Laboratory for Functional Morphology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2011 Aug;145(4):581-91. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21539. Epub 2011 May 3.
Hylobatidae (gibbons and siamangs) are known for their brachiation skills. The comparison of brachiation with a pendulum is made several times in the literature, and the costs and benefits of being pendulum-like are well described. However, the amount of energy exchange during brachiation of gibbons has rarely been determined. In this study, the amount of energy recovery (ER) during brachiation is assessed for three siamangs in a seminatural environment. The animals were recorded by four cameras while voluntarily brachiating on three different setups. The effects of locomotion speed, brachiation type, and setup on ER as well as on the external mechanical work during brachiation are determined. It is hypothesized that the amount of ER decreases with an increasing setup complexity while the external mechanical work increases. Additionally, we expect that support arm kinematics will be adjusted according to spatial complexity in order to maintain high recovery percentages. Our results show that ER is mainly determined by brachiation speed. Regardless of type of brachiation or setup, brachiation is done with a lower ER when brachiating faster. Within our limited range of setup variation, the expected effect of increasing complexity is not found. Although there is significant variation in support arm joint angles, no clear relation with speed, brachiation type, or setup is observed.
长臂猿科（长臂猿和猩猩）以其臂行技能而闻名。文献中多次将臂行与钟摆进行比较，并详细描述了类似钟摆的成本和收益。然而，长臂猿臂行过程中的能量交换量很少被确定。在这项研究中，评估了三种猩猩在半自然环境中臂行时的能量恢复（ER）量。当动物在三种不同的设置上自愿臂行时，用四台摄像机记录它们。确定了运动速度、臂行类型和设置对 ER 以及臂行过程中外在机械功的影响。假设 ER 的量随着设置复杂性的增加而减少，而外在机械功增加。此外，我们期望根据空间复杂性调整支撑臂运动学，以保持高的恢复百分比。我们的结果表明，ER 主要由臂行速度决定。无论臂行类型或设置如何，当臂行速度更快时，ER 就越低。在我们有限的设置变化范围内，并没有发现预期的复杂性增加的效果。尽管支撑臂关节角度有很大的变化，但没有观察到与速度、臂行类型或设置有明显的关系。
