Animal interactions play an important role in understanding ecological processes. The nature and intensity of these interactions can shape the impacts of organisms on their …
INTRODUCTION Mechanical power, whether for launched missiles or running humans, is limited by the universal, physical trade-off between force and velocity. However, many …
Evolutionary innovations underlie the rise of diversity and complexity—the 2 long-term trends in the history of life. How does natural selection redesign multiple interacting parts to …
PSL Anderson - Journal of Experimental Biology, 2018 - journals.biologists.com
ABSTRACT A viper injecting venom into a target, a mantis shrimp harpooning a fish, a cactus dispersing itself via spines attaching to passing mammals; all these are examples of …
The inherent force–velocity trade-off of muscles and motors can be overcome by instead loading and releasing energy in springs to power extreme movements. A key component of …
Trap-jaw ants are characterized by high-speed mandibles used for prey capture and defense. Power-amplified mandibles have independently evolved at least four times among …
FJ Larabee, AA Smith… - Royal Society open …, 2018 - royalsocietypublishing.org
What is the limit of animal speed and what mechanisms produce the fastest movements? More than natural history trivia, the answer provides key insight into the form–function …
JE Niven, SM Farris - Current Biology, 2012 - cell.com
Miniaturized species have evolved in many animal lineages, including insects and vertebrates. Consequently, their nervous systems are constrained to fit within tiny volumes …
Animal structures occasionally attain extreme proportions, eclipsing in size the surrounding body parts. We review insect examples of exaggerated traits, such as the mandibles of stag …