Modulation of limb mechanics in alligators moving across varying grades

Graded substrates require legged animals to modulate their limb mechanics to meet locomotor demands. Previous work has elucidated strategies used by cursorial animals with upright limb posture, but it remains unclear how sprawling species such as alligators transition between grades. We measured individual limb forces and 3D kinematics as alligators walked steadily across level, 15 deg incline and 15 deg decline conditions. We compared our results with the literature to determine how limb posture alters strategies for managing the energetic variation that accompanies shifts in grade. We found that juvenile alligators maintain spatiotemporal characteristics of gait and locomotor speed while selectively modulating craniocaudal impulses (relative to level) when transitioning between grades. Alligators seem to accomplish this using a variety of kinematic strategies, but consistently sprawl both limb pairs outside of the parasagittal plane during decline walking. This latter result suggests alligators and other sprawling species may use movements outside of the parasagittal plane as an axis of variation to modulate limb mechanics when transitioning between graded substrates. We conclude that limb mechanics during graded locomotion are fairly predictable across quadrupedal species, regardless of body plan and limb posture, with hindlimbs playing a more propulsive role and forelimbs functioning to dissipate energy. Future work will elucidate how shifts in muscle properties or function underlie such shifts in limb kinematics.