Running faster causes disaster: Trade-offs between speed, manoeuvrability and motor control when running around corners in northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)

M L Wynn; Christofer J Clemente; A F A A Nasir; Robbie S Wilson

doi:10.1242/jeb.111682

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Running faster causes disaster: Trade-offs between speed, manoeuvrability and motor control when running around corners in northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)

Journal article

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Running faster causes disaster: Trade-offs between speed, manoeuvrability and motor control when running around corners in northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)

M L Wynn, Christofer J Clemente, A F A A Nasir and Robbie S Wilson

Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol.218(3), pp.433-439

2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.111682

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Abstract

performance

pedator-prey

running speeds

Movement speed is fundamental to all animal behaviour, yet no general framework exists for understanding why animals move at the speeds they do. Even during fitness-defining behaviours like running away from predators, an animal should select a speed that balances the benefits of high speed against the increased probability of mistakes. In this study, we explored this idea by quantifying trade-offs between speed, manoeuvrability and motor control in wild northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) - a medium-sized carnivorous marsupial native to northern Australia. First, we quantified how running speed affected the probability of crashes when rounding corners of 45, 90 and 135 deg. We found that the faster an individual approached a turn, the higher the probability that they would crash, and these risks were greater when negotiating tighter turns. To avoid crashes, quolls modulated their running speed when they moved through turns of varying angles. Average speed for quolls when sprinting along a straight path was around 4.5 m s-1 but this decreased linearly to speeds of around 1.5 m s-1 when running through 135 deg turns. Finally, we explored how an individual's morphology affects their manoeuvrability. We found that individuals with larger relative foot sizes were more manoeuvrable than individuals with smaller relative foot sizes. Thus, movement speed, even during extreme situations like escaping predation, should be based on a compromise between high speed, manoeuvrability and motor control. We advocate that optimal - rather than maximal - performance capabilities underlie fitnessdefining behaviours such as escaping predators and capturing prey. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Details

Title: Running faster causes disaster: Trade-offs between speed, manoeuvrability and motor control when running around corners in northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus)
Authors: M L Wynn (Author) - University of Queensland
Christofer J Clemente (Author) - University of Queensland
A F A A Nasir (Author) - University of Queensland
Robbie S Wilson (Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol.218(3), pp.433-439
Publisher: Company of Biologists Ltd.
Date published: 2015
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.111682
ISSN: 0022-0949
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449300802621
Output Type: Journal article

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