|
| |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
First published online August 18, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 3293-3302 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01764
Performance of guinea fowl Numida meleagris during jumping requires storage and release of elastic energy
Department of Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: r.marsh{at}neu.edu)
Accepted 27 June 2005
The ability of birds to perform effective jumps may play an important role in predator avoidance and flight initiation. Jumping can provide the vertical acceleration necessary for a rapid takeoff, which may be particularly important for ground-dwelling birds such as phasianids. We hypothesized that by making use of elastic energy storage and release, the leg muscles could provide the large power outputs needed for achieving high velocities after takeoff. We investigated the performance of the leg muscles of the guinea fowl Numida meleagris during jumping using kinematic and force-plate analyses. Comparison of the methods indicated that in this species the wings did not supply energy to power takeoff and thus all the work and power came from the leg muscles. Guinea fowl produced a peak vertical force of 5.3 times body weight. Despite having lower muscle-mass-specific power output in comparison to more specialized jumpers, guinea fowl demonstrated surprisingly good performance by producing muscle-mass-specific work outputs of 45 J kg–1, a value approximately two thirds of the maximal expected value for skeletal muscle. The muscle-mass-specific peak power output during jumping was nearly 800 W kg–1, which is more than twice the peak isotonic power estimated for guinea fowl leg muscles. To account for high power outputs, we concluded that energy has to be stored early in the jumps and released later during peak power production, presumably using mechanisms similar to those found in more specialized jumpers.
Key words: jumping, elastic energy storage, guinea fowl, Numida meleagris, power output, work output, takeoff, locomotion, kinematics, force plate, muscle
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
Related articles in JEB:
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  E. Azizi and T. J. Roberts Biaxial strain and variable stiffness in aponeuroses J. Physiol., September 1, 2009; 587(17): 4309 - 4318. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Rubenson and R. L. Marsh Mechanical efficiency of limb swing during walking and running in guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2009; 106(5): 1618 - 1630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. E. Higham and A. A. Biewener Integration within and between muscles during terrestrial locomotion: effects of incline and speed J. Exp. Biol., July 15, 2008; 211(14): 2303 - 2316. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. W. Tobalske Biomechanics of bird flight J. Exp. Biol., September 15, 2007; 210(18): 3135 - 3146. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. N Scholz, K. D'Aout, M. F Bobbert, and P. Aerts Vertical jumping performance of bonobo (Pan paniscus) suggests superior muscle properties Proc R Soc B, September 7, 2006; 273(1598): 2177 - 2184. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Phillips The Journal of Experimental Biology Outstanding Paper Prize, 2005 J. Exp. Biol., December 15, 2005; 208(24): 4559 - 4560. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. van Bergen LEAPING BIRDS SPRING INTO ACTION J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2005; 208(17): iii - iii. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
