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Cautionary comments on the measurement of maximum locomotor capabilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2002

Jonathan B. Losos ,
Douglas A. Creer  and
James A. Schulte II
Jonathan B. Losos
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Campus Box 1137, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130-4899, U.S.A.
Douglas A. Creer
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Campus Box 1137, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130-4899, U.S.A.
James A. Schulte II
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Campus Box 1137, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130-4899, U.S.A. Present address: Division of Amphibians & Reptiles, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
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Abstract

In recent years, laboratory measurements of locomotor performance of small organisms have been used increasingly to study questions in behavioural, physiological, and evolutionary ecology. Although a valuable tool that can provide insight into organismal function, behaviour, and adaptation, this approach is potentially limited by the quality of the data collected. Using the study of maximum sprint speed in lizards as an example, common problems in methodology that may confound interpretation of performance studies are discussed.

Keywords

lizardlocomotionperformancesprint speedmethodology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 258 , Issue 1 , September 2002 , pp. 57 - 61
Copyright
© 2002 The Zoological Society of London

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