Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds
Summary: Thermal soaring enables birds to perform cost-efficient flights. Although aerodynamic rules dictate the costs of flight, soaring species vary strongly in their morphologies and behavioral strategies. To quantify morphology-related differences in behavioral cross-country strategies, we analy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225003505 |
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| author | Göksel Keskin Olivier Duriez Pedro Lacerda Andrea Flack Máté Nagy |
| author_facet | Göksel Keskin Olivier Duriez Pedro Lacerda Andrea Flack Máté Nagy |
| author_sort | Göksel Keskin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Thermal soaring enables birds to perform cost-efficient flights. Although aerodynamic rules dictate the costs of flight, soaring species vary strongly in their morphologies and behavioral strategies. To quantify morphology-related differences in behavioral cross-country strategies, we analyzed a large dataset consisting of over a hundred individuals from 12 soaring species recorded with high-frequency tracking devices. We quantified their performance during thermalling and gliding flights and their overall cross-country behavior. Our results confirmed aerodynamic theory across the species; species with higher wing loading typically flew faster and consequently turned on a larger radius than lighter ones. Furthermore, the combination of circling radius and minimum sink speed determines the maximum benefits soaring birds obtain from thermals. Notably, we observed a spectrum of strategies regarding the adaptivity to thermal strength and uncovered a universal rule for cross-country strategies for all analyzed species which can provide inspiration for technical applications, like autopilot for robotic gliders. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8db3afd96e344cc838d821838c017b9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8db3afd96e344cc838d821838c017b92025-08-20T02:56:47ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-03-0128311209010.1016/j.isci.2025.112090Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birdsGöksel Keskin0Olivier Duriez1Pedro Lacerda2Andrea Flack3Máté Nagy4MTA-ELTE Lendület Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, HungaryCEFE, University Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, FranceMTA-ELTE Lendület Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, HungaryCollective Migration Group, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, GermanyMTA-ELTE Lendület Collective Behaviour Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Physics, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany; Corresponding authorSummary: Thermal soaring enables birds to perform cost-efficient flights. Although aerodynamic rules dictate the costs of flight, soaring species vary strongly in their morphologies and behavioral strategies. To quantify morphology-related differences in behavioral cross-country strategies, we analyzed a large dataset consisting of over a hundred individuals from 12 soaring species recorded with high-frequency tracking devices. We quantified their performance during thermalling and gliding flights and their overall cross-country behavior. Our results confirmed aerodynamic theory across the species; species with higher wing loading typically flew faster and consequently turned on a larger radius than lighter ones. Furthermore, the combination of circling radius and minimum sink speed determines the maximum benefits soaring birds obtain from thermals. Notably, we observed a spectrum of strategies regarding the adaptivity to thermal strength and uncovered a universal rule for cross-country strategies for all analyzed species which can provide inspiration for technical applications, like autopilot for robotic gliders.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225003505EcologyZoologyOrnithologyEvolutionary ecology |
| spellingShingle | Göksel Keskin Olivier Duriez Pedro Lacerda Andrea Flack Máté Nagy Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds iScience Ecology Zoology Ornithology Evolutionary ecology |
| title | Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| title_full | Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| title_fullStr | Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| title_short | Adaptive cross-country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| title_sort | adaptive cross country optimization strategies in thermal soaring birds |
| topic | Ecology Zoology Ornithology Evolutionary ecology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225003505 |
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