RUI: Power Requirements and Efficiency of Fish Swimming

运动在许多动物的日常能量消耗中占很大比例。在游动的鱼类中，这种能量被肌节肌肉用于产生机械动力。这就产生了一个弯曲波，它沿着身体轴线传递，产生升力和推力。游泳过程中产生的肌肉力量还没有被量化，主要是因为难以测量肌肉沿着身体的区域活动。区域测量血流量的肌节肌肉将在游泳鳟鱼和鳗鱼使用可注射微球作为血流示踪剂。这将指示肌肉募集和能量消耗沿着身体轴。通过揭示肌肉活动的模式，并将这些数据与体外肌肉功率输出的测量相结合，将确定游泳所需的机械功率。测量游泳鱼的耗氧量将用于指示游泳期间的代谢功率输入。机械功率输出与代谢功率输入的比较将指示游泳效率。除了提供一个主要的脊椎动物运动模式的洞察力，鱼类游泳性能和能源成本的提高知识很可能是更广泛的，生态意义。收集的数据将适用于生物学以外的领域，为机器人设计的仿生方法提供信息。拟议的工作还将产生更广泛的影响，为对生物科学感兴趣的有才华的年轻妇女提供研究机会。PI在一个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.