Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs.
The flight ability of animals is restricted by the scaling effects imposed by physical and physiological factors. In comparisons of the power available from muscle and the mechanical power required to fly, it is predicted that the margin between the powers should decrease with body size and that fly...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2670537?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1828868315632631808 |
|---|---|
| author | Katsufumi Sato Kentaro Q Sakamoto Yutaka Watanuki Akinori Takahashi Nobuhiro Katsumata Charles-André Bost Henri Weimerskirch |
| author_facet | Katsufumi Sato Kentaro Q Sakamoto Yutaka Watanuki Akinori Takahashi Nobuhiro Katsumata Charles-André Bost Henri Weimerskirch |
| author_sort | Katsufumi Sato |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The flight ability of animals is restricted by the scaling effects imposed by physical and physiological factors. In comparisons of the power available from muscle and the mechanical power required to fly, it is predicted that the margin between the powers should decrease with body size and that flying animals have a maximum body size. However, predicting the absolute value of this upper limit has proven difficult because wing morphology and flight styles varies among species. Albatrosses and petrels have long, narrow, aerodynamically efficient wings and are considered soaring birds. Here, using animal-borne accelerometers, we show that soaring seabirds have two modes of flapping frequencies under natural conditions: vigorous flapping during takeoff and sporadic flapping during cruising flight. In these species, high and low flapping frequencies were found to scale with body mass (mass(-0.30) and mass(-0.18)) in a manner similar to the predictions from biomechanical flight models (mass(-1/3) and mass(-1/6)). These scaling relationships predicted that the maximum limits on the body size of soaring animals are a body mass of 41 kg and a wingspan of 5.1 m. Albatross-like animals larger than the limit will not be able to flap fast enough to stay aloft under unfavourable wind conditions. Our result therefore casts doubt on the flying ability of large, extinct pterosaurs. The largest extant soarer, the wandering albatross, weighs about 12 kg, which might be a pragmatic limit to maintain a safety margin for sustainable flight and to survive in a variable environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:29:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-42b703fedf4c44e8a5975d5960ee628d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T05:29:58Z |
| publishDate | 2009-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-42b703fedf4c44e8a5975d5960ee628d2022-12-21T23:58:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-01-0144e540010.1371/journal.pone.0005400Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs.Katsufumi SatoKentaro Q SakamotoYutaka WatanukiAkinori TakahashiNobuhiro KatsumataCharles-André BostHenri WeimerskirchThe flight ability of animals is restricted by the scaling effects imposed by physical and physiological factors. In comparisons of the power available from muscle and the mechanical power required to fly, it is predicted that the margin between the powers should decrease with body size and that flying animals have a maximum body size. However, predicting the absolute value of this upper limit has proven difficult because wing morphology and flight styles varies among species. Albatrosses and petrels have long, narrow, aerodynamically efficient wings and are considered soaring birds. Here, using animal-borne accelerometers, we show that soaring seabirds have two modes of flapping frequencies under natural conditions: vigorous flapping during takeoff and sporadic flapping during cruising flight. In these species, high and low flapping frequencies were found to scale with body mass (mass(-0.30) and mass(-0.18)) in a manner similar to the predictions from biomechanical flight models (mass(-1/3) and mass(-1/6)). These scaling relationships predicted that the maximum limits on the body size of soaring animals are a body mass of 41 kg and a wingspan of 5.1 m. Albatross-like animals larger than the limit will not be able to flap fast enough to stay aloft under unfavourable wind conditions. Our result therefore casts doubt on the flying ability of large, extinct pterosaurs. The largest extant soarer, the wandering albatross, weighs about 12 kg, which might be a pragmatic limit to maintain a safety margin for sustainable flight and to survive in a variable environment.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2670537?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Katsufumi Sato Kentaro Q Sakamoto Yutaka Watanuki Akinori Takahashi Nobuhiro Katsumata Charles-André Bost Henri Weimerskirch Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. PLoS ONE |
| title | Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. |
| title_full | Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. |
| title_fullStr | Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. |
| title_short | Scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs. |
| title_sort | scaling of soaring seabirds and implications for flight abilities of giant pterosaurs |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2670537?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katsufumisato scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT kentaroqsakamoto scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT yutakawatanuki scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT akinoritakahashi scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT nobuhirokatsumata scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT charlesandrebost scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs AT henriweimerskirch scalingofsoaringseabirdsandimplicationsforflightabilitiesofgiantpterosaurs |