Energetic costs of feeding in 12 species of small-bodied primates.

There are no comparative, empirical studies of the energetic costs of feeding in mammals. As a result, we lack physiological data to better understand the selection pressures on the mammalian feeding apparatus and the influence of variables such as food geometric and material properties. This study investigates interspecific scaling of the net energetic costs of feeding in relation to body size, jaw-adductor muscle mass and food properties in a sample of 12 non-human primate species ranging in size from 0.

Point-of-Care Ultrasonography Integration in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Student-Driven Approach.

Background: The importance of medical ultrasonography (US) is well established, but given an already dense curriculum, integration of US into preclinical training can be difficult. Although there is no clear consensus on the best practice for integrating US into medical school curricula, growing student interest in US training demands investigation of potential solutions.

Objective: To investigate whether US integration through peer-assisted learning (PAL) and extracurricular activities during preclinical training is perceived to be valuable by student participants.

Do forelimb shape and peak forces co-vary in strepsirrhines?

Objectives: In this study, we explore whether ground reaction forces recorded during horizontal walking co-vary with the shape of the long bones of the forelimb in strepsirrhines. To do so, we quantify (1) the shape of the shaft and articular surfaces of each long bone of the forelimb, (2) the peak vertical, mediolateral, and horizontal ground reaction forces applied by the forelimb during arboreal locomotion, and (3) the relationship between the shape of the forelimb and peak forces.

Materials And Methods: Geometric morphometric approaches were used to quantify the shape of the bones.

The evolution of vertical climbing in primates: evidence from reaction forces.

Vertical climbing is an essential behavior for arboreal animals, yet limb mechanics during climbing are poorly understood and rarely compared with those observed during horizontal walking. Primates commonly engage in both arboreal walking and vertical climbing, and this makes them an ideal taxa in which to compare these locomotor forms. Additionally, primates exhibit unusual limb mechanics compared with most other quadrupeds, with weight distribution biased towards the hindlimbs, a pattern that is argued to have evolved in response to the challenges of arboreal walking.

Crouching to fit in: the energetic cost of locomotion in tunnels.

Animals that are specialized for a particular habitat or mode of locomotion often demonstrate locomotor efficiency in a focal environment when compared to a generalist species. However, measurements of these focal habitats or behaviors are often difficult or impossible to do in the field. In this study, the energetics and kinematics of simulated tunnel locomotion by two unrelated semi-fossorial mammals, the ferret and degu, were analyzed using open-flow respirometry and digital video.

Self-Reported Minimalist Running Injury Incidence and Severity: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Minimalist running entails using shoes with a flexible thin sole and is popular in the United States. Existing literature disagrees over whether minimalist running shoes (MRS) improve perceived severity of injuries associated with running in traditional running shoes (TRS). Additionally, the perceived injury patterns associated with MRS are relatively unknown.

Kinetics of bipedal locomotion during load carrying in capuchin monkeys.

Facultative bipedalism during load transport in nonhuman primates has been argued to be an important behavior potentially leading to the evolution of obligate, extended limb bipedalism. Understanding the biomechanics of such behavior may lead to insights about associated morphology, which may translate to interpretation of features in the fossil record. Some populations of bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) spontaneously carry heavy loads bipedally during foraging activities.

Lower extremity biomechanical relationships with different speeds in traditional, minimalist, and barefoot footwear.

Minimalist running footwear has grown increasingly popular. Prior studies that have compared lower extremity biomechanics in minimalist running to traditional running conditions are largely limited to a single running velocity. This study compares the effects of running at various speeds on foot strike pattern, stride length, knee angles and ankle angles in traditional, barefoot, and minimalist running conditions.

Locomotor energetics in primates: gait mechanics and their relationship to the energetics of vertical and horizontal locomotion.

All primates regularly move within three-dimensional arboreal environments and must often climb, but little is known about the energetic costs of this critical activity. Limited previous work on the energetics of incline locomotion suggests that there may be differential selective pressures for large compared to small primates in choosing to exploit a complex arboreal environment. Necessary metabolic and gait data have never been collected to examine this possibility and biomechanical mechanisms that might explain size-based differences in the cost of arboreal movement.

Comparative triceps surae morphology in primates: a review.

Primate locomotor evolution, particularly the evolution of bipedalism, is often examined through morphological studies. Many of these studies have examined the uniqueness of the primate forelimb, and others have examined the primate hip and thigh. Few data exist, however, regarding the myology and function of the leg muscles, even though the ankle plantar flexors are highly important during human bipedalism.

The energetic cost of climbing in primates.

Primates are exceptional among mammals for their climbing abilities and arboreal lifestyles. Here we show that small primates (less than 0.5 kilogram) consume the same amount of mass-specific energy (COTTOT) whether climbing or walking a given distance.

Adaptive value of ambling gaits in primates and other mammals.

At speeds between the walk and the gallop, most mammals trot. Primates almost never trot, and it has been claimed that they transition directly from a walk to a gallop without any distinctive mid-speed running gait. If true, this would be another characteristic difference between the locomotion of primates and that of most other quadrupedal mammals.

Substrate alters forelimb to hindlimb peak force ratios in primates.

It is often claimed that the walking gaits of primates are unusual because, unlike most other mammals, primates appear to have higher vertical peak ground reaction forces on their hindlimbs than on their forelimbs. Many researchers have argued that this pattern of ground reaction force distribution is part of a general adaptation to arboreal locomotion. This argument is frequently used to support models of primate locomotor evolution.