Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind
Background: Albatrosses and other large seabirds use dynamic soaring to gain sufficient energy from the wind to travel large distances rapidly and with little apparent effort. The recent development of miniature bird-borne tracking devices now makes it possible to explore the physical and biological...
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Language: | English |
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BioMed Central
2018
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Online Access: | https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/1/149428.pdf |
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:149428 2023-05-15T16:00:58+02:00 Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. Phillips, Richard A. 2018-03 text https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/1/149428.pdf en eng BioMed Central https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/1/149428.pdf Richardson, P. L., Wakefield, E. D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/31199.html> and Phillips, R. A. (2018) Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind. Movement Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Movement_Ecology.html>, 6, 3. (doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9>) (PMID:29556395) (PMCID:PMC5840797) cc_by_4 CC-BY Articles PeerReviewed 2018 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9 2022-09-22T22:13:47Z Background: Albatrosses and other large seabirds use dynamic soaring to gain sufficient energy from the wind to travel large distances rapidly and with little apparent effort. The recent development of miniature bird-borne tracking devices now makes it possible to explore the physical and biological implications of this means of locomotion in detail. Here we use GPS tracking and concurrent reanalyzed wind speed data to model the flight performance of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans soaring over the Southern Ocean. We investigate the extent to which flight speed and performance of albatrosses is facilitated or constrained by wind conditions encountered during foraging trips. Results: We derived simple equations to model observed albatross ground speed as a function of wind speed and relative wind direction. Ground speeds of the tracked birds in the along-wind direction varied primarily by wind-induced leeway, which averaged 0.51 (± 0.02) times the wind speed at a reference height of 5 m. By subtracting leeway velocity from ground velocity, we were able to estimate airspeed (the magnitude of the bird’s velocity through the air). As wind speeds increased from 3 to 18 m/s, the airspeed of wandering albatrosses flying in an across-wind direction increased by 0.42 (± 0.04) times the wind speed (i.e. ~ 6 m/s). At low wind speeds, tracked birds increased their airspeed in upwind flight relative to that in downwind flight. At higher wind speeds they apparently limited their airspeeds to a maximum of around 20 m/s, probably to keep the forces on their wings in dynamic soaring well within tolerable limits. Upwind airspeeds were nearly constant and downwind leeway increased with wind speed. Birds therefore achieved their fastest upwind ground speeds (~ 9 m/s) at low wind speeds (~ 3 m/s). Conclusions: This study provides insights into which flight strategies are optimal for dynamic soaring. Our results are consistent with the prediction that the optimal range speed of albatrosses is higher in headwind than tailwind ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Diomedea exulans Southern Ocean Wandering Albatross University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Southern Ocean Movement Ecology 6 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
English |
description |
Background: Albatrosses and other large seabirds use dynamic soaring to gain sufficient energy from the wind to travel large distances rapidly and with little apparent effort. The recent development of miniature bird-borne tracking devices now makes it possible to explore the physical and biological implications of this means of locomotion in detail. Here we use GPS tracking and concurrent reanalyzed wind speed data to model the flight performance of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans soaring over the Southern Ocean. We investigate the extent to which flight speed and performance of albatrosses is facilitated or constrained by wind conditions encountered during foraging trips. Results: We derived simple equations to model observed albatross ground speed as a function of wind speed and relative wind direction. Ground speeds of the tracked birds in the along-wind direction varied primarily by wind-induced leeway, which averaged 0.51 (± 0.02) times the wind speed at a reference height of 5 m. By subtracting leeway velocity from ground velocity, we were able to estimate airspeed (the magnitude of the bird’s velocity through the air). As wind speeds increased from 3 to 18 m/s, the airspeed of wandering albatrosses flying in an across-wind direction increased by 0.42 (± 0.04) times the wind speed (i.e. ~ 6 m/s). At low wind speeds, tracked birds increased their airspeed in upwind flight relative to that in downwind flight. At higher wind speeds they apparently limited their airspeeds to a maximum of around 20 m/s, probably to keep the forces on their wings in dynamic soaring well within tolerable limits. Upwind airspeeds were nearly constant and downwind leeway increased with wind speed. Birds therefore achieved their fastest upwind ground speeds (~ 9 m/s) at low wind speeds (~ 3 m/s). Conclusions: This study provides insights into which flight strategies are optimal for dynamic soaring. Our results are consistent with the prediction that the optimal range speed of albatrosses is higher in headwind than tailwind ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. Phillips, Richard A. |
spellingShingle |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. Phillips, Richard A. Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
author_facet |
Richardson, Philip L. Wakefield, Ewan D. Phillips, Richard A. |
author_sort |
Richardson, Philip L. |
title |
Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
title_short |
Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
title_full |
Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
title_fullStr |
Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
title_sort |
flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind |
publisher |
BioMed Central |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/1/149428.pdf |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Diomedea exulans Southern Ocean Wandering Albatross |
genre_facet |
Diomedea exulans Southern Ocean Wandering Albatross |
op_relation |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/149428/1/149428.pdf Richardson, P. L., Wakefield, E. D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/31199.html> and Phillips, R. A. (2018) Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind. Movement Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Movement_Ecology.html>, 6, 3. (doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9>) (PMID:29556395) (PMCID:PMC5840797) |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9 |
container_title |
Movement Ecology |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766396976182591488 |