The Mechanics of Animal Survival in an Ever-Changing World

Motions of animals are most often unsteady. Indeed, unpredictability arising from unsteady motion is likely an important aspect of predator avoidance for many organisms. However, our experimental and computational approaches have historically been inadequate to capture the behavioral nuances of such motions. As a result, the literature is replete with information on steady-state locomotion, in stark contrast with the reality of animal motion. The work presented in this talk seeks to address this imbalance by establishing novel tools to examine the kinematics and dynamics of unsteady locomotion. By synthesizing between laboratory-based and field-based studies of animal motion, I seek out biomechanical conclusions that are more relevant to evolution and ecology.

Speaker: Talia Moore, University of Michigan