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The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 667-675 (2002)
© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited

Mechanical trade-offs explain how performance increases without increasing cost in rattlesnake tailshaker muscle

Brad R. Moon^1,*, J. Johanna Hopp² and Kevin E. Conley^1,2

¹ Department of Radiology, Box 357115 and
² Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Box 357290, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

*Present address: Department of Biology, PO Box 42451, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504-2451, USA (e-mail: BradMoon{at}louisiana.edu)

Accepted 20 December 2001

Rattling by rattlesnakes is one of the fastest vertebrate movements and involves some of the highest contraction frequencies sustained by vertebrate muscle. Rattling requires higher accelerations at higher twitch frequencies, yet a previous study showed that the cost per twitch of rattling is independent of twitch frequency. We used force and video recordings over a range of temperatures to examine how western diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) achieve faster movements without increases in metabolic cost. The key findings are (i) that increasing muscle twitch tension trades off with decreasing twitch duration to keep the tension–time integral per twitch nearly constant over a wide range of temperatures and twitch frequencies and (ii) that decreasing lateral displacement of the rattle joint moderates the mechanical work and power required to shake the rattle at higher frequencies. These mechanical trade-offs between twitch tension and duration and between joint force and displacement explain how force, work and power increase without an increase in metabolic cost.

Key words: western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox, muscle, force, work, power, contraction frequency, rattling.

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