Ontogeny and Evolution of Avian Locomotion: Forelimb and Hindlimb Mechanics

鸟类运动的个体发生和进化：前肢和后肢力学肯尼思·保罗·戴尔，蒙大拿大学半个翅膀有什么用？这个问题早在150年前就被查尔斯·达尔文提出来了，对于那些试图解释过渡性动物的功能和行为的人来说，这个问题仍然是一个巨大的挑战。要深入了解鸟类从恐龙祖先进化而来的进化史仍然是一个挑战。尽管飞行是动物运动中最常见的形式，但直到最近，我们才开始了解特定的鸟类内部结构（例如，运动期间的骨骼、肌肉、神经）功能（例如，飞行、行走、拍打跑步）。翼辅助倾斜运行（WAIR）代表运动策略，涉及形态和行为特征，允许部分和完全发育的翅膀地面鸟类，以帮助他们强大的后肢，因为他们撤退到一个高架避难所。WAIR在地面鸟类中很常见，它被认为是解释鸟类飞行起源和进化的最直接的解释。在这项研究中，各种鸟类的发育解剖学和运动性能进行了探索，以更好地了解腿和翅膀如何协同工作，以移动动物。有人认为，恐龙的祖先可能同时使用它们的原始翅膀（半个翅膀）和腿来帮助它们寻找食物，逃避捕食者，并穿越复杂的3D环境。利用高速摄像、测力板、加速度计和激光成像，将量化幼鸟和成年鸟运动过程中的重要生物物理参数。该项目将为学生提供跨学科培训，而公共宣传员将继续开展公共宣传活动，特别是在大众媒体中宣传其工作的那些方面。

Ontogeny and evolution of avian locomotion: Forelimb and hindlimb mechanics Kenneth Paul Dial, University of MontanaWhat use is half a wing? This question was posed to Charles Darwin nearly 150 years ago and remains a potent challenge to those striving to explain how transitional animal forms may have functioned and behaved. Providing insight into the evolutionary history of birds as they emerged from their dinosaur ancestors remains a challenge. And despite flight being the most common form of animal locomotion, only recently have we begun to understand how specific avian internal structures (e.g., skeletal, muscular, neural) function during locomotion (e.g., flight, walking, flap-running). Wing-assisted incline running (WAIR) represents locomotor strategy involving morphological and behavioral traits that permit partially- and fully-developed wings of ground birds to assist their powerful hindlimbs as they retreat to an elevated refuge. Apparently common among living ground birds, WAIR is argued to represent the most straight-forward explanation elucidating the origin and evolution of avian flight. In this study, the developmental anatomy and locomotor performance of various avian species is explored in order to better understand how legs and wings work in concert to move the animal. It is suggested that dinosaur ancestors may have used their proto-wings (half a wing) and legs simultaneously to help them search for food, escape predators, and traverse complex 3-D environments. Using high-speed video, force plates, accelerometers, and laser imaging, the important biophysical parameters during the locomotion of young and adult birds will be quantified. The project will provide for interdisciplinary training of students and the PI will continue public outreach activities, particularly those aspects featuring his work in the mass media.