Welcome to the Locomotor Ecology and Biomechanics lab. Our research is about understanding how organisms get to be built the way they are built, and the consequences of their design for patterns of resource use, interactions with other species, and for patterns of evolution.

We use an ecomorphological approach that merges studies of functional morphology (lab based) and movement biomechanics (zoo based) that together determine the effect of morphological variation on performance, with biomechanical field-studies of animals in their natural habitat, to determine the effect of performance on actual patterns of resource use. Our overall aim is to elucidate the basic physical rules governing how biological structures operate; identifying physical constraints on what organisms can do, evaluating which structural characteristics affect performance, and analyzing the mechanisms responsible for the effects of morphological differences on performance.

One of our primary focuses is the locomotor ecology of arboreal mammals. For arboreal animals of large body mass, such as the great apes, the branches and lianas that are available for locomotion are a key resource, and the ability of animals to utilize these supports without falling or expending excessive energy underlies the success of their foraging, reproductive and predator avoidance strategies.

Further details about out lab can be found by following the links on the left hand menu