... functional differentiation between forelimbs and hindlimbs in humans may help to explain the evolution of bipedalism in ancestrally climbing hominoids. Summary: Despite an arboreal evolutionary history, humans display unique climbing characteristics compared with non-human primates; namely, extreme...

... to regulate speed through stride frequency. Such a strategy is energetically costly, but results in greater locomotor maneuverability and greater stability. In contrast, regulating speed through stride length is closely tied to larger arboreal animals with relatively extended limbs. Such movements reduce...

...Yu Zeng; Sofia W. Chang; Janelle Y. Williams; Lynn Y.-Nhi Nguyen; Jia Tang; Grisanu Naing; Chandni Kazi; Robert Dudley ABSTRACT For flightless arboreal arthropods, moving from the understory into tree canopies is cognitively and energetically challenging because vegetational structures present...

...Noah T. Dunham; Allison McNamara; Liza J. Shapiro; Taylor Phelps; Jesse W. Young ABSTRACT Arboreal environments present considerable biomechanical challenges for animals moving and foraging among substrates varying in diameter, orientation and compliance. Most studies of quadrupedal gait kinematics...

...Ryan M. Jorgensen; Bruce C. Jayne ABSTRACT The need for long-axis support is widespread among non-aquatic vertebrates and may be particularly acute for arboreal snakes when many vertebrae span sizable gaps between branches with diverse orientations. Hence, we used brown tree snakes ( Boiga...

...Henry C. Astley; Alison Haruta; Thomas J. Roberts ABSTRACT Arboreal animals often move on compliant branches, which may deform substantially under loads, absorbing energy. Energy stored in a compliant substrate may be returned to the animal or it may be lost. In all cases studied so far, animals...

...Greg Byrnes; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Traversing gaps with different orientations within arboreal environments has ecological relevance and mechanical consequences for animals. For example, the orientation of the animal while crossing gaps determines whether the torques acting on the body tend...

...Kathleen L. Foster; Timothy E. Higham SUMMARY The range of inclines and perch diameters in arboreal habitats poses a number of functional challenges for locomotion. To effectively overcome these challenges, arboreal lizards execute complex locomotor behaviors involving both the forelimbs...

...Zachary M. Jones; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Natural branches vary conspicuously in their diameter, density and orientation, but how these latter two factors affect animal locomotion is poorly understood. Thus, for three species of arboreal anole lizards found on different size branches...

...Bruce C. Jayne; Michael P. Herrmann SUMMARY Arboreal habitats create diverse challenges for animal locomotion, but the numerical and phylogenetic diversity of snakes that climb trees suggest that their overall body plan is well suited for this task. Snakes have considerable diversity of axial...

...Greg Byrnes; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Arboreal habitats pose unique challenges for locomotion as a result of their narrow cylindrical surfaces and discontinuities between branches. Decreased diameter of branches increases compliance, which can pose additional challenges, including effects...

...André Schmidt; Martin S. Fischer SUMMARY Arboreal locomotion has mainly been looked at to date in the context of investigations into the specialization of primates and other ‘arboreally adapted’ animals. The feat of moving on branches as small or smaller than the body's diameter was tested in rats...

...Henry C. Astley; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Animals moving through arboreal habitats face several functional challenges, including fitting onto and moving on cylindrical branches with variable diameters and inclines. In contrast to lizards and primates, the arboreal locomotion of snakes is poorly...

...Bruce C. Jayne; Michael A. Riley Networks of branches in arboreal environments create many functional challenges for animals, including traversing gaps between perches. Many snakes are arboreal and their elongate bodies are theoretically well suited for bridging gaps. However, only two studies have...

... and a cylindrical `arboreal' trackway (20.3 mm diameter) with a force-transducer instrumented region. On both terrestrial and arboreal substrates, fore limbs exhibited higher vertical impulse and peak vertical force than hind limbs. Although vertical limb impulses were lower on the terrestrial substrate than...

...Lawrence C. Spezzano, Jr; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Arboreal animals often move in habitats with dense vegetation, narrow perches and variable inclines, but effects of arboreal habitat structure on locomotor function are poorly understood for most animals. Several species of Anolis lizards, which have...

...Timothy E. Higham; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Arboreal animals, especially lizards, often traverse three-dimensional networks of narrow perches with variable and steep inclines, but the effects of both incline and narrow surfaces on the locomotor movement and function of limbs are poorly understood...

...Timothy E. Higham; Bruce C. Jayne SUMMARY Arboreal animals often move on surfaces with variable and steep inclines,but the changes in hindlimb muscle activity in response to incline are poorly understood. Thus, we studied the hindlimb muscle activity in the arboreal specialist, Chamaeleo...

.... Anolis lizards are a diverse group of arboreal species, and the discrete paths created by networks of perches in arboreal environments often force animals to turn in their natural habitats. For three species of Anolis with similar overall body size but different shape, we quantified the escape locomotor...