Form and Function of Hearts and Toes

作为一名比较生理学家，我的研究重点是系统发育过程在塑造动物的环境中的作用，通过跟踪动物王国器官系统的功能形态或研究动物在运动和潜水能力的生物范围的极端生理学。 在器官系统的功能形态学方面，我将研究海龟的心脏，可以说是所有海龟中最活跃的，以及将头抬到心脏上方的鸸鹋，它们必须补偿重力效应。为什么这些动物很有趣？ 我们基于形态学和古生物学的遗传学对爬行动物心脏进化的看法，已经被分子遗传学的出现所颠覆。 海龟已经失去了它们在动物起源中的基础地位，现在被放在蛇和蜥蜴中间。 我研究了蜥蜴的心脏，现在建议研究海龟的心脏结构和功能，通过经食道超声和磁共振成像研究活心脏来寻找解剖和生理关系。 头部高出心脏意味着心脏必须更努力地泵血以产生高血压，这样血管就不会塌陷和停止流动。 所有长颈动物的心脏都很大，这表明它们可以在高压下泵血，但到目前为止，还没有人记录过一只行为正常的动物的压力。 我建议记录动脉血压从不受限制的鸸鹋和相关的位置，头部以上或以下的心脏。 在鸭子潜水领域，最有趣的方面之一是没有人知道潜水组件（下降，在底部保持进食和上升）的实际能量成本。 所做的功是力乘以移动的距离，所以下降和上升很容易，但在底部，鸭子继续划水以保持他们的位置。因此，没有距离移动，没有工作，但鸭子看起来很努力。我们建议通过测量划水时脚在水中移动所做的功来模拟潜水时所做的功，所以我们移动了一段距离！ 这项研究将是不可或缺的未来研究的生态生理学的潜水。

As a comparative physiologist, I have focused my research on the role of phylogenetic processes in shaping an animal for its environment by tracking the functional morphology of organ systems across the animal kingdom or studying the physiology of animals at the extremes of the biological range of exercise and diving capabilities. In respect to functional morphology of organ systems, I will be looking at the heart of sea turtles, arguably the most active of all turtles, and emus which raise their heads way above their hearts and have to compensate for gravitational effects. Why are these animals interesting? Our view of evolution of the reptilian heart, based on morphological and paleontological phylogenies, has been upset by the advent of molecular phylogenies. Turtles have lost their place at the base of the phylogeny and are now placed among the snakes and lizards. I have researched lizard hearts and now propose to investigate heart structure and function in sea turtles, looking for anatomical and physiological relationships by investigations of the living heart by trans-oesophageal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. A head held high above the heart means that the heart has to pump much harder to create a high blood pressure so the blood vessels don't collapse and stop flow. All long necked animals have large hearts suggesting they can pump at high pressures but, to date, nobody has ever recorded pressure from a behaving animal. I propose to record arterial blood pressure from unrestrained emus and correlate it to the position of the head above or below the heart. In the duck diving field, one of the most intriguing aspects is that nobody knows the actual energetic cost of the dive components (descent, holding at the bottom to feed and ascent). Work done is force multiplied by distance moved so descent and ascent are easy but, at the bottom, ducks continue paddling to hold their position. Hence, no distance moved, no work done but the ducks look to be working hard. We are proposing to model the work done during diving by measuring the work done by moving the feet through the water during paddling, so we have a distance moved! This research will be indispensable to future studies of the eco-physiology of diving.