The cost of incline locomotion in ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) of different sizes

It is well established that the metabolic cost of horizontal locomotion decreases as a regular function of animal body mass, regardless of body form and phylogeny. How body size affects the cost of incline exercise remains much less clear. Studies on vertebrates have led to the hypotheses that the cost of vertical work is independent of body mass and that the added cost of locomoting on inclines is lower for small animals. Studies on vertebrates...