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Cited by 70Physiological and biochemical adaptationsRobotic Locomotion and ControlAvian ecology and behavior

Gait-specific energetics contributes to economical walking and running in emus and ostriches

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Watson, Rebecca R., Rubenson, Jonas, Coder, Lisa, Hoyt, Donald F., Propert, Matthew W. G., Marsh, Richard L.·2011·Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
DOI 10.1098/rspb.2010.2022PMC PMC3107644
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Abstract

A widely held assumption is that metabolic rate (Ėmet) during legged locomotion is linked to the mechanics of different gaits and this linkage helps explain the preferred speeds of animals in nature. However, despite several prominent exceptions,Ėmet of walking and running vertebrates has been nearly uniformly characterized as increasing linearly with speed across all gaits. This description of locomotor energetics does not predict energetically optimal speeds for minimal cost of transport (Ecot). We tested whether large bipedal ratite birds (emus and ostriches) have gait-specific energetics during walking and running similar to those found in humans. We found that during locomotion, emus showed a curvilinear relationship between Ėmet and speed during walking, and both emus and ostriches demonstrated an abrupt change in the slope of Ėmet versus speed at the gait transition with a linear increase during running. Similar to human locomotion, the minimum net Ecot calculated after subtracting resting metabolism was lower in walking than in running in both species. However, the difference in net Ecot between walking and running was less than is found in humans because of a greater change in the slope of Ėmet versus speed at the gait transition, which lowers the cost of running for the avian bipeds. For emus, we also show that animals moving freely overground avoid a range of speeds surrounding the gait-transition speed within which the Ecot is large. These data suggest that deviations from a linear relation of metabolic rate and speed and variations in transport costs with speed are more widespread than is often assumed, and provide new evidence that locomotor energetics influences the choice of speed in bipedal animals. The low cost of transport for walking is probably ecologically important for emus and ostriches because they spend the majority of their active day walking, and thus the energy used for locomotion is a large part of their daily energy budget.

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  • A U-shaped curve during walking locomotion has also been observed in another large cursorial bird, the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), and field observations revealed that the self-selected speeds preferred by emu were tightly clustered around the lowest point of the curve in line with predictions they chose this speed to minimize the CoT.

    “A U-shaped curve during walking locomotion has also been observed in another large cursorial bird, the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), and field observations revealed that the self-selected speeds preferred by emu were tightly clustered around the lowest point of the curve in line with predictions they chose this speed to minimize the CoT34.”

    From The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance (2016) · cites this paper as [34]

  • The curvilinear relationship between metabolic power consumption (Pmet) and speed (U) during walking in peacocks is also seen in other animals including some species of large bird, but deviates from the more common linear relationship found in many species.

    “the relationship between metabolic power consumption (Pmet) and speed (U) for walking during both experimental periods was curvilinear, which is also seen in other animals including some species of large bird”

    From The peacock train does not handicap cursorial locomotor performance (2016) · cites this paper as [34]

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Authors
Watson, R. R., Rubenson, J., Coder, L., Hoyt, D. F., Propert, M. W. G., & Marsh, R. L.
Affiliations
  • California State Polytechnic University (US)
  • The University of Western Australia (AU)
  • Northeastern University (US)
Corresponding author
Marsh, Richard L.
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publisher
The Royal Society
Published
2010-12
Volume
278
Issue
1714
Pages
2040-2046
ISSN
  • 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
  • 0962-8452
  • 1471-2954
DOI
10.1098/rspb.2010.2022
PMC
PMC3107644
OpenAlex
W2123151273
Cited by
70
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
FWCI
1.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (AR 47337, R01AR047337)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Robotic Locomotion and Control
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
Keywords
locomotion energetics, cost of transport, metabolic rate, walking, running, gait transition, emu, ostrich, bipedalism, speed choice, overground locomotion
MeSH terms
Animals, California, Energy Metabolism, Female, Gait, Male, Running, Walking, Struthioniformes, Dromaiidae

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