Balancing Biomechanical Constraints: Optimal Escape Speeds When There Is a Trade-off between Speed and Maneuverability

Integrative and Comparative Biology
Christofer Clemente, Robbie S Wilson

Abstract

The ability for prey to escape a pursuing predator is dependent both on the prey's speed away from the threat and on their ability to rapidly change directions, or maneuverability. Given that the biomechanical trade-off between speed and maneuverability limits the simultaneous maximization of both performance traits, animals should not select their fastest possible speeds when running away from a pursuing predator but rather a speed that maximizes the probability of successful escape. We explored how variation in the relationship between speed and maneuverability-or the shape of the trade-off-affects the optimal choice of speed for escaping predators. We used tablet-based games that simulated interactions between predators and prey (human subjects acting as predators attempting to capture "prey" moving across a screen). By defining a specific relationship between speed and maneuverability, we could test the survival of each of the possible behavioral choices available to this phenotype, i.e., the best combination of speed and maneuverability for prey fitness, based on their ability to escape. We found that the shape of the trade-off function affected the prey's optimal speed for success in escaping, the prey's maximum performan...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 1, 2017·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Robbie S WilsonMichelle D Smith
Oct 24, 2015·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Robbie S Wilson, Jerry F Husak

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