Because insects have exoskeletons, they must molt in order to increase in the size. There are dramatic ontogenetic fluctuations in grasshopper jumping ability as animals molt and reproduce. Insects that walk or run may also experience molt related changes in locomotor performance. This study will investigate how the kinetics, kinematics, and energetics of locomotion change over ontogeny in the cockroach Blaberus discoidalis. These changes will be related to the effect of the molt cycle on properties of the muscle and cuticle, and computer models and simulations will be used to explore how alterations in the rates of such developmental changes could affect the dynamics of ontogenetic locomotor performance. This work will therefore integrate physiology, the material properties of skeletal elements, and the locomotor performance of intact animals to provide tests of the functional importance of musculoskeletal design and provide data on how locomotion is affected by the molt cycle. This will represent the first such data ever collected on any pedestrian arthropod.
