Principles of Animal Locomotion
- Author/Creator:
- Alexander, R. McNeill, author
- Publication/Creation:
- Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2013]
- Resource Type:
- Book
- Edition:
- Course Book
More Details
Additional/Related Title Information
- Full Title:
- Principles of Animal Locomotion / R. McNeill Alexander
- Related/Included Titles:
- Frontmatter --
Contents --
Preface --
Chapter 1. The Best Way to Travel --
Chapter 2. Muscle, the Motor --
Chapter 3. Energy Requirements for Locomotion --
Chapter 4. Consequences of Size Differences --
Chapter 5. Methods for the Study of Locomotion --
Chapter 6. Alternative Techniques for Locomotion on Land --
Chapter 7. Walking, Running, and Hopping --
Chapter 8. Climbing and Jumping --
Chapter 9. Crawling and Burrowing --
Chapter 10. Gliding and Soaring --
Chapter 11. Hovering --
Chapter 12. Powered Forward Flight --
Chapter 13. Moving on the Surface of Water --
Chapter 14. Swimming with Oars and Hydrofoils --
Chapter 15. Swimming by Undulation --
Chapter 16. Swimming by Jet Propulsion --
Chapter 17. Buoyancy --
Chapter 18. Aids to Human Locomotion --
Chapter 19. Epilogue --
References --
Index
Subjects/Genre
- Subjects:
- Animal locomotion
Description/Summary
- Table of Contents:
- Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1. The Best Way to Travel -- Chapter 2. Muscle, the Motor -- Chapter 3. Energy Requirements for Locomotion -- Chapter 4. Consequences of Size Differences -- Chapter 5. Methods for the Study of Locomotion -- Chapter 6. Alternative Techniques for Locomotion on Land -- Chapter 7. Walking, Running, and Hopping -- Chapter 8. Climbing and Jumping -- Chapter 9. Crawling and Burrowing -- Chapter 10. Gliding and Soaring -- Chapter 11. Hovering -- Chapter 12. Powered Forward Flight -- Chapter 13. Moving on the Surface of Water -- Chapter 14. Swimming with Oars and Hydrofoils -- Chapter 15. Swimming by Undulation -- Chapter 16. Swimming by Jet Propulsion -- Chapter 17. Buoyancy -- Chapter 18. Aids to Human Locomotion -- Chapter 19. Epilogue -- References -- Index
- Summary:
- How can geckoes walk on the ceiling and basilisk lizards run over water? What are the aerodynamic effects that enable small insects to fly? What are the relative merits of squids' jet-propelled swimming and fishes' tail-powered swimming? Why do horses change gait as they increase speed? What determines our own vertical leap? Recent technical advances have greatly increased researchers' ability to answer these questions with certainty and in detail. This text provides an up-to-date overview of how animals run, walk, jump, crawl, swim, soar, hover, and fly. Excluding only the tiny creatures that use cilia, it covers all animals that power their movements with muscle--from roundworms to whales, clams to elephants, and gnats to albatrosses. The introduction sets out the general rules governing all modes of animal locomotion and considers the performance criteria--such as speed, endurance, and economy--that have shaped their selection. It introduces energetics and optimality as basic principles. The text then tackles each of the major modes by which animals move on land, in water, and through air. It explains the mechanisms involved and the physical and biological forces shaping those mechanisms, paying particular attention to energy costs. Focusing on general principles but extensively discussing a wide variety of individual cases, this is a superb synthesis of current knowledge about animal locomotion. It will be enormously useful to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and a range of professional biologists, physicists, and engineers.
- Language:
- English
- Language Note:
- English
- Physical Type/Description:
- 1 online resource (385 p.)
- General Note:
- Description based upon print version of record.
- Additional Physical Form:
- Issued also in print.
Additional Identifiers
- Catalog ID (MMSID):
- 9937012788102486
- ISBN:
- 0-691-08678-8
1-4008-4951-9 - OCLC Number:
- 933516515
979968610 - Other Identifiers:
- doi: 10.1515/9781400849512
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