目是综合生物力学，研究生物如何在系统和结构层面应对物理挑战的一般问题。我建议继续研究鱼类运动系统的生物力学，并研究鲸鱼游泳、进食和潜水的生物力学基础。我们将完成鱼类快速连续游泳的生物力学研究，以发现肌肉和骨骼系统在不同游泳状态下的表现，特别是最大努力。我们将研究水翼月牙尾产生的推力，这是高性能鱼类和鲸鱼的一个共同特征。我们将使用新技术来制造逼真的尾巴模型，其中的大小，形状和材料性能进行控制，并在模拟游泳下进行直接的力测量。我们还将拓展须鲸生物力学的新研究方向，特别是对吞噬进食和潜水的适应。我们将考虑水吞没的规模，由此产生的能量成本和收益，大小对摄食机制和摄食策略的影响，以及这种大规模的摄食行为如何允许或限制地球上最大动物的进化。我们将整合潜水数据、各种体型吞没过程的数学建模，以及鲸鱼身体和鳍模型的计算流体动力学和流量测量。大鲸的潜水和吞噬进食的解剖学特征还没有得到很好的研究。我们将研究颌骨的机械特性，以了解这些骨头如何满足极端进食模式的独特物理要求。骨硬度和矿物质密度将通过直接测量相关联。通过一种将机械性能与骨的横截面形状和密度相结合的新方法，我们将创建数字有限元模型，允许对任何尺寸的整个颌骨进行虚拟负载测试。我们还将探索鲸鱼动脉系统的特殊特征，这些特征可能对深潜期间的生存很重要。关于肺和气道的结构和机械行为的新实验将扩大，以比较与潜水深度相关的鲸鱼之间的差异。

My research program on integrative biomechanics addresses the general question of how organisms deal with physical challenges at the level of systems and structures. I propose to continue efforts in biomechanics of locomotor systems in fishes and study the biomechanical basis of swimming, feeding and diving in whales. We will complete studies on biomechanics of fast continuous swimming in fishes to discover how muscle and skeletal systems perform in different swimming regimes, particularly maximal effort. We will study thrust production by hydrofoil lunate tails, a convergent feature of high performance fishes and whales. We will use new techniques to fabricate life-like tail models where size, shape and material properties are controlled, and direct force measurements made under simulated swimming. We will also expand a new research direction on biomechanics of baleen whales, particularly adaptations for engulfment feeding and diving. We will consider the scale of water engulfment, resulting energy cost and benefit, effects of size on feeding mechanics and feeding strategy, and how such large-scale feeding behaviour may have allowed or set limits to the evolution of the largest animals on earth. We will integrate diving data, mathematical modeling of the engulfment process across a range of body sizes, and computational fluid dynamics and flow measurements on models of whale bodies and fins. The anatomical specializations for diving and engulfment feeding in the great whales are not well studied. We will investigate mechanical properties of jaws in order to understand how these bones meet the unique physical requirements for the extreme mode of feeding. Bone stiffness and mineral density will be correlated by direct measurements. With a new method to integrate mechanical properties with cross sectional shape and density along the bone we will create digital finite element models that allow virtual load testing of whole jaws of any size. We will also explore special features of the whale arterial system that are likely important for survival during deep diving. New experiments on the structure and mechanical behaviour of lungs and airways will be broadened to compare differences among whales related to dive depth.