Morphological evolution of bird wings follows a mechanical sensitivity gradient determined by the aerodynamics of flapping flight

Rader, Jonathan A.; Hedrick, Tyson L.

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43108-2

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 75 publications

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“…This suggests that such descriptors will continue to have a strong role in comparative inference, including on static specimens. It is increasingly feasible to measure functionally critical three-dimensional shapes, such as wing camber, in static specimens ( Rader and Hedrick, 2023 ). As we observed here, wings assume a roughly similar size and shape during much of the stroke cycle and between successive cycles ( Table S1 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

Skandalis,

Baliga,

Goller

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Animals exhibit an abundant diversity of forms, and this diversity is even more evident when considering animals that can change shape on demand. The evolution of flexibility contributes to aspects of performance from propulsive efficiency to environmental navigation. It is, however, challenging to quantify and compare body parts that, by their nature, dynamically vary in shape over many time scales. Commonly, body configurations are tracked by labelled markers and quantified parametrically through conventional measures of size and shape (descriptor approach) or non-parametrically through data-driven analyses that broadly capture spatiotemporal deformation patterns (shape variable approach). We developed a weightless marker tracking technique and combined these analytic approaches to study wing morphological flexibility in hoverfeeding Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna). Four shape variables explained >95% of typical stroke cycle wing shape variation and were broadly correlated with specific conventional descriptors like wing twist and area. Moreover, shape variables decomposed wing deformations into pairs of in- and out-of-plane components at integer multiples of the stroke frequency. This property allowed us to identify spatiotemporal deformation profiles characteristic of hoverfeeding with experimentally imposed kinematic constraints, including through shape variables explaining <10% of typical shape variation. Hoverfeeding in front of a visual barrier restricted stroke amplitude and elicited increased stroke frequencies together with in- and out-of-plane deformations throughout the stroke cycle. Lifting submaximal loads increased stroke amplitudes at similar stroke frequencies together with prominent in-plane deformations during the upstroke and pronation. Our study highlights how spatially and temporally distinct changes in wing shape can contribute to agile fluidic locomotion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

Skandalis,

Baliga,

Goller

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Structure, function and formation of the amniote skin pattern

Desmarquet-Trin Dinh,

Manceau

2025

Developmental Biology

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The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

Skandalis

Baliga

Goller

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Animals exhibit rich diversity in form, including in tissues whose function depends on deforming. In fluidic locomotion, deformations contribute to aspects of performance ranging from propulsive efficiency to environmental navigation, but it is challenging to quantify and compare dynamic morphological variation. There are many possible ways to quantify shape but their correspondence to dynamic variation among distinct behaviours is unclear. We studied dynamic wing shape variation of hummingbirds hoverfeeding during a set of flight challenges in order to quantify the principal axes of shape variation (shape variables) and their relationships to conventional descriptors of wing shape like wing twist and area. The first four shape variables explained >95% of the dynamical variation in wing shape and decomposed shape changes into in- and out-of-plane components at integer multiples of the wing beat frequency. To varying degrees, these shape variables were interpretable as aspects of conventional two- and three-dimensional morphology, particularly the dominant contributions of wing twisting (~80% of shape variation) and area changes (~10% of shape variation). However, variation in wing morphology among behaviours was not predicted by each shape variable's explained variance, but instead by stroke cycle subintervals associated with specific shape changes. We identified pronounced out-of-plane deformations throughout the stroke cycle while hoverfeeding in front of a visual barrier, whereas in-plane deformations during the upstroke and pronation were especially prominent during submaximum load lifting. Our study highlights the complexity of shape changes in biological tissues during active behaviour, and how dynamic morphology contributes to agile fluidic locomotion.

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Morphological evolution of bird wings follows a mechanical sensitivity gradient determined by the aerodynamics of flapping flight

Cited by 6 publications

References 75 publications

The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

Structure, function and formation of the amniote skin pattern

The spatiotemporal richness of hummingbird wing deformations

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