My research addresses the function and evolution of vertebrate musculoskeletal systems, with emphasis on interactions of the organism with its biological and physical environments. My experimental studies have focused on bony fishes, a group remarkably diverse in behavior and anatomy that provides multiple lines of inquiry into the workings of complex structure: specifically, the striated muscles and associated skeletal elements involved in feeding and locomotion. In analyzing the biomechanics of trophic behavior and the hydrodynamic interactions between animal propulsors and the fluid medium, I have undertaken an interdisciplinary approach, which is rooted in descriptive anatomy and traditional techniques of functional morphology, but which is extended through the development and use of new experimental methods.