My major research interest is the in vivo function of skeletal muscle during movement. More specifically my current research investigates the mechanical function of skeletal muscle in vivo and the links between mechanical function and energy use. I use an integrative approach that combines organismal measures of energetics, kinematics, and kinetics with more invasive procedures that monitor in vivo the length, activity, and energy use of individual muscles in freely moving animals. His current research focuses primarily on walking and running, but past work has included studies of swimming, flying, and jumping. Major equipment items in my laboratory include a digital high-speed video system, a small-animal force plate, respirometry equipment, a 14 channel electromyography system, and a multichannel sonomicrometer system. Experiments have been conducted with numerous species of animals, and work has begun on human subjects.
Articles
Measurement of maximum oxygen consumption in guinea fowl Numida meleagris indicates that birds and mammals display a similar diversity of aerobic scopes during running (with David J. Ellerby, MaryEllen Cleary, and Cindy I. Buchanan), Biology Faculty Publications (2003)
Judgement of exercise performance in birds has been hampered by a paucity of data on...
Winter fattening in the American goldfinch and the possible role of temperature in its regulation (with William R. Dawson), Biology Faculty Publications (1986)
We investigated whether environmental temperature has any causal role in the winter fattening in certain...
The enzymatic basis of high metabolic rates in calling frogs (with Theodore L. Taigen and Kentwood D. Wells), Biology Faculty Publications (1985)
Oxygen consumption by male spring peepers (Hyla crucifer) increased linearly with calling rate, reaching peak...
Adaptations of the gray catbird Dumetella carolinensis to long-distance migration: flight muscle hypertrophy associated with elevated body mass, Biology Faculty Publications (1984)
The size and composition (lean-dry, water, and fat contents) of the flight muscles of the...
Seasonal and geographic variation of cold resistance in house finches Carpodacus mexicanus (with William R. Dawson, William A. Buttemer, and Cynthia Carey), Biology Faculty Publications (1983)
The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is resident in tropical and subtropical regions as well as...