American Zoologist articles from February 2000

American Zoologist archives from February 2000

The Vertebrate Body Axis: Evolution and Mechanical Function(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION "... the nature of the [intervertebral] joint is different from every other that is met with in animal bodies, and there are many circumstances respecting it, which render it uncertain whether human ingenuity can...

The Animal Axis(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The vertebrate axis we celebrate in this symposium is a mechanical supportive structure, either a notochord or a backbone (vertebral column). A notochord consists of a fibrous collagenous sheath filled with large,...

Mechanical Design of Fiber-Wound Hydraulic Skeletons: The Stiffening and Straightening of Embryonic Notochords(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The notochord plays a variety of important inductive and mechanical roles in the development of vertebrate embryos (reviewed in Adams et al., 1990; Koehl et al., 1990; Gilbert, 1985). One of its early mechanical functions is...

Relationship Between Structure and Mechanical Function of the Tissues of the Intervertebral Joint(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION This paper is concerned with the relationship between the structures and properties of the tissues of the spine and their mechanical functions. The emphasis is on the lumbar region of the human spine but results from other...

The Nucleus of the Intervertebral Disc from Development to Degeneration(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The role of the intervertebral discs is mechanical. They are the joints of the spine, enabling it to bend and twist in all directions. They support compressive loads arising from body weight and muscle tension and anchor one...

Tadpole Locomotion: Axial Movement and Tail Functions in a Largely Vertebraeless Vertebrate(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The last systematic review of tadpole locomotion appeared ten years ago, coincidentally also in American Zoologist (Wassersug, 1989). That essay explored the implications of having a tail with neither cartilage nor bone to the...

Morphology and Function of Lateral Hypaxial Musculature in Salamanders(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The lateral hypaxial musculature (LHM) of tetrapods serves many biological roles. In undulatory locomotion, the LHM, along with the epaxial musculature, contributes to lateral bending of the body (Carrier, 1993; Frolich and...

The Integration of Ventilation and Locomotion in Archosaurs(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION Vertebrate morphologists and physiologists have often studied the axial musculoskeletal system as if it were an entity that is independent from the appendicular system. Given the complexity of a naturally behaving fish or...

Function of the Caudal Fin During Locomotion in Fishes: Kinematics, Flow Visualization, and Evolutionary Patterns(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION One of the most prominent characteristics of early vertebrate fossils is the elongate tail bearing fin rays (Fig. 1). This basic structure of the caudal fin represents a fundamental design feature of vertebrates that predates...

The Evolution of the Functional Role of Trunk Muscles During Locomotion in Adult Amphibians(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION Studies of locomotion in tetrapods are heavily biased towards the role of the limbs. However, even when the limbs and their associated musculature are the primary engines of locomotion, the axial muscles perform the critical...

Axial versus Appendicular: Constraint versus Selection(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION The morphologies of individual organisms within any population are the result of complex interactions between genetic information, environmental influences during development, selection pressure, various constraints (physical,...

To Bend a Dolphin: Convergence of Force Transmission Designs in Cetaceans and Scombrid Fishes(1).
February 1, 2000... INTRODUCTION Most fish swim by laterally undulating or oscillating their body and propulsive caudal fin. Axial muscles, arranged in complexly folded myomeres, transmit contractile forces via the connective tissue "fabrics" of myosepta,...

Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards.
February 1, 2000... Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. DENNIS KING AND BRIAN GREEN. Kreiger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 2nd ed. 1999, vi + 128 pp., illus., plates, index. (ISBN 1-57524-112-9 paper, $22.50.) Few groups of reptiles have received...

Biology and the Foundation of Ethics.
February 1, 2000... Biology and the Foundation of Ethics. JANE MAIENSCHEIN AND MICHAEL RUSE, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. viii + 336 pgs. $64.95 (cloth), $19.95 (paper). Biology and the Foundation of Ethics, an edited volume of twelve...

Responsible Conduct with Animals in Research.
February 1, 2000... Responsible Conduct with Animals in Research. LYNETTE A. HART, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. xiii + 193 pgs. 60.00 (cloth), 27.00 (paper). The use of animals in scientific research has recently attracted a growing critical...

Darwinian Dominion: Animal Welfare and Human Interests.
February 1, 2000... Darwinian Dominion: Animal Welfare and Human Interests LEWIS PETRINOVICH. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1999. ix + 431 pgs. Lewis Petrinovich carefully lays out his plan for Darwinian Dominion in the preface to the work, claiming his goal is to ask...