Dave Ellerby
Assistant Professor of Biology
Wellesley College
Department of Biological Sciences
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481
email: dellerby@wellesley.edu
Tel: 781 283 3073
Fax: 781283 3642
Background:
Research Fellow, Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, Northeastern University
Ph.D. University of Leeds, United Kingdom
B.Sc. University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Courses:
BISC 109 – Human Biology
BISC 111 – Introductory Organismal Biology
BISC 302 – Animal Physiology
Research interests:
My research is primarily focused on how animals use muscle to power
locomotion. Locomotion occupies a significant proportion of an animal’s
daily activity pattern and the high rate of energy expenditure involved
means that few aspects of an animal’s physiology, ecology and
behavior are unaffected by its demands.
Previous work has included measurements of the mechanical properties
and performance of muscle tissue, and the metabolic costs associated with locomotion.
I have worked with both vertebrates and invertebrates, and investigated systems
within the three major locomotory modes, swimming, terrestrial locomotion and
flight.
Studies of animal locomotion have tended to fall into two categories:
those that focus on externally measurable parameters such as oxygen
consumption and force generation; and those that measure the characteristics
of internal systems such as muscle and tendon. A major aim of work
in the lab is to combine these approaches and study locomotory systems
in an integrated way.
Collaborators:
Graham Askew, University of Leeds, UK
Richard L. Marsh, Northeastern University
Barbara A. Block, Stanford University
Peter Davie, Charles Sturt University, Australia
Publications:
Marsh RL, Ellerby DJ. (2006). Partitioning locomotor energy
use among and
within muscles - Muscle blood flow as a measure of muscle oxygen
consumption . J. Exp. Biol. 209, 2385-2394
Marsh RL, Ellerby DJ, Henry HT, and Rubenson, J. (2006). The energetic
costs of trunk and distal-limb loading during walking and running in
guinea fowl Numida meleagris I. Organismal metabolism and biomechanics
.
J. Exp. Biol. 209, 2050-2063
Ellerby DJ, Marsh RL. (2006). The energetic costs of trunk and distal-limb
loading during walking and running in guinea fowl Numida meleagris
II.
Muscle energy use as indicated by blood flow. . J. Exp. Biol. 209,
2064-2075.
HT, Ellerby DJ, Marsh RL (2005). Performance of guinea fowl Numida meleagris during jumping requires storage and release of elastic energy. J. Exp. Biol. 2005 208: 3293-3302. (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Henry HT, Carr JA, Buchanan CI, Marsh RL. (2005). Blood flow in guinea fowl Numida meleagris as an indicator of energy expenditure by individual muscles during walking and running. J. Physiol, (London) 564: 631-648 (pdf)
Wagner H, Siebert T, Ellerby DJ, Marsh RL (2005) ISOFIT: a model-based method to measure muscle-tendon properties simultaneously. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology 4: 10-19
Marsh RL, Ellerby DJ, Carr JA, Henry HT, Buchanan CI (2004). Partitioning the energetics of walking and running: Swinging the limbs is expensive. Science 303: 80-83 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Cleary ME, Marsh RL, Buchanan CI (2003). Measurement of maximum oxygen consumption in guinea fowl Numida meleagris indicates that birds and mammals display a similar diversity of aerobic scopes during running. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 76: 695-703 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Spierts ILY, Altringham JD (2001). Fast muscle function in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) during aquatic and terrestrial locomotion. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 2231-2238 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Altringham JD (2001). Spatial variation in fast muscle function of the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss during fast-starts and sprinting. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 2239-2250 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Spierts ILY, Altringham JD (2001). Slow muscle power output of yellow- and silver-phase European eels (Anguilla anguilla L.): Changes in muscle performance prior to migration. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 1369-1379 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Altringham JD, Williams T, Block BA (2000). Slow muscle function of Pacific bonito (Sarda chiliensis) during steady swimming. J. Exp. Biol. 203: 2001-2013 (pdf)
Altringham JD, Ellerby DJ (1999). Fish swimming: Patterns in muscle function. J. Exp. Biol. 202: 3397-3403 (pdf)
Ellerby DJ, Ennos AR (1998). Resistances to fluid flow of model xylem vessels with simple and scalariform perforation plates. J. Exp. Bot. 49: 979-985 (pdf)
Other interests:
Grimsby Town Football Club
The England and Wales Cricket Board
England Rugby Football Union
Date created: December 12, 2005
Modified: October 2, 2006
Maintained by Marcy Thomas
mthomas@wellesley.edu