- 1.
Isometric contraction kinetics and force-velocity relations were examined in wing muscles of two tettigoniid insects, Neoconocephalus robustus and N. triops. The muscles were first tergocoxal muscles of the mesothoracic and metathoracic segments. The metathoracic muscle is a flight muscle. The mesothoracic muscle is used in flight and in stridulation.
- 2.
In the field, the wing stroke frequency during stridulation by N. triops is about 100 Hz; the thoracic temperature during singing is about 30 C; and the temperature gradient between the thorax and surround is about 15 C. Published data for N. robustus give the wing-stroke frequency during stridulation as about 200 Hz at a thoracic temperature of 35–40 C. The wing-stroke frequency during flight by both species is approximately 20 Hz at 25 C.
- 3.
The twitch time course is similar in equivalent muscles of the two species. At 35 C the twitch duration (onset to 50% relaxation) is 5.5-6.5 ms for mesothoracic muscles and 11–13 ms for metathoracic ones. Twitch and tetanic tension per unit area are about twice as great in the metathoracic muscles as in the faster, mesothoracic ones.
- 4.
Despite the differences in isometric contraction kinetics, the maximum shortening velocity (Vmax) is similar in mesothoracic and metathoracic wing muscles. Vmax values (lengths per second, 35 C), determined by extrapolation of force-velocity curves, were 10.1 (mesothoracic) and 11.1 (metathoracic) for N. robustus; 12.2 (mesothoracic) and 16.1 (metathoracic) for N. triops. With N. triops, Vmax was also determined from the time taken to re-develop tension following quick release. The values obtained were somewhat higher than from extrapolation of force-velocity curves, but again similar for mesothoracic and metathoracic muscles.
- 5.
Twitch time course becomes more rapid and Vmax increases with increasing temperature. Neither twitch nor tetanic tension is greatly affected by temperature change in the range 25–35 C.
- 6.
As for many other fast muscles, force-velocity plots for these muscles have little curvature. It is suggested that the relative straightness of these plots is a consequence of internal viscosity.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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