Ontogeny of Avian Locomotion: Aerodynamics, Skeletal Kinematics, and Neuromuscular Control

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。飞行是鸟类的决定性特征，然而飞行能力发展的机制几乎是未知的。这项计划中的研究将使用不同的运动模式来探索导致飞行能力的空气动力学、骨骼和神经肌肉发育。这些实验是在比较的情况下设计的，使用了具有代表性的早熟物种(楚卡鹦鹉，出生时有羽毛，相对独立)和另一个物种(赤身裸体出生的岩鸽，依赖其父母提供温暖、保护和食物)。通过这一努力，将把发展阶段与假想的祖先形式(两足兽脚类恐龙)进行比较，以解决飞行的起源和进化。我们研究的学术价值是多方面的。它将对空气动力学、骨骼运动、神经肌肉控制以及肌肉机械功和动力如何在截然不同的脊椎动物运动形式(翅膀辅助倾斜奔跑和水平、上升和下降飞行)中整合提供新的见解。此外，这些数据--第一次--将在孵化后的禽类发育过程中获得整个年龄类别的数据。这项工作的更广泛影响也是多方面的。这项工作将为工程师们在构建既能攀登又能飞行的自主机器人方面提供新的数据。到目前为止，人们的努力似乎集中在陆地、游泳或飞行机器人上，而工程师们似乎忽视了能够同时完成地面和空中移动的机器人所提供的功效。加利形鸟的胸肌发育最终将为人类生物医学、兽医和人类食品行业的实际问题提供信息。加利形鸟(火鸡、鸡)和鸽子是医学研究方面的模型系统，而加利形鸟的胸肌和其他肌肉组织是人类重要的食物项目。调查人员将继续接触不同的人群，解释研究结果。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Flight is the defining characteristic of birds, yet the mechanisms through which flight ability develops are virtually unknown. The research in this proposal will use different modes of locomotion for exploring the aerodynamic, skeletal, and neuromuscular development that leads to the capacity to fly. The experiments are designed in a comparative context using a representative precocial species (chukar partridge, born feathered and relatively independent) and an altricial species (rock dove, born naked and dependent on its parents for warmth, protection, and food provision). Through this effort, the stages of development will be compared with hypothesized ancestral forms (bipedal theropod dinosaurs) to address the origin and evolution of flight. The intellectual merit of our research is multifaceted. It shall provide novel insight into how aerodynamics, skeletal motion, neuromuscular control and muscle mechanical work and power integrate during drastically different forms of vertebrate locomotion (wing-assisted incline running and level, ascending and descending flight). Furthermore, these data - for the very first time - will be obtained over a complete range of age classes during post-hatching avian development. The broader impacts of this work are also multi-fold. The work will provide new data for engineers to utilize in constructing autonomous robots that are capable climbing as well as flying. Heretofore, efforts appear to focus upon terrestrial, swimming, or flying robots, and engineers appear to have overlooked the efficacy offered by a robot that can accomplish both terrestrial and aerial locomotion. Pectoralis development in galliform birds will ultimately inform practical questions in the human biomedical, veterinary and human-food industries. Galliform birds (turkey, chicken) and pigeons are model systems for aspects of medical research, and the pectoralis and other muscle tissue of galliform birds is an important food item for humans. The investigators will continue their outreach to diverse populations to explain research results.