Learning Objectives

After reading Chapter 12, you should be able to:

Discuss how neural, muscular, and structural elements of a locomotor module contribute to a coordinated movement.
Describe the metabolic underpinnings of muscle activity, and how muscle fiber types are specialized for different types of movement.
Explain how a muscle copes with the constraints of oxygen delivery.
Compare the skeletal elements in vertebrates and invertebrates.
Compare the constraints on aquatic, aerial, and terrestrial locomotion.
Discuss how body size influences movement.
Predict the locomotor properties of an animal, based upon its observed patterns of movement.

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