Airflows redefine the cost of aerial transport in the wild
Abstract
Fuel economy matters to both animals and machines, as the cost of transport can determine where, when, and how far locomotion is possible. However, established estimates of these values for animal flight come from laboratories and treat the atmosphere as constant, even though free-flying animals routinely extract energy from atmospheric flows. Using high-resolution movement data, we estimate the cost of transport for 50 bird and bat species flying in the wild. Our results revise the classic ranking of locomotion costs, suggesting that flying can be cheaper than swimming though almost as costly as running, depending on interactions between physical environment, morphology, and behavior. Linking transport costs to atmospheric conditions provides a mechanistic basis for predicting how changing windscapes will reshape the energetics, movements, and distributions of flying animals.
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Authors: Martina Scacco, Jeroen Bert Smaers, Yuval Werber, Karen Aghababyan, Eneko Arrondo, Ortwin Aschenborn, Nyambayar Batbayar, Hans‐Günther Bauer, Paolo Becciu, Dmitrijs Boiko, André J. Botha, Julio Blas, Nik C. Cole, Ainara Cortés‐Avizanda, Sebastian M. Cruz, Teja Curk, John P. Davies, Dina K. N. Dechmann, Ben J. Dilley, José A. Donázar, Olivier Duriez, Ron Efrat, Kyle H. Elliott, Jakob Fahr, Wolfgang Fiedler, John Fieberg, Andrea Flack, Anna Gagliardo, П.М. Глазов, Martin U. Grüebler, Ohad Hatzofe, Urs G. Kormann, Andrea Kölzsch, Helmut Kruckenberg, Sergio Agustin Lambertucci, Monique MacKenzie, Qenan Maxhuni, Tomaž Mihelič, Flavio Monti, Inge Müller, Lourdes Mugica Valdés, Ran Nathan, Petra Sumasgutner, Allison G. L. Patterson, Ivan G. Pokrovsky, Peter G. Ryan, Patrick Scherler, D. Schmidt-Rothmund, Sara H. Schweitzer, José A. Sánchez‐Zapata, Nir Sapir, Stefan Schoombie, Andrea Sforzi, Sherub Sherub, Māris Strazds, Gareth J. Tate, Lindy Jane Thompson, Francis van Oordt, Mariëlle Liduine van Toor, Jonas Waldenström, Natalie Weber, Shannon Whelan, Hannah J. Williams, Martin C. Wikelski, David W. Wolfson, Kerri Wolter, Kamran Safi, Emily L. C. Shepard
Institutions: University of Minnesota, Radboud University Nijmegen, Stony Brook University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Haifa, University of Cape Town, Universidad de Granada, University of Lausanne, Russian Academy of Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, McGill University, Swansea University, University of Pisa, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Research Council, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, University of St Andrews, Swiss Ornithological Institute, University of Konstanz, Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, University of Latvia, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Linnaeus University, Universitat de Miguel Hernández d'Elx, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université, University Clinical Center of Kosovo, Institute of Geography, University of Havana, Israel Antiquities Authority, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia, National Library of Latvia, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Galapagos (Belgium), Endangered Wildlife Trust, FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Israel Water Authority, Kosovo Telecom (Kosovo), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Museo di Storia Naturale della Maremma, Bat Conservation International