Vertical jumping performance of bonobo (Pan paniscus) suggests superior muscle properties.

Vertical jumping was used to assess muscle mechanical output in bonobos and comparisons were drawn to human jumping. Jump height, defined as the vertical displacement of the body centre of mass during the airborne phase, was determined for three bonobos of varying age and sex. All bonobos reached jump heights above 0.7 m, which greatly exceeds typical human maximal performance (0.3-0.4m). Jumps by one male bonobo (34 kg) and one human male (61.5 kg) were analysed using an inverse dynamics approach. Despite the difference in size, the mechanical output delivered by the bonobo and the human jumper during the push-off was similar: about 450 J, with a peak power output close to 3000 W. In the bonobo, most of the mechanical output was generated at the hips. To account for the mechanical output, the muscles actuating the bonobo's hips (directly and indirectly) must deliver muscle-mass-specific power and work output of 615 Wkg-1 and 92 Jkg-1, respectively. This was twice the output expected on the basis of muscle mass specific work and power in other jumping animals but seems physiologically possible. We suggest that the difference is due to a higher specific force (force per unit of cross-sectional area) in the bonobo.

Scaling and jumping: gravity loses grip on small jumpers.

There are several ways to quantify jumping performance, a common definition being the height gained by the body's centre of mass (CM) in the airborne phase. Under this definition, jump height is determined by take-off velocity. According to the existing literature on jumping and scaling, take-off velocity, and hence jumping performance is independent of size because the energy that differently sized geometrically scaled jumpers can generate with their muscles is proportional to their mass. In this article it is shown, based on a simple energy balance, that it is incorrect to presume that jump height does not depend on size. Contrary to common belief, size as such has does have an effect on take-off velocity, putting small jumpers at a mechanical advantage, as is shown analytically. To quantify the effect of size on take-off velocity, a generic jumper model was scaled geometrically and evaluated numerically. While a 70-kg jumper took off at 2.65 m/s and raised its CM by 0.36 m after take-off, a perfectly geometrically similar jumper of 0.7 g reached a take-off velocity of 3.46 m/s and raised its CM by 0.61 m. The reason for the better performance of small jumpers is their higher efficacy in transforming the energy generated by the actuators into energy due to vertical velocity of the CM. Considering the ecological and evolutionary relevance of different definitions of jump height, size-dependent efficacy might explain why habitual jumping is especially prominent among small animals such as insects.