IMPORTANCE OF THE TAIL IN ANOLIS CAROLINENSIS FOR CONTROLLING IN-AIR STABILITY

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dc.contributorBarry, Susan
dc.contributorFink, Rachel
dc.contributor.advisorGillis, Gary
dc.contributor.authorVickowski, Flynn Broman
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-18T01:45:40Z
dc.date.available2014-06-18T01:45:40Z
dc.date.gradyear2014en_US
dc.date.issued2014-06-17
dc.description.abstractAnolis carolinensis, a species of arboreal lizard, relies on jumping as its principal form of locomotion. Previous studies suggest the importance of tail movements for stabilizing the body in mid-air in the pitch and roll axes. Caudal autotomy, the intentional self-severing of the tail, is common in these lizards in the wild as a self-defense strategy and means of escape from a predator’s grasp. Given the role of the tail in stabilizing the flight phase of jumping, it is not surprising that a cost of caudal autotomy involves decreased in-flight body control during jumping. I tested if green anoles use their tails to alter body movements in the yaw axis, by comparing tail movements between artificially destabilized animals at room temperature and cooled to ~2°C (where they are unable to actively move their tails). Additionally, I also studied whether lizards alter tail movement behavior after losing 75% of the tail. Results indicate that lizards do not move their tails actively to control for yaw instabilities nor do they modify tail movements following tail loss. This lack of an effect of temperature and behavioral modification suggest that movements of the tail are unimportant in minimizing angular displacements in the yaw plane.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNeuroscience and Behavioren_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10166/3526
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rights.restrictedpublicen_US
dc.subjectanoleen_US
dc.subjectcaudalen_US
dc.subjectautotomyen_US
dc.subjectjumpingen_US
dc.subjectlocomotionen_US
dc.subjectstabilityen_US
dc.subjectyawen_US
dc.subjectlizarden_US
dc.titleIMPORTANCE OF THE TAIL IN ANOLIS CAROLINENSIS FOR CONTROLLING IN-AIR STABILITYen_US
dc.typeThesis
mhc.degreeUndergraduateen_US
mhc.institutionMount Holyoke College

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