Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:dateCreated
1991-3-5
pubmed:abstractText
Previous studies have shown that large animals have systematically lower mass-specific costs of locomotion than do smaller animals, in spite of there being no demonstrable difference between them in the mass-specific mechanical work of locomotion. Larger animals are somehow much more efficient at converting metabolic energy to mechanical work. The present study analyzes how this decoupling of work and cost might occur. The experimental design employs limb-loaded and back-loaded dogs and allows the energetic cost of locomotion to be partitioned between that used to move the center of mass (external work) and that used to move the limbs relative to the center of mass (internal work). These costs were measured in three dogs moving at four speeds. Increases in the cost of external work with speed parallel increases in the amount of external work based on data from previous studies. However, increases in the cost of internal work with speed are much less (less than 50%) than the increase in internal work itself over the speeds examined. Furthermore, the cost of internal work increases linearly with speed, whereas internal work itself increases as a power function of speed. It is suggested that this decoupling results from an increase with speed in the extent to which the internal work of locomotion is powered by non-metabolic means, such as elastic strain energy and transfer of energy within and between body segments.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
0022-0949
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
154
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
287-303
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1990
pubmed:articleTitle
The work and energetic cost of locomotion. II. Partitioning the cost of internal and external work within a species.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article