Measuring Bite Force in Small Mammals with a Piezo-resistive Sensor

Freeman, Patricia W.; Lemen, Cliff A.

doi:10.1644/07-mamm-a-101r.1

Cited by 62 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…An alternative approach has involved measuring bite forces in live animals using strain gauge bite force transducers [Vinyard et al, 2006] and piezo-resistive sensors [Freeman and Lemen, 2008]. Strain gauges measure the forces available to an animal (instead of the fruit hardness measures provided by penetrometers) and so are likely to be a very close approximation to actual bite force.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Improved Technique Using Dental Prostheses for Field Quantification of the Force Required by Primates for the Dental Penetration of Fruit

Barnett¹,

Santos²,

Boyle³

et al. 2015

IJFP

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Tooth morphology is an important determinant of primate diet, setting potential limits on processable item size and material properties. Plunger-based commercial fruit firmness testers (penetrometers) have been used to estimate primate diet item hardness and, by proxy, bite force required for penetration. However, geometric forms and surface areas of penetrometer plungers and primate teeth differ considerably. Accurate bite force estimation is especially important with pitheciine primates as these penetrate fruit pericarps with their canines. To achieve more realistic bite force measures, we replaced a fruit penetrometer's standard plunger with a Cacajao calvus canine prosthesis. We compared indentation and penetration values for Hevea spruceana (Euphorbiaceae; hard-pericarp) and Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae; soft-pericarp) fruits (both natural Cacajao foods), and standard penetrometer head and canine prosthesis values for penetrating H. spruceana sulci. Compared to the canine prosthesis, a standard head overestimated the force needed to indent and penetrate H. spruceana fruit by more than twofold and, due to greater width, could not effectively penetrate a sulcus: sulcal penetrability data were easily retrieved with the canine prosthesis. We believe this new approach using dental prostheses has potential in the analysis of primate foraging mechanisms, especially for pitheciines for which canines are of paramount importance in accessing food.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Improved Technique Using Dental Prostheses for Field Quantification of the Force Required by Primates for the Dental Penetration of Fruit

Barnett¹,

Santos²,

Boyle³

et al. 2015

IJFP

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show abstract

“…In the field we measured actual bite forces at the canines on 22 species of insectivorous, frugivorous, omnivorous, and nectarivorous bats (P. W. Freeman and C. A. Lemen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, unpublished data) with a slim piezo-resistive sensor (Freeman and Lemen 2008). We ran a regression of log 10 -transformed body mass (g) to maximum bite force (N) using SPSS.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Puncture‐Resistance of Gloves for Handling Bats

Freeman

Lemen

2009

J Wildl Manag

Self Cite

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We quantified protection given by a variety of gloves against bat bites by using steel indenters to simulate teeth and measuring forces needed to puncture the gloves. Level of protection given by gloves was compared to expected bite forces and tooth sharpness of bats. Cotton, plastic‐coated synthetic fabric, and proprietary materials advertised as puncture‐ and cut‐resistant were easy to penetrate compared to leather gloves. Split leather gives the highest level of protection, but with reduced dexterity. These are best for handling larger bats (>40 g) or if higher safety is preferred. Deerskin gives reasonable protection without much loss in dexterity for handling bats <40 g.

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“…In three publications on mammals, based on specimen size, substrates consisted of combinations of metal, hard plastic and leather (e.g. Freeman and Lemen, 2008). In one case (Henningsen and Irschick, 2012), the authors state that the specimens bit on the padded ends of steel bite plates but do not indicate what material comprised the…”

Section: Biting Substratementioning

confidence: 99%

Reliable quantification of bite-force performance requires use of appropriate biting substrate and standardization of bite out-lever

Lappin

Jones

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Bite-force performance is an ecologically important measure of whole-organism performance that shapes dietary breadth and feeding strategies and, in some taxa, determines reproductive success. It also is a metric that is crucial to testing and evaluating biomechanical models. We reviewed nearly 100 published studies of a range of taxa that incorporate direct in vivo measurements of bite force. Problematically, methods of data collection and processing vary considerably among studies. In particular, there is little consensus on the appropriate substrate to use on the biting surface of force transducers. In addition, the bite out-lever, defined as the distance from the fulcrum (i.e. jaw joint) to the position along the jawline at which the jaws engage the transducer, is rarely taken into account. We examined the effect of bite substrate and bite out-lever on biteforce estimates in a diverse sample of lizards. Results indicate that both variables have a significant impact on the accuracy of measurements. Maximum bite force is significantly greater using leather as the biting substrate compared with a metal substrate. Lessforceful bites on metal are likely due to inhibitory feedback from mechanoreceptors that prevent damage to the feeding apparatus. Standardization of bite out-lever affected which trial produced maximum performance for a given individual. Indeed, maximum bite force is usually underestimated without standardization because it is expected to be greatest at the minimum out-lever (i.e. back of the jaws), which in studies is rarely targeted with success. We assert that future studies should use a pliable substrate, such as leather, and use appropriate standardization for bite out-lever.

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Measuring Bite Force in Small Mammals with a Piezo-resistive Sensor

Cited by 62 publications

References 11 publications

An Improved Technique Using Dental Prostheses for Field Quantification of the Force Required by Primates for the Dental Penetration of Fruit

An Improved Technique Using Dental Prostheses for Field Quantification of the Force Required by Primates for the Dental Penetration of Fruit

Puncture‐Resistance of Gloves for Handling Bats

Reliable quantification of bite-force performance requires use of appropriate biting substrate and standardization of bite out-lever

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