Research

Research interests

My main research interest concerns the structure/function relationships in Vertebrates and their implications in the Evolution. I am particularly interested in the origin of avian flight and chose a multidisciplinary approach to address this question.

I am currently the leader of a research group focusing on birdsong biomechanics at the Centre for Research and Interdisciplinarity.

To understand the shaping of bones as an answer to mechanical, structural, and environmental strains, I have conducted a biomechanical analysis of modern birds, during two challenging phases of flight, i.e. take-off and landing. For that, a 3D kinematic study of the skeleton, based on high-speed video and cineradiographic recordings, was coupled with dynamical data (Force platform and Particle Image Velocimetry data). This work has been initiated at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France, in collaboration with the University of Montana, USA.

It allowed me to quantify the relative contribution of wings and legs during take-off (Provini et al 2012a) and during landing (Provini et al 2014), and to demonstrate the key role of the legs to propel the trunk during take-off (Provini et al 2018)

To summarize a part of my PhD work, here is a short Video!!

Take-off of a Zebra finch recorded with synchronized high speed light and X-ray cameras

Streamlines generated by a zebra finch taking-off

In parallel, morphological analyses of the pelvic system (trunk and legs) of both living and fossil theropod dinosaurs, performed in explicit comparative framework, provided information on the evolution of the posterior locomotor system during the adaptation to flight.

Paleontological analyses of feathered theropod dinosaurs have been performed in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Beijing, China (Provini et al 2009).

Fossil of Sapeornis, a feathered dinosaur from the Cretaceous

To understand the morpho-functional trade-off that occurs in birds using different types of locomotion, I have compared the teal and quail locomotion and osteology. Interestingly, those two birds are able to walk and fly, but the teal is also able to paddle. I wanted to know if this specialized type of locomotion would have an effect on the walking ability of the teal and if its skeleton would differ from a non aquatic bird.

I have studied the 3D kinematics of the quail during walking (Abourachid et al 2011) and of the teal during walking and paddling (Provini et al 2012b), then I have compared the morphology of the tibiotarsus and tarsometatarsus of these two species to link the anatomical differences with the kinematic differences (Provini et al 2013).

Turns out the strange waddling gait of the teal is linked to its ability to both walk and paddle!

Tibiotarsus of the quail (a) and of the teal (b)

Because I am convinced that a multidisciplinary approach is the key to address complex questions, such as the question of the origin of flight, I worked as a postdoc in the Gipsa-Lab and the INRIA in Grenoble, France to learn about modelling and computer science.

I set up an experiment using Motion Capture System (Vicon), coupled with a Multicamera system to model a moving 3D shape. This approach allowed me to get familiar with several modelling softwares and approaches, such as Maya (Autodesk) and OpenSim.

To learn about the musculo-skeleton anatomy of a wide diversity of birds I worked as a post-doc in the University of São Paulo. Still in the context of the origin of flight, I explored the diversity of birds' anatomy to perform a morpho-functional analysis of avian hindlimbs, using CT-scan, geometric morphometrics and quantified dissections.

I am back at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, where I study the biomechanics of intra-oral water flow generation in fishes (IOFLOW ANR Project). It might seem strange to go from birds to fishes, but the questions I am trying to answer are still linked to functional morphology and I use the same methods and tools as those I learnt during my PhD and postdocs!

For example, I use X-ray videos to model the water flow inside the buccal cavity of fishes, combining XROMM and Fluid Dynamics, two methods I have previously used on birds.

Synchronized views of light and X-ray videos, with animated head bones and particles

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