Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic
The power expenditure of flapping flight in birds is characterised by a U-shaped function of speed through the air. From this relationship and the assumption of limited power available from flight muscles, it is possible to predict changes in the birds' airspeed in relation to external factors...
Published in: | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/145512 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:2e9ebdd8-f2fd-4a76-9b82-704535d51a49 2023-05-15T15:00:50+02:00 Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic Hedenström, Anders Alerstam, Thomas Green, Martin Gudmundsson, GA 2002 https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/145512 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 eng eng Springer https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/145512 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 wos:000178267400006 scopus:0036765042 Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology; 52(4), pp 308-317 (2002) ISSN: 1432-0762 Biological Sciences Ecology contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2002 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 2023-02-01T23:32:33Z The power expenditure of flapping flight in birds is characterised by a U-shaped function of speed through the air. From this relationship and the assumption of limited power available from flight muscles, it is possible to predict changes in the birds' airspeed in relation to external factors such as wind. These predictions are derived from flight mechanical theory and optimality criteria concerning migration or transport flight economy. Using tracking radar we measured flight speeds of migrating birds at 12 sites along the Northwest Passage in arctic Canada. We analysed variation in airspeed (V-a) in relation to the wind effect (V-g-V-a, where V-g is the groundspeed), vertical speed (V-z), altitude (z) and the compensation for the amount of side wind (1/cosalpha, where cc is the angle between track and heading). We found significant effects on the variation in V-a for all four variables, revealed by multiple regression analysis, but the total variation explained was relatively small suggesting that other factors might be involved. The signs of the regression coefficients were as predicted, except for the effect of side wind where we found a negative relationship between V-a and 1/cosalpha, possibly because our sample included an unknown mixture of bird species. We also compiled information from the literature from studies reporting analyses of the effects of the four variables on V-a. Adjustment of V-a in relation to the wind effect seems nearly omnipresent among birds, while the effects of vertical speed and altitude have been reported surprisingly few times. An increased V-a with increasing alpha (and 1/cosalpha) has not been found yet, perhaps due to the lack of critical observation conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Northwest passage Lund University Publications (LUP) Arctic Canada Northwest Passage Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 52 4 308 317 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Hedenström, Anders Alerstam, Thomas Green, Martin Gudmundsson, GA Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology |
description |
The power expenditure of flapping flight in birds is characterised by a U-shaped function of speed through the air. From this relationship and the assumption of limited power available from flight muscles, it is possible to predict changes in the birds' airspeed in relation to external factors such as wind. These predictions are derived from flight mechanical theory and optimality criteria concerning migration or transport flight economy. Using tracking radar we measured flight speeds of migrating birds at 12 sites along the Northwest Passage in arctic Canada. We analysed variation in airspeed (V-a) in relation to the wind effect (V-g-V-a, where V-g is the groundspeed), vertical speed (V-z), altitude (z) and the compensation for the amount of side wind (1/cosalpha, where cc is the angle between track and heading). We found significant effects on the variation in V-a for all four variables, revealed by multiple regression analysis, but the total variation explained was relatively small suggesting that other factors might be involved. The signs of the regression coefficients were as predicted, except for the effect of side wind where we found a negative relationship between V-a and 1/cosalpha, possibly because our sample included an unknown mixture of bird species. We also compiled information from the literature from studies reporting analyses of the effects of the four variables on V-a. Adjustment of V-a in relation to the wind effect seems nearly omnipresent among birds, while the effects of vertical speed and altitude have been reported surprisingly few times. An increased V-a with increasing alpha (and 1/cosalpha) has not been found yet, perhaps due to the lack of critical observation conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hedenström, Anders Alerstam, Thomas Green, Martin Gudmundsson, GA |
author_facet |
Hedenström, Anders Alerstam, Thomas Green, Martin Gudmundsson, GA |
author_sort |
Hedenström, Anders |
title |
Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
title_short |
Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
title_full |
Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the Arctic |
title_sort |
adaptive variation of airspeed in relation to wind, altitude and climb rate by migrating birds in the arctic |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/145512 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Northwest Passage |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Northwest Passage |
genre |
Arctic Northwest passage |
genre_facet |
Arctic Northwest passage |
op_source |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology; 52(4), pp 308-317 (2002) ISSN: 1432-0762 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/145512 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 wos:000178267400006 scopus:0036765042 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-002-0504-0 |
container_title |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
container_volume |
52 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
308 |
op_container_end_page |
317 |
_version_ |
1766332888550211584 |