The Influence of Snow Properties on Speed and Gait Choice in the Svalbard Rock Ptarmigan (

Substrate supportiveness is linked to the metabolic cost of locomotion, as it influences the depth to which the foot of a moving animal will sink. As track depth increases, animals typically reduce their speed to minimize any potential energetic imbalance. Here, we examine how self-selected speed in the Svalbard rock ptarmigan is affected by snow supportiveness and subsequent footprint depth measured using thin-blade penetrometry and 3D photogrammetry, respectively. Our findings indicate that snow supportiveness and footprint depth are poor predictors of speed ( La firmeza del sustrato se asocial al costo metabólico de la locomoción ya que influencia cuán profundo las extremidades de un animal se hunden al moverse. A medida hundimiento aumenta, usualmente los animales reducen su velocidad para minimizar potenciales desbalances energéticos. En este estudio examinamos cómo la velocidad de la perdiz de la roca de Svalbard es afectada por la firmeza del sustrato y la profundidad de hundimiento de sus patas, usando penetrometría y fotogrametría 3D, respectivamente. Nuestros resultados indican que la firmeza de la nieve y la profundidad de hundimiento de las patas no son buenos predictores de la velocidad (

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© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.