Scaling of bird wings and feathers for efficient flight

Sullivan, Tarah N.; Meyers, Marc A.; Arzt, Eduard

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aat4269

Cited by 38 publications

(41 citation statements)

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“…GGT for the 321 codon of ATGL with posterior probability ( PP ) of 1.000; and GCG for the 197 codon of ACOT7 with PP 1.000; Fig. 6), consistent with the previous claim 2,3 but not others 52 . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first genomic work favoring the hypothesis that the Neornithes MRCA was a non-sustained flyer.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Feathered flight, an extremely energetically demanding form of locomotion 1 , is one of the most remarkable features of birds, distinguishing them from all other vertebrates. The origin of flight is generally accepted to lie in the avian ancestors (bird-like dinosaurs), based on evidence of avian characteristics of feathered dinosaur fossils 2 , such as feathers, wings, endothermic physiology and a unique pulmonary system with nine air sacs 3,4 . These earliest birds flourished on Earth around 150 million years ago (Mya), but are now all extinct.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Convergent genomic signatures of flight loss in birds suggest a switch of main fuel

et al. 2019

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Flight loss in birds is as characteristic of the class Aves as flight itself. Although morphological and physiological differences are recognized in flight-degenerate bird species, their contributions to recurrent flight degeneration events across modern birds and underlying genetic mechanisms remain unclear. Here, in an analysis of 295 million nucleotides from 48 bird genomes, we identify two convergent sites causing amino acid changes in ATGL Ser321Gly and ACOT7 Ala197Val in flight-degenerate birds, which to our knowledge have not previously been implicated in loss of flight. Functional assays suggest that Ser321Gly reduces lipid hydrolytic ability of ATGL, and Ala197Val enhances acyl-CoA hydrolytic activity of ACOT7. Modeling simulations suggest a switch of main energy sources from lipids to carbohydrates in flight-degenerate birds. Our results thus suggest that physiological convergence plays an important role in flight degeneration, and anatomical convergence often invoked may not.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergent genomic signatures of flight loss in birds suggest a switch of main fuel

et al. 2019

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“…Though perhaps unsurprising for some features (e.g., foot length), we would expect the ratio of flipper length to mass to be somewhat constrained (Sullivan et al, 2019). However, only 15% of the variation in flipper length was associated with variation in mass at fledging.…”

Section: Prediction 3: Energetic Trade-offsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Birds provide an interesting case study of adaptive growth because, while mobility is key to survival throughout all life stages, the shift from chicks to adults is often marked by a change in locomotory mode. All birds are relatively constrained in their adult form (e.g., wing-loading constraints: Sullivan et al, 2019), but their maturity at hatching (i.e., the altricial-precocial spectrum) and their growth speed and trajectory vary (Starck & Ricklefs, 1998). To survive to fledge, chicks must optimize how they allocate energy among the growth of skeletal elements, the maturation of tissues, and the deposition of fat reserves (Starck & Ricklefs, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feet first: Adaptive growth in magellanic penguin chicks

Gownaris

Boersma

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Wing morphology has increased importance for species relationships with the environment because they dictate the type of flight, the energetics of flight performance, the life‐history strategies and the ecological patterns such as habitat use and foraging strategies in several spatial scales (Norberg & Rayner, 1987; Marinello & Bernard, 2014; Grilli et al ., 2017; Sullivan, Meyers & Arzt, 2019). For bats, RWL and AR influence ecological dynamics, from local to broad geographical scales, exemplified by their impacts on habitat, resource use and biogeography (Norberg & Rayner, 1987; Marinello & Bernard, 2014; Luo et al ., 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the relationship between climatic niches and dispersal through the lens of bat wing morphology

Varzinczak

2020

Journal of Zoology

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Climate, an important dimension within the classical Hutchinsonian niche concept, represents abiotic variables that influence species distributions. As dispersal allows species to move and colonize new regions with distinct climates, the role of dispersal traits in determining the occupation of particular climatic conditions is hypothesized to be important in climatic niche determination. I test this hypothesis by investigating the effects of interspecific variation in bat dispersal abilities due to wing morphology on species climatic niches. For 74 phyllostomid bat species, I collected their niche positions (i.e. mean value of occupied climatic conditions) along the climatic space as defined by phylogenetic principal components, as well as wing variables related to flight performance and aerodynamics. To test how wing variables are related to species positions along climatic niche axes, I used a framework of phylogenetic regressions and model selection by information theory. I found that wing morphology has an important and positive influence on bat species niche positions in the climatic space. Species with increased relative wing loading have better flight performance which likely allowed them to overcome geographical barriers to dispersal in order to colonize areas with distinct climatic regimes, thus influencing their climatic niche configurations. My results reconcile the morphological role bat wings have on local habitat use with their effects on dispersal and their importance in shaping climatic niches at broad scales. Overall, my findings reinforce the roles of dispersal and complementary life-history traits in determining species climatic niches. These results imply that traits linked to tracking suitable habitats may be important for adapting to climate change.

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Scaling of bird wings and feathers for efficient flight

Abstract: Why and how do birds as small as a hummingbird and as large as a condor fly? Research reveals new secrets.

Cited by 38 publications

References 38 publications

Convergent genomic signatures of flight loss in birds suggest a switch of main fuel

Convergent genomic signatures of flight loss in birds suggest a switch of main fuel

Feet first: Adaptive growth in magellanic penguin chicks

Understanding the relationship between climatic niches and dispersal through the lens of bat wing morphology

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