Download or read book Principles of Animal Locomotion written by R. McNeill Alexander and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Modelling the Flying Bird written by C.J. Pennycuick and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2008-08-23 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book outlines the principles of flight, of birds in particular. It describes a way of simplifying the mechanics of flight into a practical computer program, which will predict in some detail what any bird, real or hypothetical, can and cannot do. The Flight program, presented on the companion website, generates performance curves for flapping and gliding flight, and simulations of long-distance migration and accounts successfully for the consumption of muscles and other tissues during migratory flights. The program is effectively a working model of a flying bird (or bat or pterosaur) and is the skeleton around which the book is built. The book provides a wider background and then explains how Flight works and shows how to set up and test hypotheses generated by the program.The book and the program are based on adapting the conventional (and well-tested) thinking of aeronautical engineers to the biological problems of bird flight. Their primary aim is to convince biologists that this is the appropriate way to handle problems that involve flight, to make the engineering background accessible to biologists, and to provide a tool kit in the shape of the Flight program, which they can use to solve practical problems involving bird flight and migration. In addition, the book will be readily accessible to engineers who want to know how birds work, and should be of interest to the ever-growing community working on flapping "micro air vehicles" (MAVs). The program can be used to predict the flight performance and capabilities of reconstructed fossil birds and pterosaurs, flying in ancient atmospheres that differ from present conditions, and also, of course, to predict and account for the results of experiments and observations on living birds and bats.* An up to date work by the world's leading expert on bird flight* Examines the biology and biomechanics of bird flight with added reference to the flight of bats and pterosaurs.* Uses proven aeronautical principles to help solve biological issues in understanding and predicting the flight capabilities of birds and other vertebrates.* Provides insights into the evolution of flight and the likely capabilities of extinct birds and reptiles.* Gives a detailed explanation of the science behind, and use of, the author's predictive bird flight simulation program - Flight - which is available on a companion website.* Presents often difficult concepts in easily understood language.

Download or read book The Vertebrate Integument Volume 2 written by Theagarten Lingham-Soliar and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-02-18 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emphasis in this volume is on the structure and functional design of the integument. The book starts with a brief introduction to some basic principles of physics (mechanics) including Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. These principles are subsequently used to interpret the problems animals encounter in motion. It is in only the last 40 or so years that we have begun to understand how important a role the integument plays in the locomotion of many marine vertebrates. This involves the crossed-fiber architecture, which was first discovered in a classic study on nemertean worms. As a design principle we see that the crossed-fiber architecture is ubiquitous in nature. Research on some of the most dynamic marine vertebrates of the oceans – tuna, dolphins and sharks, and the extinct Jurassic ichthyosaurs – shows precisely how the crossed-fiber architecture contributes to high-speed swimming and (in lamnid sharks) may even aid in energy conservation. However, this design principle is not restricted to animals in the marine biota but is also found as far afield as the dinosaurs and, most recently, has been revealed as a major part of the microstructure of the most complex derivative of the integument, the feather. We see that a variety of phylogenetically diverse vertebrates take to the air by using skin flaps to glide from tree to tree or to the ground, and present detailed descriptions of innovations developed in pursuit of improved gliding capabilities in both extinct and modern day gliders. But the vertebrate integument had even greater things in store, namely true or flapping flight. Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to use the integument as a membrane in true flapping flight and these interesting extinct animals are discussed on the basis of past and cutting-edge research , most intriguingly with respect to the structure of the flight membrane. Bats, the only mammals that fly, also employ integumental flight membranes. Classic research on bat flight is reviewed and supplemented with the latest research, which shows the complexities of the wing beat cycle to be significantly different from that of birds, as revealed by particle image velocimetry. The book’s largest chapter is devoted to birds, given that they make up nearly half of the over 22,000 species of tetrapods. The flight apparatus of birds is unique in nature and is described in great detail, with innovative research highlighting the complexity of the flight structures, bird flight patterns, and behavior in a variety of species. This is complimented by new research on the brains of birds, which shows that they are more complex than previously thought. The feather made bird flight possible, and was itself made possible by β-keratin, contributing to what may be a unique biomechanical microstructure in nature, a topic discussed in some depth. A highly polarized subject concerns the origin of birds and of the feather. Alleged fossilized protofeathers (primal simple feathers) are considered on the basis of histological and taphonomic investigative studies in Chapter 6. Finally, in Chapter 7 we discuss the controversies associated with this field of research. Professor Theagarten Lingham-Soliar works at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth and is an Honorary Professor of Life Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Download or read book Experimental Investigations of the Stresses in Masonry Dams Subjected to Water pressure written by Sir John Walter Otley and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Research Techniques in Animal Ecology written by Luigi Boitani and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an analysis of frequently used research techniques in animal ecology, identifying their limitations and misuses, as well as possible solutions to avoid such pitfalls. The contributors provide an overarching account of central theoretical and methodological controversies. The editors have forged comprehensive presentations of key topics in animal ecology, such as territory and home range estimates, habitation evaluation, population viability analysis, GIS mapping, and measuring the dynamics of societies.

Download or read book An Introduction to Flapping Wing Aerodynamics written by Wei Shyy and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-08-19 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone interested in the aerodynamics, structural dynamics and flight dynamics of small birds, bats, insects and air vehicles (MAVs).

Download or read book Journal of Experimental Biology written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Flow Phenomena in Nature A challenge to engineering design written by Roland Liebe and published by WIT Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do we have an adequate understanding of fluid dynamics phenomena in nature and evolution, and what physical models do we need? What can we learn from nature to stimulate innovations in thinking as well as in engineering applications? Concentrating on flight and propulsion, this unique and accessible book compares fluid dynamics solutions in nature with those in engineering. The respected international contributors present up-to-date research in an easy to understand manner, giving common viewpoints from fields such as zoology, engineering, biology, fluid mechanics and physics. Contents: Introduction to Fluid Dynamics; Swimming and Flying in Nature; Generation of Forces in Fluids - Current Understanding; The Finite, Natural Vortex in Steady and Unsteady Fluid Dynamics - New Modelling; Applications in Engineering with Inspirations From Nature; Modern Experimental and Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics.

Download or read book Society for Experimental Biology Seminar Series Volume 5 Aspects of Animal Movement written by H. Y. Elder and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1980-09-25 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nature s Flyers written by David E. Alexander and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2004-11-17 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Nature's Flyers' is a detailed account of the current scientific understanding of the primary aspects of flight in nature. The author explains the physical basis of flight, drawing upon bats, birds, insects, pterosaurs and even winged seeds.

Download or read book Asses Mules and Other Equine Hybrids written by Orren Lloyd-Jones and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Research Reports National Geographic Society written by National Geographic Society (U.S.) and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstracts and reviews of research and exploration authorized under grants from the National Geographic Society.

Download or read book The Publishers Weekly written by and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 926 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Waterworks of the Madras Presidency written by John Alfred Jones and published by . This book was released on 1899 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Animal Movement Across Scales written by Lars-Anders Hansson and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 517 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Movement, dispersal, and migration on land, in the air, and in water, are pervading features of animal life. They are performed by a huge variety of organisms, from the smallest protozoans to the largest whales, and can extend over widely different distance scales, from the microscopic to global. Integrating the study of movement, dispersal, and migration is crucial for a detailed understanding of the spatial scale of adaptation, and for analysing the consequences of landscape and climate change as well as of invasive species. This novel book adopts a broad, cross-taxonomic approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales, addressing how and why animals move, and in what ways they differ in their locomotion and navigation performance. Written by an integrated team of leading researchers, the book synthesizes our current knowledge of the genetics of movement, including gene flow and local adaptations, whilst providing a future perspective on how patterns of animal migration may change over time together with their potential evolutionary consequences. Novel technologies for tracking the movement of organisms across scales are also discussed, ranging from satellite devices for tracking global migrations to nanotechnology that can follow animals only a millimetre in size. Animal Movement Across Scales is particularly suitable for graduate level students taking courses in spatial animal ecology, animal migration, and 'movement ecology', as well as providing a source of fresh ideas and opinions for those already active within the field. It will also be of interest and use to a broader audience of professional biologists interested in animal movements and migrations.

Download or read book The Extended Specimen written by Michael S. Webster and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-07-20 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Extended Specimen highlights the research potential for ornithological specimens, and is meant to encourage ornithologists poised to initiate a renaissance in collections-based ornithological research. Contributors illustrate how collections and specimens are used in novel ways by adopting emerging new technologies and analytical techniques. Case studies use museum specimens and emerging and non-traditional types of specimens, which are developing new methods for making biological collections more accessible and "usable" for ornithological researchers. Published in collaboration with and on behalf of The American Ornithological Society, this volume in the highly-regarded Studies in Avian Biology series documents the power of ornithological collections to address key research questions of global importance.

Download or read book New Results in Numerical and Experimental Fluid Mechanics IX written by Andreas Dillmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-01-25 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents contributions to the 18th biannual symposium of the German Aerospace Aerodynamics Association (STAB). The individual chapters reflect ongoing research conducted by the STAB members in the field of numerical and experimental fluid mechanics and aerodynamics, mainly for (but not limited to) aerospace applications, and cover both nationally and EC-funded projects. By addressing a number of essential research subjects, together with their related physical and mathematics fundamentals, the book provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the current research work in the field, as well as its main challenges and new directions. Current work on e.g. high aspect-ratio and low aspect-ratio wings, bluff bodies, laminar flow control and transition, active flow control, hypersonic flows, aeroelasticity, aeroacoustics and biofluid mechanics is exhaustively discussed here.