Elastic pinch biomechanisms can yield consistent launch speeds regardless of projectile mass

Abstract

Energetic trade-offs are particularly pertinent to bio-ballistic systems which impart energy to projectiles exclusively during launch. We investigated such trade-offs in the spring-propelled seeds of Loropetalum chinense , Hamamelis virginiana and Fortunearia sinensis . Using similar seed-shooting mechanisms, fruits of these confamilial plants (Hamamelidaceae) span an order of magnitude in spring and seed mass. We expected that as seed mass increases, launch speed decreases. Instead, launch speed was relatively constant regardless of seed mass. We tested if fruits shoot larger seeds by storing more elastic potential energy (PE). Spring mass and PE increased as seed mass increased (in order of increasing seed mass: L. chinense , H. virginiana , F. sinensis ). As seed mass to spring mass ratio increased (ratios: H. virginiana = 0.50, F. sinensis = 0.65, L. chinense = 0.84), mass-specific PE storage increased. The conversion efficiency of PE to seed kinetic energy (KE) decreased with increasing fruit mass. Therefore, similar launch speeds across scales occurred because (i) larger fruits stored more PE and (ii) smaller fruits had higher mass-specific PE storage and improved PE to KE conversion. By examining integrated spring and projectile mechanics in our focal species, we revealed diverse, energetic scaling strategies relevant to spring-propelled systems navigating energetic trade-offs.