Comparative experimental and theoretical approaches on multi-legged locomotion – Using fast running insect, arachnid, isopod and centipede species for examining leg coordination and body dynamics with increasing numbers of propulsive legs and running speed

• Applicant: Dr. Tom Weihmann
• Subject Area: Systematics and Morphology (Zoology) ; Sensory and Behavioural Biology ; Biophysics ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2019 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 429054590

• Final Report Year: 2023

No abstract available

Publications

• Species richness and composition are not sufficient for determining the functionality of ancient ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(7), 3368-3369.
  Weihmann, Tom
  
• Survey of biomechanical aspects of arthropod terrestrialisation – Substrate bound legged locomotion. Arthropod Structure & Development, 59, 100983.
  Weihmann, Tom
  
• Measuring strain in the exoskeleton of spiders—virtues and caveats. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 207(2), 191-204.
  Blickhan, Reinhard; Weihmann, Tom & Barth, Friedrich G.
  
• Rules of nature’s Formula Run: Muscle mechanics during late stance is the key to explaining maximum running speed. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 523, 110714.
  Günther, Michael; Rockenfeller, Robert; Weihmann, Tom; Haeufle, Daniel F.B.; Götz, Thomas & Schmitt, Syn
  
• “The impact of the number of walking legs on body dynamics and gait choice in polypedal animals”; Lecture in the context of the appointment of a professorship on animal movement systems at the HS Bremen
  Weihmann, T.
  
• Polypedal locomotion and the impact of leg force distribution on body dynamics and gait choice”; Lecture in the context of a planned application for a Heisenberg professorship.
  Weihmann, T.
  
• The Smooth Transition From Many-Legged to Bipedal Locomotion—Gradual Leg Force Reduction and its Impact on Total Ground Reaction Forces, Body Dynamics and Gait Transitions. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9.
  Weihmann, Tom
  
• “Changing numbers of propulsive legs and their impact on body dynamics and stability”; Sattelite Symposium “Evolution of Terrestrial Locomotion - How Ecology shapes Morphology” of the 114th DZG annual main meeting in Bonn, September 13–16
  Weihmann, T.
  
• “Fast polypedal locomotion: Experiments and modelling approaches to explain the occurrence or absence of gait changes”; XXVI International Congress of Entomology, Helsinki, July 17-22
  Weihmann, T.
  
• „Effects of ambient temperature on the locomotion of juvenile American cockroaches“; 114th Meeting of the German Zoological Society, Bonn, September 13–16
  Beische, L.R. & Weihmann, T.