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Huang J, Feng H, Drake VA, Reynolds DR, Gao B, Chen F, Zhang G, Zhu J, Gao Y, Zhai B, Li G, Tian C, Huang B, Hu G, Chapman JW. Massive seasonal high-altitude migrations of nocturnal insects above the agricultural plains of East China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317646121. [PMID: 38648486 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317646121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Long-distance migrations of insects contribute to ecosystem functioning but also have important economic impacts when the migrants are pests or provide ecosystem services. We combined radar monitoring, aerial sampling, and searchlight trapping, to quantify the annual pattern of nocturnal insect migration above the densely populated agricultural lands of East China. A total of ~9.3 trillion nocturnal insect migrants (15,000 t of biomass), predominantly Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, and Diptera, including many crop pests and disease vectors, fly at heights up to 1 km above this 600 km-wide region every year. Larger migrants (>10 mg) exhibited seasonal reversal of movement directions, comprising northward expansion during spring and summer, followed by southward movements during fall. This north-south transfer was not balanced, however, with southward movement in fall 0.66× that of northward movement in spring and summer. Spring and summer migrations were strongest when the wind had a northward component, while in fall, stronger movements occurred on winds that allowed movement with a southward component; heading directions of larger insects were generally close to the track direction. These findings indicate adaptations leading to movement in seasonally favorable directions. We compare our results from China with similar studies in Europe and North America and conclude that ecological patterns and behavioral adaptations are similar across the Northern Hemisphere. The predominance of pests among these nocturnal migrants has severe implications for food security and grower prosperity throughout this heavily populated region, and knowledge of their migrations is potentially valuable for forecasting pest impacts and planning timely management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianrong Huang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Hongqiang Feng
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - V Alistair Drake
- School of Science, UNSW Canberra, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT 2610, Australia
- Institute for Applied Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia
| | - Don R Reynolds
- Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Chatham, Kent ME4 4 TB, United Kingdom
- Department of Computational and Analytical Sciences, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
| | - Boya Gao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Fajun Chen
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Guoyan Zhang
- Plant Protection and Quarantine Station of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Junsheng Zhu
- Shandong Agricultural Technology Extension Center, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Yuebo Gao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling, Jilin 136100, China
| | - Baoping Zhai
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Guoping Li
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Caihong Tian
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Bo Huang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Crop Pest Control, Key Laboratory for Integrated Crop Pests Management on Crops in Southern Region of North China, International Joint Research Laboratory for Crop Protection of Henan, No. 0 Entomological Radar Field Scientific Observation and Research Station of Henan Province, Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China
| | - Gao Hu
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
| | - Jason W Chapman
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210095, China
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2
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Hadjitofi A, Webb B. Dynamic antennal positioning allows honeybee followers to decode the dance. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1772-1779.e4. [PMID: 38479387 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
The honeybee waggle dance has been widely studied as a communication system, yet we know little about how nestmates assimilate the information needed to navigate toward the signaled resource. They are required to detect the dancer's orientation relative to gravity and duration of the waggle phase and translate this into a flight vector with a direction relative to the sun1 and distance from the hive.2,3 Moreover, they appear capable of doing so from varied, dynamically changing positions around the dancer. Using high-speed, high-resolution video, we have uncovered a previously unremarked correlation between antennal position and the relative body axes of dancer and follower bees. Combined with new information about antennal inputs4,5 and spatial encoding in the insect central complex,6,7 we show how a neural circuit first proposed to underlie path integration could be adapted to decoding the dance and acquiring the signaled information as a flight vector that can be followed to the resource. This provides the first plausible account of how the bee brain could support the interpretation of its dance language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hadjitofi
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK.
| | - Barbara Webb
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK.
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3
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Prech S, Groschner LN, Borst A. An open platform for visual stimulation of insects. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301999. [PMID: 38635686 PMCID: PMC11025907 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
To study how the nervous system processes visual information, experimenters must record neural activity while delivering visual stimuli in a controlled fashion. In animals with a nearly panoramic field of view, such as flies, precise stimulation of the entire visual field is challenging. We describe a projector-based device for stimulation of the insect visual system under a microscope. The device is based on a bowl-shaped screen that provides a wide and nearly distortion-free field of view. It is compact, cheap, easy to assemble, and easy to operate using the included open-source software for stimulus generation. We validate the virtual reality system technically and demonstrate its capabilities in a series of experiments at two levels: the cellular, by measuring the membrane potential responses of visual interneurons; and the organismal, by recording optomotor and fixation behavior of Drosophila melanogaster in tethered flight. Our experiments reveal the importance of stimulating the visual system of an insect with a wide field of view, and we provide a simple solution to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Prech
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Lukas N. Groschner
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Martinsried, Germany
- Gottfried Schatz Research Center, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Alexander Borst
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Martinsried, Germany
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4
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Bamford C, Swiney P, Nix J, Hedrick TL, Raghav V. Aerodynamic response of a red-tailed hawk to discrete transverse gusts. Bioinspir Biomim 2024; 19:036011. [PMID: 38467074 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ad3264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
A limiting factor in the design of smaller size uncrewed aerial vehicles is their inability to navigate through gust-laden environments. As a result, engineers have turned towards bio-inspired engineering approaches for gust mitigation techniques. In this study, the aerodynamics of a red-tailed hawk's response to variable-magnitude discrete transverse gusts was investigated. The hawk was flown in an indoor flight arena instrumented by multiple high-speed cameras to quantify the 3D motion of the bird as it navigated through the gust. The hawk maintained its flapping motion across the gust in all runs; however, it encountered the gust at different points in the flapping pattern depending on the run and gust magnitude. The hawk responded with a downwards pitching motion of the wing, decreasing the wing pitch angle to between -20∘and -5∘, and remained in this configuration until gust exit. The wing pitch data was then applied to a lower-order aerodynamic model that estimated lift coefficients across the wing. In gusts slower than the forward flight velocity (low gust ratio), the lift coefficient increases at a low-rate, to a maximum of around 2-2.5. In gusts faster than the forward flight velocity (high gust ratio), the lift coefficient initially increased rapidly, before increasing at a low-rate to a value around 4-5. In both regimes, the hawk's observed height change due to gust interaction was similar (and small), despite larger estimated lift coefficients over the high gust regime. This suggests another mitigation factor apart from the wing response is present. One potential factor is the tail pitching response observed here, which prior work has shown serves to mitigate pitch disturbances from gusts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin Bamford
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America
| | - Paul Swiney
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America
| | - Jack Nix
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America
| | - Tyson L Hedrick
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States of America
| | - Vrishank Raghav
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States of America
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5
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Glass JR, Harrison JF. A thermal performance curve perspective explains decades of disagreements over how air temperature affects the flight metabolism of honey bees. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb246926. [PMID: 38487901 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.246926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
While multiple studies have shown that honey bees and some other flying insects lower their flight metabolic rates when flying at high air temperatures, critics have suggested such patterns result from poor experimental methods as, theoretically, air temperature should not appreciably affect aerodynamic force requirements. Here, we show that apparently contradictory studies can be reconciled by considering the thermal performance curve of flight muscle. We show that prior studies that found no effects of air temperature on flight metabolism of honey bees achieved flight muscle temperatures that were near or on equal, opposite sides of the thermal performance curve. Honey bees vary their wing kinematics and metabolic heat production to thermoregulate, and how air temperature affects the flight metabolic rate of honey bees is predictable using a non-linear thermal performance perspective of honey bee flight muscle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan R Glass
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Jon F Harrison
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, AZ 85281, USA
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6
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Melis JM, Siwanowicz I, Dickinson MH. Machine learning reveals the control mechanics of an insect wing hinge. Nature 2024; 628:795-803. [PMID: 38632396 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07293-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Insects constitute the most species-rich radiation of metazoa, a success that is due to the evolution of active flight. Unlike pterosaurs, birds and bats, the wings of insects did not evolve from legs1, but are novel structures that are attached to the body via a biomechanically complex hinge that transforms tiny, high-frequency oscillations of specialized power muscles into the sweeping back-and-forth motion of the wings2. The hinge consists of a system of tiny, hardened structures called sclerites that are interconnected to one another via flexible joints and regulated by the activity of specialized control muscles. Here we imaged the activity of these muscles in a fly using a genetically encoded calcium indicator, while simultaneously tracking the three-dimensional motion of the wings with high-speed cameras. Using machine learning, we created a convolutional neural network3 that accurately predicts wing motion from the activity of the steering muscles, and an encoder-decoder4 that predicts the role of the individual sclerites on wing motion. By replaying patterns of wing motion on a dynamically scaled robotic fly, we quantified the effects of steering muscle activity on aerodynamic forces. A physics-based simulation incorporating our hinge model generates flight manoeuvres that are remarkably similar to those of free-flying flies. This integrative, multi-disciplinary approach reveals the mechanical control logic of the insect wing hinge, arguably among the most sophisticated and evolutionarily important skeletal structures in the natural world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan M Melis
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Igor Siwanowicz
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Michael H Dickinson
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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7
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Harvey C. Joint extension speed dictates bio-inspired morphing trajectories for optimal longitudinal flight dynamics. J R Soc Interface 2024; 21:20230734. [PMID: 38654630 PMCID: PMC11040252 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Avian wing morphing allows dynamic, active control of complex flight manoeuvres. Previous linear time-invariant (LTI) models have quantified the effect of varying fixed wing configurations but the time-dependent effects of morphing between different configurations is not well understood. To fill this gap, I implemented a linear parameter-varying (LPV) model for morphing wing gull flight. This approach models the wing joint angles as scheduled parameters and accounts for nonlinear kinematic and gravitational effects while interpolating between LTI models at discrete trim points. With the resulting model, I investigated the longitudinal response associated with various joint extension trajectories. By optimizing the extension trajectory for four independent objectives (speed and pitch angle overshoot, speed rise time and pitch angle settling time), I found that the extension trajectory inherent to the gull wing does not guarantee an optimal response but may provide a sufficient response with a simpler mechanical implementation. Furthermore, the results indicated that gulls likely require extension speed feedback. This morphing LPV model provides insights into underlying control mechanisms, which may allow for avian-like flight in future highly manoeuvrable uncrewed aerial vehicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Harvey
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA95616, USA
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8
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Białkowski J, Rossa R, Ziemiakowicz A, Gohli J, Dymek J, Goczał J. Evolution, types, and distribution of flight control devices on wings and elytra in bark beetles. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6999. [PMID: 38523182 PMCID: PMC10961309 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57658-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Gaining the ability to fly actively was a ground-breaking moment in insect evolution, providing an unprecedented advantage over other arthropods. Nevertheless, active flight was a costly innovation, requiring the development of wings and flight muscles, the provision of sufficient energetic resources, and a complex flight control system. Although wings, flight muscles, and the energetic budget of insects have been intensively studied in the last decades, almost nothing is known regarding the flight-control devices of many crucial insect groups, especially beetles (Coleoptera). Here, we conducted a phylogenetic-informed analysis of flight-related mechanosensors in 28 species of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae, Platypodinae), an economically and ecologically important group of insects characterized by striking differences in dispersal abilities. The results indicated that beetle flight apparatus is equipped with different functional types of mechanosensors, including strain- and flow-encoding sensilla. We found a strong effect of allometry on the number of mechanosensors, while no effect of relative wing size (a proxy of flight investment) was identified. Our study constitutes the first step to understanding the drivers and constraints of the evolution of flight-control devices in Coleoptera, including bark beetles. More research, including a quantitative neuroanatomical analysis of beetle wings, should be conducted in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Białkowski
- Department of Forest Ecosystems Protection, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
| | - Robert Rossa
- Department of Forest Ecosystems Protection, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
| | - Anna Ziemiakowicz
- Department of Forest Ecosystems Protection, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jostein Gohli
- Division of Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Jakub Dymek
- Department of Biology and Cell Imaging, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jakub Goczał
- Department of Forest Ecosystems Protection, University of Agriculture in Krakow, 29 Listopada 54, 31-425, Kraków, Poland.
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9
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Van de Schoot E, Merckx T, Ebert D, Wesselingh RA, Altermatt F, Van Dyck H. Evolutionary change in flight-to-light response in urban moths comes with changes in wing morphology. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20230486. [PMID: 38471566 PMCID: PMC10932693 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Moths and other insects are attracted by artificial light sources. This flight-to-light behaviour disrupts their general activity focused on finding resources, such as mating partners, and increases predation risk. It thus has substantial fitness costs. In illuminated urban areas, spindle ermine moths Yponomeuta cagnagella were reported to have evolved a reduced flight-to-light response. Yet, the specific mechanism remained unknown, and was hypothesized to involve either changes in visual perception or general flight ability or overall mobility traits. Here, we test whether spindle ermine moths from urban and rural populations-with known differences in flight-to-light responses-differ in flight-related morphological traits. Urban individuals were found to have on average smaller wings than rural moths, which in turn correlated with a lower probability of being attracted to an artificial light source. Our finding supports the reduced mobility hypothesis, which states that reduced mobility in urban areas is associated with specific morphological changes in the flight apparatus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas Merckx
- WILD, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050, Belgium
| | - Dieter Ebert
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Earth & Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium
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10
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Lempidakis E, Ross AN, Quetting M, Krishnan K, Garde B, Wikelski M, Shepard ELC. Turbulence causes kinematic and behavioural adjustments in a flapping flier. J R Soc Interface 2024; 21:20230591. [PMID: 38503340 PMCID: PMC10950466 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Turbulence is a widespread phenomenon in the natural world, but its influence on flapping fliers remains little studied. We assessed how freestream turbulence affected the kinematics, flight effort and track properties of homing pigeons (Columba livia), using the fine-scale variations in flight height as a proxy for turbulence levels. Birds showed a small increase in their wingbeat amplitude with increasing turbulence (similar to laboratory studies), but this was accompanied by a reduction in mean wingbeat frequency, such that their flapping wing speed remained the same. Mean kinematic responses to turbulence may therefore enable birds to increase their stability without a reduction in propulsive efficiency. Nonetheless, the most marked response to turbulence was an increase in the variability of wingbeat frequency and amplitude. These stroke-to-stroke changes in kinematics provide instantaneous compensation for turbulence. They will also increase flight costs. Yet pigeons only made small adjustments to their flight altitude, likely resulting in little change in exposure to strong convective turbulence. Responses to turbulence were therefore distinct from responses to wind, with the costs of high turbulence being levied through an increase in the variability of their kinematics and airspeed. This highlights the value of investigating the variability in flight parameters in free-living animals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew N. Ross
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | | | - Baptiste Garde
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Emily L. C. Shepard
- Biosciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
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11
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Song F, Yan Y, Sun J. Energy consumption during insect flight and bioinspiration for MAV design: A review. Comput Biol Med 2024; 170:108092. [PMID: 38325218 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The excellent biological characteristics of insects provide an important source of inspiration for designing micro air vehicles (MAVs). Insect flight is an incredibly complex and energy-intensive process. Unique insect flight muscles and contraction mechanisms enable flapping at high frequencies. Moreover, the metabolic rate during flight can reach hundreds of times the resting state. Understanding energy consumption during flight is crucial for designing efficient biomimetic aircraft. This paper summarizes the structures and contraction mechanisms of insect flight muscles, explores the underlying metabolic processes, and identifies methods for energy substrate identification and detection, and discusses inspiration for biomimetic MAV design. This paper reviews energy consumption during insect flight, promotes the understanding of insect bioenergetics, and applies this information to the design of MAVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fa Song
- Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, PR China
| | - Yongwei Yan
- Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, PR China
| | - Jiyu Sun
- Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, PR China.
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12
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Deetjen ME, Chin DD, Heers AM, Tobalske BW, Lentink D. Small deviations in kinematics and body form dictate muscle performances in the finely tuned avian downstroke. eLife 2024; 12:RP89968. [PMID: 38408118 PMCID: PMC10942624 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Avian takeoff requires peak pectoralis muscle power to generate sufficient aerodynamic force during the downstroke. Subsequently, the much smaller supracoracoideus recovers the wing during the upstroke. How the pectoralis work loop is tuned to power flight is unclear. We integrate wingbeat-resolved muscle, kinematic, and aerodynamic recordings in vivo with a new mathematical model to disentangle how the pectoralis muscle overcomes wing inertia and generates aerodynamic force during takeoff in doves. Doves reduce the angle of attack of their wing mid-downstroke to efficiently generate aerodynamic force, resulting in an aerodynamic power dip, that allows transferring excess pectoralis power into tensioning the supracoracoideus tendon to assist the upstroke-improving the pectoralis work loop efficiency simultaneously. Integrating extant bird data, our model shows how the pectoralis of birds with faster wingtip speed need to generate proportionally more power. Finally, birds with disproportionally larger wing inertia need to activate the pectoralis earlier to tune their downstroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc E Deetjen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford UniversityPalo AltoUnited States
| | - Diana D Chin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford UniversityPalo AltoUnited States
| | - Ashley M Heers
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford UniversityPalo AltoUnited States
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State UniversityLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Bret W Tobalske
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of MontanaMissoulaUnited States
| | - David Lentink
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford UniversityPalo AltoUnited States
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of GroningenGroningenNetherlands
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13
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Louis M. Drosophila flight: How flies control casts and surges. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R91-R94. [PMID: 38320480 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
In the absence of directional cues, most foraging animals explore space by turning and zigzagging in search of sensory information. Recent progress in the identification of the neural correlates of turns in flies offers exciting new perspectives on the evolution of neural circuits controlling fundamental aspects of orientation responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Louis
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
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14
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Ros IG, Omoto JJ, Dickinson MH. Descending control and regulation of spontaneous flight turns in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2024; 34:531-540.e5. [PMID: 38228148 PMCID: PMC10872223 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
The clumped distribution of resources in the world has influenced the pattern of foraging behavior since the origins of locomotion, selecting for a common search motif in which straight movements through resource-poor regions alternate with zig-zag exploration in resource-rich domains. For example, during local search, flying flies spontaneously execute rapid flight turns, called body saccades, but suppress these maneuvers during long-distance dispersal or when surging upstream toward an attractive odor. Here, we describe the key cellular components of a neural network in flies that generate spontaneous turns as well as a specialized pair of neurons that inhibits the network and suppresses turning. Using 2-photon imaging, optogenetic activation, and genetic ablation, we show that only four descending neurons appear sufficient to generate the descending commands to execute flight saccades. The network is organized into two functional units-one for right turns and one for left-with each unit consisting of an excitatory (DNae014) and an inhibitory (DNb01) neuron that project to the flight motor neuropil within the ventral nerve cord. Using resources from recently published connectomes of the fly, we identified a pair of large, distinct interneurons (VES041) that form inhibitory connections to all four saccade command neurons and created specific genetic driver lines for this cell. As predicted by its connectivity, activation of VES041 strongly suppresses saccades, suggesting that it promotes straight flight to regulate the transition between local search and long-distance dispersal. These results thus identify the key elements of a network that may play a crucial role in foraging ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivo G Ros
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Jaison J Omoto
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Michael H Dickinson
- Division of Biology and Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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15
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Fabian ST, Sondhi Y, Allen PE, Theobald JC, Lin HT. Why flying insects gather at artificial light. Nat Commun 2024; 15:689. [PMID: 38291028 PMCID: PMC10827719 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44785-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Explanations of why nocturnal insects fly erratically around fires and lamps have included theories of "lunar navigation" and "escape to the light". However, without three-dimensional flight data to test them rigorously, the cause for this odd behaviour has remained unsolved. We employed high-resolution motion capture in the laboratory and stereo-videography in the field to reconstruct the 3D kinematics of insect flights around artificial lights. Contrary to the expectation of attraction, insects do not steer directly toward the light. Instead, insects turn their dorsum toward the light, generating flight bouts perpendicular to the source. Under natural sky light, tilting the dorsum towards the brightest visual hemisphere helps maintain proper flight attitude and control. Near artificial sources, however, this highly conserved dorsal-light-response can produce continuous steering around the light and trap an insect. Our guidance model demonstrates that this dorsal tilting is sufficient to create the seemingly erratic flight paths of insects near lights and is the most plausible model for why flying insects gather at artificial lights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel T Fabian
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Yash Sondhi
- Institute for Environment, Department of Biology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33174, USA.
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
| | - Pablo E Allen
- Council on International Educational Exchange, Monteverde Apto, 43-5655, Costa Rica
| | - Jamie C Theobald
- Institute for Environment, Department of Biology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33174, USA
| | - Huai-Ti Lin
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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16
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Cellini B, Ferrero M, Mongeau JM. Drosophila flying in augmented reality reveals the vision-based control autonomy of the optomotor response. Curr Biol 2024; 34:68-78.e4. [PMID: 38113890 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
For walking, swimming, and flying animals, the optomotor response is essential to stabilize gaze. How flexible is the optomotor response? Classic work in Drosophila has argued that flies adapt flight control under augmented visual feedback conditions during goal-directed bar fixation. However, whether the lower-level, reflexive optomotor response can similarly adapt to augmented visual feedback (partially autonomous) or not (autonomous) over long timescales is poorly understood. To address this question, we developed an augmented reality paradigm to study the vision-based control autonomy of the yaw optomotor response of flying fruit flies (Drosophila). Flies were placed in a flight simulator, which permitted free body rotation about the yaw axis. By feeding back body movements in real time to a visual display, we augmented and inverted visual feedback. Thus, this experimental paradigm caused a constant visual error between expected and actual visual feedback to study potential adaptive visuomotor control. By combining experiments with control theory, we demonstrate that the optomotor response is autonomous during augmented reality flight bouts of up to 30 min, which exceeds the reported learning epoch during bar fixation. Agreement between predictions from linear systems theory and experimental data supports the notion that the optomotor response is approximately linear and time invariant within our experimental assay. Even under positive visual feedback, which revealed the stability limit of flies in augmented reality, the optomotor response was autonomous. Our results support a hierarchical motor control architecture in flies with fast and autonomous reflexes at the bottom and more flexible behavior at higher levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Cellini
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
| | - Marioalberto Ferrero
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Jean-Michel Mongeau
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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17
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Kou G, Wang Y, Ge S, Yin Y, Sun Y, Li D. Moderate mass loss enhances flight performance via alteration of flight kinematics and postures in a passerine bird. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb245862. [PMID: 37947199 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Many birds experience fluctuations in body mass throughout the annual life cycle. The flight efficiency hypothesis posits that adaptive mass loss can enhance avian flight ability. However, whether birds can increase additional wing loading following mass loss and how birds adjust flight kinematics and postures remain largely unexplored. We investigated physiological changes in body condition in breeding female Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus) through a dietary restriction experiment and determined the changes in flight kinematics and postures. Body mass decreased significantly, but the external maximum load and mass-corrected total load increased significantly after 3 days of dietary restriction. After 6 days of dietary restriction (DR6), hematocrit, pectoralis and hepatic fat content, take-off speed, theoretical maximum range speed and maximum power speed declined significantly. Notably, the load capacity and power margin remained unchanged relative to the control group. The wing stroke amplitude and relative downstroke duration were not affected by the interaction between diet restriction and extra load. Wing stroke amplitude significantly increased after DR6 treatment, while the relative downstroke duration significantly decreased. The stroke plane angle significantly increased after DR6 treatment only in the load-free condition. In addition, the sparrows adjusted their body angle and stroke plane angle in response to the extra load, but stroke amplitude and wingbeat frequency remained unchanged. Therefore, birds can maintain and even enhance their flight performance by adjusting flight kinematics and postures after a short-term mass loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanqun Kou
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Shiyong Ge
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Yuan Yin
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Yanfeng Sun
- Ocean College, Hebei Agricultural University, Qinhuangdao 066003, Hebei Province, China
| | - Dongming Li
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
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18
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Abstract
Animal flight uses metabolic energy at a higher rate than any other mode of locomotion. A relatively small proportion of the metabolic energy is converted into mechanical power; the remainder is given off as heat. Effective heat dissipation is necessary to avoid hyperthermia. In this study, we measured surface temperatures in lovebirds (Agapornis personatus) using infrared thermography and used heat transfer modelling to calculate heat dissipation by convection, radiation and conduction, before, during and after flight. The total non-evaporative rate of heat dissipation in flying birds was 12× higher than before flight and 19× higher than after flight. During flight, heat was largely dissipated by forced convection, via the exposed ventral wing areas, resulting in lower surface temperatures compared with birds at rest. When perched, both before and after exercise, the head and trunk were the main areas involved in dissipating heat. The surface temperature of the legs increased with flight duration and remained high on landing, suggesting that there was an increase in the flow of warmer blood to this region during and after flight. The methodology developed in this study to investigate how birds thermoregulate during flight could be used in future studies to assess the impact of climate change on the behavioural ecology of birds, particularly those species undertaking migratory flights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnès Lewden
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
- Univ Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, France
| | | | - Graham N. Askew
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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19
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Hufkens K, Meier CM, Evens R, Paredes JA, Karaardiç H, Vercauteren S, Van Gysel A, Fox JW, Pacheco CM, da Silva LP, Fernandes S, Henriques P, Elias G, Costa LT, Poot M, Kearsley L. Evaluating the effects of moonlight on the vertical flight profiles of three western palaearctic swifts. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230957. [PMID: 37909073 PMCID: PMC10618867 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested the presence of moonlight mediated behaviour in avian aerial insectivores, such as swifts. Here, we use the combined analysis of state-of-the-art activity logger data across three swift species, the common, pallid and alpine swifts, to quantify flight height and activity in responses to moonlight-driven crepuscular and nocturnal light conditions. Our results show a significant response in flight heights to moonlight illuminance for common and pallid swifts, i.e. when moon illuminance increased flight height also increased, while a moonlight-driven response is absent in alpine swifts. We show a weak relationship between night-time illuminance-driven responses and twilight ascending behaviour, suggesting a decoupling of both crepuscular and night-time behaviour. We suggest that swifts optimize their flight behaviour to adapt to favourable night-time light conditions, driven by light-responsive and size-dependent vertical insect stratification and weather conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen Hufkens
- BlueGreen Labs (bv), Kloetstraat 48, 9120 Melsele, Belgium
| | | | - Ruben Evens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Josefa Arán Paredes
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallestrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Falkenplatz 16, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Hakan Karaardiç
- Education Faculty, Math and Science Education Department, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Alanya, Turkey
| | | | | | | | - Carlos Miguel Pacheco
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO), InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Luis P. da Silva
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO), InBIO Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Sandra Fernandes
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Gonçalo Elias
- 44 Rua de São Pedro, Castelo de Vide 7320-163, Portugal
| | - Luís T. Costa
- Nature Returns, Av D Sebastião 101, 2825-408 Costa da Caparica, Portugal
| | - Martin Poot
- Martin Poot Ecology, Culemborg, The Netherlands
| | - Lyndon Kearsley
- BlueGreen Labs (bv), Kloetstraat 48, 9120 Melsele, Belgium
- Belgian Ornithological Research Association, Steenweg Hulst-Lessen 29, 9140 Temse, Belgium
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20
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Cerkvenik U, Belušič G. Drinking on the wing: water collection in polarotactic horseflies. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:943-954. [PMID: 37477716 PMCID: PMC10643286 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01657-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Many insects detect water bodies by observing the linearly polarised light which is reflected from the water surface. Polarotactic horseflies exhibit acrobatic manoeuvres above the water and are able to plunge on its surface, collect a droplet and fly away. This behaviour is extremely fast and has not yet been analysed. We recorded the flight patterns and kinematics of drinking horseflies using a pair of high-speed cameras. The animals of both sexes are attracted to water puddles where they make short, millisecond pitstops to collect a droplet of water that is then presumably drank "on the wing". Before the collection, the flies perform several low-altitude flybys above the puddle. After a few passes, the fly suddenly reverses its body orientation, decelerates, briefly touches the water surface and immediately flies away, usually with a droplet carried between its front legs. During the approach flight, the horseflies fly low but do not show any angular preference. Thus, they view the reflections from the sky, sun, or vegetation with a wide band of ventral ommatidia. Polarotaxis in drinking horseflies is a very robust visually guided behaviour, which operates at a broad range of intensities and various spectral compositions of reflected light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uroš Cerkvenik
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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21
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Pons A. The self-oscillation paradox in the flight motor of Drosophila melanogaster. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20230421. [PMID: 37963559 PMCID: PMC10645510 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tiny flying insects, such as Drosophila melanogaster, fly by flapping their wings at frequencies faster than their brains are able to process. To do so, they rely on self-oscillation: dynamic instability, leading to emergent oscillation, arising from muscle stretch-activation. Many questions concerning this vital natural instability remain open. Does flight motor self-oscillation necessarily lead to resonance-a state optimal in efficiency and/or performance? If so, what state? And is self-oscillation even guaranteed in a motor driven by stretch-activated muscle, or are there limiting conditions? In this work, we use data-driven models of wingbeat and muscle behaviour to answer these questions. Developing and leveraging novel analysis techniques, including symbolic computation, we establish a fundamental condition for motor self-oscillation common to a wide range of motor models. Remarkably, D. melanogaster flight apparently defies this condition: a paradox of motor operation. We explore potential resolutions to this paradox, and, within its confines, establish that the D. melanogaster flight motor is probably not resonant with respect to exoskeletal elasticity: instead, the muscular elasticity plays a dominant role. Contrary to common supposition, the stiffness of stretch-activated muscle is an obstacle to, rather than an enabler of, the operation of the D. melanogaster flight motor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arion Pons
- Division of Fluid Dynamics, Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
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22
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Mathejczyk TF, Babo ÉJ, Schönlein E, Grinda NV, Greiner A, Okrožnik N, Belušič G, Wernet MF. Behavioral responses of free-flying Drosophila melanogaster to shiny, reflecting surfaces. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:929-941. [PMID: 37796303 PMCID: PMC10643280 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01676-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Active locomotion plays an important role in the life of many animals, permitting them to explore the environment, find vital resources, and escape predators. Most insect species rely on a combination of visual cues such as celestial bodies, landmarks, or linearly polarized light to navigate or orient themselves in their surroundings. In nature, linearly polarized light can arise either from atmospheric scattering or from reflections off shiny non-metallic surfaces like water. Multiple reports have described different behavioral responses of various insects to such shiny surfaces. Our goal was to test whether free-flying Drosophila melanogaster, a molecular genetic model organism and behavioral generalist, also manifests specific behavioral responses when confronted with such polarized reflections. Fruit flies were placed in a custom-built arena with controlled environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, and light intensity). Flight detections and landings were quantified for three different stimuli: a diffusely reflecting matt plate, a small patch of shiny acetate film, and real water. We compared hydrated and dehydrated fly populations, since the state of hydration may change the motivation of flies to seek or avoid water. Our analysis reveals for the first time that flying fruit flies indeed use vision to avoid flying over shiny surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F Mathejczyk
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Édouard J Babo
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Erik Schönlein
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nikolai V Grinda
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Greiner
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nina Okrožnik
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Mathias F Wernet
- Division of Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, Fachbereich Biologie, Chemie and Pharmazie, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise Strasse 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
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23
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Rummel AD, Sierra MM, Quinn BL, Swartz SM. Hair, there and everywhere: A comparison of bat wing sensory hair distribution. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023; 306:2681-2692. [PMID: 36790015 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Bat wing membranes are composed of specialized skin that is covered with small sensory hairs which are likely mechanosensory and have been suggested to help bats sense airflow during flight. These sensory hairs have to date been studied in only a few of the more than 1,400 bat species around the world. Little is known about the diversity of the sensory hair network across the bat phylogeny. In this study, we use high-resolution photomicrographs of preserved bat wings from 17 species in 12 families to characterize the distribution of sensory hairs along the wing and among species. We identify general patterns of sensory hair distribution across species, including the apparent relationships of sensory hairs to intramembranous wing muscles, the network of connective tissues in the wing membrane, and the bones of the forelimb. We also describe distinctive clustering of these sensory structures in some species. We also quantified sensory hair density in several regions of interest in the propatagium, plagiopatagium, and dactylopagatia, finding that sensory hair density was higher proximally than distally. This examination of the anatomical organization of the sensory hair network in a comparative context provides a framework for existing research on sensory hair function and highlights avenues for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea D Rummel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Melissa M Sierra
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Brooke L Quinn
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Sharon M Swartz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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24
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Salem W, Cellini B, Jaworski E, Mongeau JM. Flies adaptively control flight to compensate for added inertia. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231115. [PMID: 37817597 PMCID: PMC10565401 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal locomotion is highly adaptive, displaying a large degree of flexibility, yet how this flexibility arises from the integration of mechanics and neural control remains elusive. For instance, animals require flexible strategies to maintain performance as changes in mass or inertia impact stability. Compensatory strategies to mechanical loading are especially critical for animals that rely on flight for survival. To shed light on the capacity and flexibility of flight neuromechanics to mechanical loading, we pushed the performance of fruit flies (Drosophila) near its limit and implemented a control theoretic framework. Flies with added inertia were placed inside a virtual reality arena which permitted free rotation about the vertical (yaw) axis. Adding inertia increased the fly's response time yet had little influence on overall gaze stabilization performance. Flies maintained stability following the addition of inertia by adaptively modulating both visuomotor gain and damping. By contrast, mathematical modelling predicted a significant decrease in gaze stabilization performance. Adding inertia altered saccades, however, flies compensated for the added inertia by increasing saccade torque. Taken together, in response to added inertia flies increase reaction time but maintain flight performance through adaptive neural control. Overall, adding inertia decreases closed-loop flight robustness. Our work highlights the flexibility and capacity of motor control in flight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wael Salem
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Benjamin Cellini
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Eric Jaworski
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jean-Michel Mongeau
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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25
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Gau J, Lynch J, Aiello B, Wold E, Gravish N, Sponberg S. Bridging two insect flight modes in evolution, physiology and robophysics. Nature 2023; 622:767-774. [PMID: 37794191 PMCID: PMC10599994 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06606-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Since taking flight, insects have undergone repeated evolutionary transitions between two seemingly distinct flight modes1-3. Some insects neurally activate their muscles synchronously with each wingstroke. However, many insects have achieved wingbeat frequencies beyond the speed limit of typical neuromuscular systems by evolving flight muscles that are asynchronous with neural activation and activate in response to mechanical stretch2-8. These modes reflect the two fundamental ways of generating rhythmic movement: time-periodic forcing versus emergent oscillations from self-excitation8-10. How repeated evolutionary transitions have occurred and what governs the switching between these distinct modes remain unknown. Here we find that, despite widespread asynchronous actuation in insects across the phylogeny3,6, asynchrony probably evolved only once at the order level, with many reversions to the ancestral, synchronous mode. A synchronous moth species, evolved from an asynchronous ancestor, still preserves the stretch-activated muscle physiology. Numerical and robophysical analyses of a unified biophysical framework reveal that rather than a dichotomy, these two modes are two regimes of the same dynamics. Insects can transition between flight modes across a bridge in physiological parameter space. Finally, we integrate these two actuation modes into an insect-scale robot11-13 that enables transitions between modes and unlocks a new self-excited wingstroke strategy for engineered flight. Together, this framework accounts for repeated transitions in insect flight evolution and shows how flight modes can flip with changes in physiological parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff Gau
- Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - James Lynch
- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Brett Aiello
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Biology, Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, USA
| | - Ethan Wold
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Graduate Program, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Nick Gravish
- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Simon Sponberg
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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26
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Graham M, Socha JJ. Dynamic gap crossing in Dendrelaphis, the sister taxon of flying snakes. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb245094. [PMID: 37671466 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Arboreal animals commonly use dynamic gap-crossing behaviors such as jumping. In snakes, however, most species studied to date only employ the quasi-static cantilever crawl, which involves a whole-body reach. One exception is the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi), which exhibits kinematic changes as gap distance increases, culminating in dynamic behaviors that are kinematically indistinguishable from those used to launch glides. Because Chrysopelea uses dynamic behaviors when bridging gaps without gliding, we hypothesized that such dynamic behaviors evolved ancestrally to Chrysopelea. To test this predicted occurrence of dynamic behaviors in closely related taxa, we studied gap bridging locomotion in the genus Dendrelaphis, which is the sister lineage of Chysopelea. We recorded 20 snakes from two species (D. punctulatus and D. calligastra) crossing gaps of increasing size, and analyzed their 3D kinematics. We found that, like C. paradisi, both species of Dendrelaphis modulate their use of dynamic behaviors in response to gap distance, but Dendrelaphis exhibit greater inter-individual variation. Although all three species displayed the use of looped movements, the highly stereotyped J-loop movement of Chrysopelea was not observed in Dendrelaphis. These results support the hypothesis that Chrysopelea may have co-opted and refined an ancestral behavior for crossing gaps for the novel function of launching a glide. Overall, these data demonstrate the importance of gap distance in governing behavior and kinematics during arboreal gap crossing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mal Graham
- Wild Animal Initiative, Inc., Minneapolis, MN 55437, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - John J Socha
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
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27
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Heers AM. Unexpected Performance in Developing Birds. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:772-784. [PMID: 37516443 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Birds are well known for their ability to fly, and flight-capable adult birds have many anatomical specializations for meeting the demands of aerial locomotion. Juvenile birds in altricial species typically acquire these specializations close to fledging and leave the nest with some flight capability. In contrast, juveniles in most precocial species begin navigating their environment with rudimentary anatomies and may not develop full-sized wings or musculoskeletal apparatuses for several months. This manuscript explores how juvenile birds achieve high levels of locomotor performance in the absence of flight specializations, by synthesizing work on two groups of precocial birds with very different developmental strategies. Galliforms like the Chukar Partridge (Alectoris chukar) have early wing development and are capable of flight within weeks. Compared with adults, juvenile chukars have less aerodynamically effective feathers and smaller muscles but compensate through anatomical, kinematic, and behavioral mechanisms. In contrast, waterfowl have delayed wing development and initially rely on leg-based locomotion. In Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and their domesticated derivatives, leg investment and performance peak early in ontogeny, but then decline when wings develop. Chukar and mallard juveniles thus rely on different mechanisms for negotiating their surroundings in the absence of flight specializations. In conjunction with work in other animals, these patterns indicate that juveniles with developing locomotor apparatuses can achieve surprisingly high levels of locomotor performance through a variety of compensatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Heers
- California State University, Los Angeles, Biological Sciences, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
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28
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Nasirul Haque M, Cheng B, Tobalske BW, Luo H. Active wing-pitching mechanism in hummingbird escape maneuvers. Bioinspir Biomim 2023; 18:056008. [PMID: 37567187 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/acef85] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies suggested that wing pitching, i.e. the wing rotation around its long axis, of insects and hummingbirds is primarily driven by an inertial effect associated with stroke deceleration and acceleration of the wings and is thus passive. Here we considered the rapid escape maneuver of hummingbirds who were initially hovering but then startled by the frontal approach of a looming object. During the maneuver, the hummingbirds substantially changed their wingbeat frequency, wing trajectory, and other kinematic parameters. Using wing kinematics reconstructed from high-speed videos and computational fluid dynamics modeling, we found that although the same inertial effect drove the wing flipping at stroke reversal as in hovering, significant power input was required to pitch up the wings during downstroke to enhance aerodynamic force production; furthermore, the net power input could be positive for wing pitching in a complete wingbeat cycle. Therefore, our study suggests that an active mechanism was present during the maneuver to drive wing pitching. In addition to the powered pitching, wing deviation during upstroke required twice as much power as hovering to move the wings caudally when the birds redirected the aerodynamic force vector for escaping. These findings were consistent with our hypothesis that enhanced muscle recruitment is essential for hummingbirds' escape maneuvers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Nasirul Haque
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, United States of America
| | - Bo Cheng
- Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States of America
| | - Bret W Tobalske
- Field Research Station at Fort Missoula, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, United States of America
| | - Haoxiang Luo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, United States of America
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29
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Ortega-Jimenez VM, Jusufi A, Brown CE, Zeng Y, Kumar S, Siddall R, Kim B, Challita EJ, Pavlik Z, Priess M, Umhofer T, Koh JS, Socha JJ, Dudley R, Bhamla MS. Air-to-land transitions: from wingless animals and plant seeds to shuttlecocks and bio-inspired robots. Bioinspir Biomim 2023; 18:051001. [PMID: 37552773 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/acdb1c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Recent observations of wingless animals, including jumping nematodes, springtails, insects, and wingless vertebrates like geckos, snakes, and salamanders, have shown that their adaptations and body morphing are essential for rapid self-righting and controlled landing. These skills can reduce the risk of physical damage during collision, minimize recoil during landing, and allow for a quick escape response to minimize predation risk. The size, mass distribution, and speed of an animal determine its self-righting method, with larger animals depending on the conservation of angular momentum and smaller animals primarily using aerodynamic forces. Many animals falling through the air, from nematodes to salamanders, adopt a skydiving posture while descending. Similarly, plant seeds such as dandelions and samaras are able to turn upright in mid-air using aerodynamic forces and produce high decelerations. These aerial capabilities allow for a wide dispersal range, low-impact collisions, and effective landing and settling. Recently, small robots that can right themselves for controlled landings have been designed based on principles of aerial maneuvering in animals. Further research into the effects of unsteady flows on self-righting and landing in small arthropods, particularly those exhibiting explosive catapulting, could reveal how morphological features, flow dynamics, and physical mechanisms contribute to effective mid-air control. More broadly, studying apterygote (wingless insects) landing could also provide insight into the origin of insect flight. These research efforts have the potential to lead to the bio-inspired design of aerial micro-vehicles, sports projectiles, parachutes, and impulsive robots that can land upright in unsteady flow conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor M Ortega-Jimenez
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States of America
| | - Ardian Jusufi
- Soft Kinetic Group, Engineering Sciences Department, Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
- University of Zurich, Institutes for Neuroinformatics and Palaeontology, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
- Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Christian E Brown
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Science Center 110, Tampa, FL 33620, United States of America
| | - Yu Zeng
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Science Center 110, Tampa, FL 33620, United States of America
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
| | - Sunny Kumar
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30318, United States of America
| | - Robert Siddall
- Aerial Robotics Lab, Imperial College of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Baekgyeom Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Gyeonggi-do 16499, Republic of Korea
| | - Elio J Challita
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30318, United States of America
| | - Zoe Pavlik
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States of America
| | - Meredith Priess
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States of America
| | - Thomas Umhofer
- School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, United States of America
| | - Je-Sung Koh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Gyeonggi-do 16499, Republic of Korea
| | - John J Socha
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Robert Dudley
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Science Center 110, Tampa, FL 33620, United States of America
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
| | - M Saad Bhamla
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30318, United States of America
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30
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Brasovs A, Palaoro AV, Aprelev P, Beard CE, Adler PH, Kornev KG. Haemolymph viscosity in hawkmoths and its implications for hovering flight. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222185. [PMID: 37122259 PMCID: PMC10130727 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Viscosity determines the resistance of haemolymph flow through the insect body. For flying insects, viscosity is a major physiological parameter limiting flight performance by controlling the flow rate of fuel to the flight muscles, circulating nutrients and rapidly removing metabolic waste products. The more viscous the haemolymph, the greater the metabolic energy needed to pump it through confined spaces. By employing magnetic rotational spectroscopy with nickel nanorods, we showed that viscosity of haemolymph in resting hawkmoths (Sphingidae) depends on wing size non-monotonically. Viscosity increases for small hawkmoths with high wingbeat frequencies, reaches a maximum for middle-sized hawkmoths with moderate wingbeat frequencies, and decreases in large hawkmoths with slower wingbeat frequencies but greater lift. Accordingly, hawkmoths with small and large wings have viscosities approaching that of water, whereas hawkmoths with mid-sized wings have more than twofold greater viscosity. The metabolic demands of flight correlate with significant changes in circulatory strategies via modulation of haemolymph viscosity. Thus, the evolution of hovering flight would require fine-tuned viscosity adjustments to balance the need for the haemolymph to carry more fuel to the flight muscles while decreasing the viscous dissipation associated with its circulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artis Brasovs
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Alexandre V. Palaoro
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Pavel Aprelev
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Charles E. Beard
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Peter H. Adler
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - Konstantin G. Kornev
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
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31
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Elowe CR, Groom DJE, Slezacek J, Gerson AR. Long-duration wind tunnel flights reveal exponential declines in protein catabolism over time in short- and long-distance migratory warblers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2216016120. [PMID: 37068245 PMCID: PMC10151508 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216016120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
During migration, long-distance migratory songbirds may fly nonstop for days, whereas shorter-distance migrants complete flights of 6 to 10 h. Fat is the primary fuel source, but protein is also assumed to provide a low, consistent amount of energy for flight. However, little is known about how the use of these fuel sources differs among bird species and in response to flight duration. Current models predict that birds can fly until fat stores are exhausted, with little consideration of protein's limits on flight range or duration. We captured two related migratory species-ultra long-distance blackpoll warblers (Setophaga striata) and short-distance yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata)-during fall migration and flew them in a wind tunnel to examine differences in energy expenditure, overall fuel use, and fuel mixture. We measured fat and fat-free body mass before and after flight using quantitative magnetic resonance and calculated energy expenditure from body composition changes and doubly labeled water. Three blackpolls flew voluntarily for up to 28 h-the longest wind tunnel flight to date-and ended flights with substantial fat reserves but concave flight muscle, indicating that protein loss, rather than fat, may actually limit flight duration. Interestingly, while blackpolls had significantly lower mass-specific metabolic power in flight than that of yellow-rumped warblers and fuel use was remarkably similar in both species, with consistent fat use but exceptionally high rates of protein loss at the start of flight that declined exponentially over time. This suggests that protein may be a critical, dynamic, and often overlooked fuel for long-distance migratory birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory R. Elowe
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003-9297
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003-9297
| | - Derrick J. E. Groom
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003-9297
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA94132
| | - Julia Slezacek
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna1160, Austria
| | - Alexander R. Gerson
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003-9297
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003-9297
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32
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Rimniceanu M, Currea JP, Frye MA. Proprioception gates visual object fixation in flying flies. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1459-1471.e3. [PMID: 37001520 PMCID: PMC10133043 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Visual object tracking in animals as diverse as felines, frogs, and fish supports behaviors including predation, predator avoidance, and landscape navigation. Decades of experimental results show that a rigidly body-fixed tethered fly in a "virtual reality" visual flight simulator steers to follow the motion of a vertical bar, thereby "fixating" it on visual midline. This behavior likely reflects a desire to seek natural features such as plant stalks and has inspired algorithms for visual object tracking predicated on robust responses to bar velocity, particularly near visual midline. Using a modified flight simulator equipped with a magnetic pivot to allow frictionless turns about the yaw axis, we discovered that bar fixation as well as smooth steering responses to bar velocity are attenuated or eliminated in yaw-free conditions. Body-fixed Drosophila melanogaster respond to bar oscillation on a stationary ground with frequency-matched wing kinematics and fixate the bar on midline. Yaw-free flies respond to the same stimulus by ignoring the bar and maintaining their original heading. These differences are driven by proprioceptive signals, rather than visual signals, as artificially "clamping" a bar in the periphery of a yaw-free fly has no effect. When presented with a bar and ground oscillating at different frequencies, a yaw-free fly follows the frequency of the ground only, whereas a body-fixed fly robustly steers at the frequencies of both the bar and ground. Our findings support a model in which proprioceptive feedback promote active damping of high-gain optomotor responses to object motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Rimniceanu
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - John P Currea
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mark A Frye
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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33
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Nourani E, Safi K, de Grissac S, Anderson DJ, Cole NC, Fell A, Grémillet D, Lempidakis E, Lerma M, McKee JL, Pichegru L, Provost P, Rattenborg NC, Ryan PG, Santos CD, Schoombie S, Tatayah V, Weimerskirch H, Wikelski M, Shepard ELC. Seabird morphology determines operational wind speeds, tolerable maxima, and responses to extremes. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1179-1184.e3. [PMID: 36827987 PMCID: PMC10789609 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Storms can cause widespread seabird stranding and wrecking,1,2,3,4,5 yet little is known about the maximum wind speeds that birds are able to tolerate or the conditions they avoid. We analyzed >300,000 h of tracking data from 18 seabird species, including flapping and soaring fliers, to assess how flight morphology affects wind selectivity, both at fine scales (hourly movement steps) and across the breeding season. We found no general preference or avoidance of particular wind speeds within foraging tracks. This suggests seabird flight morphology is adapted to a "wind niche," with higher wing loading being selected in windier environments. In support of this, wing loading was positively related to the median wind speeds on the breeding grounds, as well as the maximum wind speeds in which birds flew. Yet globally, the highest wind speeds occur in the tropics (in association with tropical cyclones) where birds are morphologically adapted to low median wind speeds. Tropical species must therefore show behavioral responses to extreme winds, including long-range avoidance of wind speeds that can be twice their operable maxima. By contrast, Procellariiformes flew in almost all wind speeds they encountered at a seasonal scale. Despite this, we describe a small number of cases where albatrosses avoided strong winds at close range, including by flying into the eye of the storm. Extreme winds appear to pose context-dependent risks to seabirds, and more information is needed on the factors that determine the hierarchy of risk, given the impact of global change on storm intensity.6,7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Kamran Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sophie de Grissac
- Diomedea Science - Research & Scientific Communication, 819 route de la Jars, 38 950 Quaix-en-Chartreuse, France
| | - David J Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Nik C Cole
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, La Profonde Rue, La Profonde Rue, JE3 5BP Jersey, Channel Islands; Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, 73418 Vacoas, Mauritius
| | - Adam Fell
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
| | - David Grémillet
- CEFE, University Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France; FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Miriam Lerma
- Research and Technology Centre (FTZ), University of Kiel, Hafentörn 1, 25761 Büsum, Germany
| | - Jennifer L McKee
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Lorien Pichegru
- Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6031, South Africa
| | - Pascal Provost
- Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Sept-Iles, 22560 Pleumeur Bodou, France
| | - Niels C Rattenborg
- Avian Sleep Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Starnberg, Germany
| | - Peter G Ryan
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Carlos D Santos
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Núcleo de Teoria Pesquisa do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Pará, R. Augusto Corrêa, 01 - Guamá, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil; CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Stefan Schoombie
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Vikash Tatayah
- Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Grannum Road, 73418 Vacoas, Mauritius
| | | | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Emily L C Shepard
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8PP, UK
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Wasserman DH. How hummingbirds hover: Natural selection for energetics of hovering flight. Mol Cell 2023; 83:827-828. [PMID: 36931253 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Osipova et al.1 recently identified an inactivating gene mutation that contributed to the evolution of the hummingbird species by increasing flux of pathways for energy production that are necessary for the unique ability for hovering flight. Lessons from the natural selection for this mutation are applied to physiology and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- David H Wasserman
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
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35
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Zhao W, Ma Q, Li Z, Wan C. Functional compliance and protective stiffness: cross-veins in the hind wing of locust Locusta migratoria. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:231-237. [PMID: 36289065 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01587-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Locusts (Locusta migratoria) have outstanding flying abilities, and most of their lift is provided by their hind wings. Insect aerodynamic performance is strongly affected by wing deformation during stroke, which is closely related to its functional morphology (particularly its mechanical properties). The cross-vein is one of the main morphologies in the hind wing of locusts. However, few studies on the mechanical properties of cross-veins have been conducted. This study evaluated the cross-veins of the locust hind wing using uniaxial tensile tester, scanning electron microscope, and finite element methods. Four cross-vein types were identified at different locations on the hind wing, including periodical semi- and full-ellipsoidal humps and periodical semi- and full-conical humps. The four cross-veins showed similar tensile stiffness but differed in bending compliance. We suggest that the mechanical properties of the four cross-veins can be attributed to their physiological functions. This study elucidates cross-veins of locust hind wing and contributes our understanding of the flapping flight mechanism in locusts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanying Zhao
- Department of Mechanics, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Qiyue Ma
- Department of Mechanics, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongjie Li
- Department of Mechanics, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Wan
- Department of Mechanics, School of Aerospace Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
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36
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Eikenaar C, Ostolani A, Hessler S, Ye EY, Hegemann A. Recovery of constitutive immune function after migratory endurance flight in free-living birds. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220518. [PMID: 36789532 PMCID: PMC9929496 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Strenuous physical activity can negatively affect constitutive innate immune function (CIF), the always present first line of defence against pathogens. CIF is non-specific, and thus vital when encountering novel pathogens. A lowered CIF likely increases the risk of infection and disease. Migratory birds engage in truly extreme physical activity during their endurance flights, however, little is known about how they deal with the negative impact this has on their immune function. By collecting both between- and within-individual data we show, for the first time, that free-flying migratory birds can recover several parameters of CIF during stopovers, which are stationary periods in between migratory flights. With this, we provide an important piece of the puzzle on how migrating birds cope with the physiological challenges they face on their biannual journeys. Furthermore, our study stresses the importance of migratory stopovers beyond fuel accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cas Eikenaar
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | | | - Sven Hessler
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Ellen Y. Ye
- Institute of Avian Research ‘Vogelwarte Helgoland’, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Arne Hegemann
- Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
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Ludwig JC, Trimmer B. Myoblast proliferation during flight muscle development in Manduca sexta is unaffected by reduced neural signaling. Arthropod Struct Dev 2023; 72:101232. [PMID: 36610222 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2022.101232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In holometabolous insects, metamorphosis involves restructuring the musculature to accommodate adult-specific anatomy and behaviors. Evidence from experiments on remodeled muscles, as well as those that develop de novo, suggests that signals from the nervous system support adult muscle development by controlling myoblast proliferation rate. However, the dorsolongitudinal flight muscles (DLMs) of Manduca sexta undergo a mixed developmental program involving larval muscle fibers, and it is not known if neurons play the same role in the formation of these muscles. To address this question, we have blocked the most promising candidate pathways for neural input and examined the DLMs for changes in proliferation. Our results show that DLM development does not depend on neural activity, Hedgehog signaling, or EGF signaling. It remains to be determined how DLM growth is controlled and why neurally mediated proliferation differs between individual muscles.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Clark Ludwig
- Tufts University, Department of Biology, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
| | - Barry Trimmer
- Tufts University, Department of Biology, 200 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
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Li J, Rahmani H, Abbasi Yeganeh F, Rastegarpouyani H, Taylor DW, Wood NB, Previs MJ, Iwamoto H, Taylor KA. Structure of the Flight Muscle Thick Filament from the Bumble Bee, Bombus ignitus, at 6 Å Resolution. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:377. [PMID: 36613818 PMCID: PMC9820631 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Four insect orders have flight muscles that are both asynchronous and indirect; they are asynchronous in that the wingbeat frequency is decoupled from the frequency of nervous stimulation and indirect in that the muscles attach to the thoracic exoskeleton instead of directly to the wing. Flight muscle thick filaments from two orders, Hemiptera and Diptera, have been imaged at a subnanometer resolution, both of which revealed a myosin tail arrangement referred to as “curved molecular crystalline layers”. Here, we report a thick filament structure from the indirect flight muscles of a third insect order, Hymenoptera, the Asian bumble bee Bombus ignitus. The myosin tails are in general agreement with previous determinations from Lethocerus indicus and Drosophila melanogaster. The Skip 2 region has the same unusual structure as found in Lethocerus indicus thick filaments, an α-helix discontinuity is also seen at Skip 4, but the orientation of the Skip 1 region on the surface of the backbone is less angled with respect to the filament axis than in the other two species. The heads are disordered as in Drosophila, but we observe no non-myosin proteins on the backbone surface that might prohibit the ordering of myosin heads onto the thick filament backbone. There are strong structural similarities among the three species in their non-myosin proteins within the backbone that suggest how one previously unassigned density in Lethocerus might be assigned. Overall, the structure conforms to the previously observed pattern of high similarity in the myosin tail arrangement, but differences in the non-myosin proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Li
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
| | - Hamidreza Rahmani
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
| | - Fatemeh Abbasi Yeganeh
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
| | - Hosna Rastegarpouyani
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
| | - Dianne W. Taylor
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
| | - Neil B. Wood
- Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Michael J. Previs
- Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
| | - Hiroyuki Iwamoto
- Scattering and Imaging Division, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
| | - Kenneth A. Taylor
- Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA
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Sage E, Bouten W, van Dijk W, Camphuysen KCJ, Shamoun-Baranes J. Built up areas in a wet landscape are stepping stones for soaring flight in a seabird. Sci Total Environ 2022; 852:157879. [PMID: 35944643 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The energy exchange between the Earth's surface and atmosphere results in a highly dynamic habitat through which birds move. Thermal uplift is an atmospheric feature which many birds are able to exploit in order to save energy in flight, but which is governed by complex surface-atmosphere interactions. In mosaic landscapes consisting of multiple land uses, the spatial distribution of thermal uplift is expected to be heterogenous and birds may use the landscape selectively to maximise flight over areas where thermal soaring opportunities are best. Flight generalists such as the lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus, are expected to be less reliant on thermal uplift than obligate soaring birds. Nevertheless, gulls may select flight behaviours and routes in response to or in anticipation of thermal uplift in order to reduce their transport costs, even in landscapes where thermal uplift isn't prevalent. We explore thermal soaring over land in lesser black-backed gulls by using high-resolution GPS tracking to characterise individual instances of thermal soaring and detailed energy exchange modelling to map the thermal landscape which gulls experience. We determine that lesser black-backed gulls are regularly able to undertake thermal soaring, even in a wet temperate landscape below sea level. By examining the relationship between lesser black-backed gull flight, thermal uplift and land use, we determine that built up areas, particularly towns and cities, provide thermal uplift hotspots which lesser black-backed gulls preferentially make use of, resulting in more opportunities for energy saving flight through thermal soaring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elspeth Sage
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Willem Bouten
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Walter van Dijk
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Kees C J Camphuysen
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands
| | - Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Liu FL, Rugman-Jones P, Liao YC, Husein D, Liang HH, Tuan SJ, Stouthamer R. Seasonal Dynamics of Flight Phenology of the Euwallacea fornicatus Species Complex and an Associated Parasitoid Wasp in Avocado Groves in Taiwan. J Econ Entomol 2022; 115:1901-1910. [PMID: 36181761 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toac144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Euwallacea fornicatus species complex (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) is a group of four cryptic ambrosia beetle species. Native to Asia, several members of the complex have invaded other continents, where they cause significant economic losses to agricultural crops (e.g., avocado) and natural ecosystems. We were primarily interested in developing management strategies by focusing on the flight behavior of the beetles. Thus, seasonal differences in flight activity were assessed using panel traps baited with a commercial quercivorol lure, placed in infested avocado orchards in Danei, Tainan, Taiwan. Same traps were used to investigate the flight activity of a natural enemy, an undescribed species of the Braconid genus Eucosmophorus sp. Shothole borer species were identified using a DNA-based, high resolution melting assay. Trap data were compared to the predictions of a simple degree-day model, incorporating developmental data and several environmental parameters known to influence flight. Such as the time period representing most of flight activity in a day and temperature-dependent flight propensity. In stark contrast to the degree-day model which predicted the highest emergence, and by extension flight, of shothole borers during spring and summer (May to November), flight activity was actually lowest during these months, and instead, peaked during the winter (October to March). Abundance of the parasitoid wasp closely mirrored flight activity of the shothole borers. The mismatch of trapping and modeling data can have many causes, heavy precipitation and possibly cooperative brood care may suppress the dispersal behavior of the shothole borers during the summer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang-Ling Liu
- Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 145, Xinda Road, Taichung City, 40227 Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Paul Rugman-Jones
- Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Yi-Chang Liao
- Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Deena Husein
- Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Hui-Hung Liang
- Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 145, Xinda Road, Taichung City, 40227 Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Shu-Jen Tuan
- Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 145, Xinda Road, Taichung City, 40227 Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Richard Stouthamer
- Department of Entomology, University of California, 900 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
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Pittman M, Kaye TG, Wang X, Zheng X, Dececchi TA, Hartman SA. Preserved soft anatomy confirms shoulder-powered upstroke of early theropod flyers, reveals enhanced early pygostylian upstroke, and explains early sternum loss. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2205476119. [PMID: 36375073 PMCID: PMC9704744 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2205476119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Anatomy of the first flying feathered dinosaurs, modern birds and crocodylians, proposes an ancestral flight system divided between shoulder and chest muscles, before the upstroke muscles migrated beneath the body. This ancestral flight system featured the dorsally positioned deltoids and supracoracoideus controlling the upstroke and the chest-bound pectoralis controlling the downstroke. Preserved soft anatomy is needed to contextualize the origin of the modern flight system, but this has remained elusive. Here we reveal the soft anatomy of the earliest theropod flyers preserved as residual skin chemistry covering the body and delimiting its margins. These data provide preserved soft anatomy that independently validate the ancestral theropod flight system. The heavily constructed shoulder and more weakly constructed chest in the early pygostylian Confuciusornis indicated by a preserved body profile, proposes the first upstroke-enhanced flight stroke. Slender ventral body profiles in the early-diverging birds Archaeopteryx and Anchiornis suggest habitual use of the pectoralis could not maintain the sternum through bone functional adaptations. Increased wing-assisted terrestrial locomotion potentially accelerated sternum loss through higher breathing requirements. Lower expected downstroke requirements in the early thermal soarer Sapeornis could have driven sternum loss through bone functional adaption, possibly encouraged by the higher breathing demands of a Confuciusornis-like upstroke. Both factors are supported by a slender ventral body profile. These data validate the ancestral shoulder/chest flight system and provide insights into novel upstroke-enhanced flight strokes and early sternum loss, filling important gaps in our understanding of the appearance of modern flight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Pittman
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Thomas G. Kaye
- Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, AZ 85650
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Shandong 276005, China
| | - Xiaoting Zheng
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Shandong 276005, China
- Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature, Shandong 273300, China
| | | | - Scott A. Hartman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1692
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Abstract
Insect wings are deformable airfoils, in which deformations are mostly achieved by complicated interactions between their structural components. Due to the complexity of the wing design and technical challenges associated with testing the delicate wings, we know little about the properties of their components and how they determine wing response to flight forces. Here, we report an unusual structure from the hind-wing membrane of the beetle Pachnoda marginata. The structure, a transverse section of the claval flexion line, consists of two distinguishable layers: a bell-shaped upper layer and a straight lower layer. Our computational simulations showed that this is an effective one-way hinge, which is stiff in tension and upward bending but flexible in compression and downward bending. By systematically varying its design parameters in a computational model, we showed that the properties of the double-layer membrane hinge can be tuned over a wide range. This enabled us to develop a broad design space, which we later used for model selection. We used selected models in three distinct applications, which proved that the double-layer hinge represents a simple yet effective design strategy for controlling the mechanical response of structures using a single material and with no extra mass. The insect-inspired, one-way hinge is particularly useful for developing structures with asymmetric behavior, exhibiting different responses to the same load in two opposite directions. This multidisciplinary study not only advances our understanding of the biomechanics of complicated insect wings but also informs the design of easily tunable engineering hinges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Rajabi
- Mechanical Intelligence (MI) Research Group, South Bank Applied BioEngineering Research (SABER), School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
- Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
- To whom correspondence may be addressed.
| | - Sepehr H. Eraghi
- Mechanical Intelligence (MI) Research Group, South Bank Applied BioEngineering Research (SABER), School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
| | - Ali Khaheshi
- Mechanical Intelligence (MI) Research Group, South Bank Applied BioEngineering Research (SABER), School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
- Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
| | - Arman Toofani
- Mechanical Intelligence (MI) Research Group, South Bank Applied BioEngineering Research (SABER), School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK
| | - Cherryl Hunt
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
| | - Robin J. Wootton
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
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Krishna S, Gehrke A, Mulleners K. To tread or not to tread: comparison between water treading and conventional flapping wing kinematics. Bioinspir Biomim 2022; 17:066018. [PMID: 36228610 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac9a1b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Hovering insects are limited by their physiology and need to rotate their wings at the end of each back-and-forth motion to keep the wing's leading edge ahead of its trailing edge. The wing rotation at the end of each half-stroke pushes the leading edge vortex away from the wing which leads to a loss in the lift. Unlike biological fliers, human-engineered flapping wing micro air vehicles have different design limitations. They can be designed to avoid the end of stroke wing rotation and use so-called water-treading flapping kinematics. Flapping wings using conventional flapping kinematics have a designated leading and trailing edge. In the water-treading mode, the role of the leading and trailing edges are continuously alternated throughout the stroke. Here, we compare velocity field and force measurements for a rectangular flapping wing conducting normal hovering and water-treading kinematics to study the difference in fluid dynamic performance between the two types of flapping kinematics. We show that for similar power consumption, the water-treading mode produces more lift than the conventional hovering mode and is 50% more efficient for symmetric pitching kinematics. In the water-treading mode, the leading edge vortex from the previous stroke is not pushed away but is captured and keeps the newly formed leading edge vortex closer to the wing, leading to a more rapid increase of the lift coefficient which is sustained for longer. This makes the water-treading mode a promising alternative for human-engineered flapping wing vehicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swathi Krishna
- École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Mechanical Engineering, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander Gehrke
- École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Mechanical Engineering, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Karen Mulleners
- École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Mechanical Engineering, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Berger Dauxère A, Montagne G, Serres JR. An experimental setup for decoupling optical invariants in honeybees' altitude control. J Insect Physiol 2022; 143:104451. [PMID: 36374736 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2022.104451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Bees outperform pilots in navigational tasks, despite having 100,000 times fewer neurons. It is commonly accepted in the literature that optic flow is a key parameter used by flying insects to control their altitude. The ambition of the present work was to design an innovative experimental setup that would make it possible to determine whether bees could rely simultaneously on several optical invariants, as pilots do. We designed a flight tunnel to enable manipulation of an optical invariant, the Splay Angle Rate of Change (SARC) and the restriction of the Optical Speed Rate of Change (OSRC) in the optic flow. It allows us to determine if bees use the SARC to control their altitude and to identify the integration process combining these two optical invariants. Access to the OSRC can be restricted by using different textures. The SARC can be biased thanks to motorized rods. This device allows to record bees' trajectories in different visual configurations, including impoverished conditions and conditions containing contradictory information. The comparative analysis of the recorded trajectories provides first time evidence of SARC use in a ground-following task by a non-human animal. This new tunnel allows a precise experimental control of the visual environment in ecological experimental conditions. Therefore, it could pave the way for a new type of ecologically based studies examining the simultaneous use of several information sources for navigation by flying insects.
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Ando N, Kono T, Ogihara N, Nakamura S, Yokota H, Kanzaki R. Modeling the musculoskeletal system of an insect thorax for flapping flight. Bioinspir Biomim 2022; 17:066010. [PMID: 36044880 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac8e40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Indirect actuation of the wings via thoracic deformation is a unique mechanism widely observed in flying insect species. The physical properties of the thorax have been intensively studied in terms of their ability to efficiently generate wingbeats. The basic mechanism of indirect wing actuation is generally explained as a lever model on a cross-sectional plane, where the dorsoventral movement of the mesonotum (dorsal exoskeleton of the mesothorax) generated by contractions of indirect muscles actuates the wing. However, the model considers the mesonotum as an ideal flat plane, whereas the mesonotum is hemispherical and becomes locally deformed during flight. Furthermore, the conventional model is two-dimensional; therefore, three-dimensional wing kinematics by indirect muscles have not been studied to date. In this study, we develop structural models of the mesonotum and mesothorax of the hawkmothAgrius convolvuli, reconstructed from serial cross-sectional images. External forces are applied to the models to mimic muscle contraction, and mesonotum deformation and wing trajectories are analyzed using finite element analysis. We find that applying longitudinal strain to the mesonotum to mimic strain by depressor muscle contraction reproduces local deformation comparable to that of the thorax during flight. Furthermore, the phase difference of the forces applied to the depressor and elevator muscles changes the wing trajectory from a figure eight to a circle, which is qualitatively consistent with the tethered flight experiment. These results indicate that the local deformation of the mesonotum due to its morphology and the thoracic deformation via indirect power muscles can modulate three-dimensional wing trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriyasu Ando
- Department of Life Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Maebashi Institute of Technology, Maebashi, Japan
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tokuro Kono
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naomichi Ogihara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Hideo Yokota
- Center for Advanced Photonics, RIKEN, Wako, Japan
| | - Ryohei Kanzaki
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Reade J, Jankauski M. Investigation of chordwise functionally graded flexural rigidity in flapping wings using a two-dimensional pitch-plunge model. Bioinspir Biomim 2022; 17:066007. [PMID: 36055234 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac8f05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Insect wings are heterogeneous structures, with flexural rigidity varying one to two orders of magnitude over the wing surface. This heterogeneity influences the deformation the flapping wing experiences during flight. However, it is not well understood how this flexural rigidity gradient affects wing performance. Here, we develop a simplified 2D model of a flapping wing as a pitching, plunging airfoil using the assumed mode method and unsteady vortex lattice method to model the structural and fluid dynamics, respectively. We conduct parameter studies to explore how variable flexural rigidity affects mean lift production, power consumption and the forces required to flap the wing. We find that there is an optimal flexural rigidity distribution that maximizes lift production; this distribution generally corresponds to a 3:1 ratio between the wing's flapping and natural frequencies, though the ratio is sensitive to flapping kinematics. For hovering flight, the optimized flexible wing produces 20% more lift and requires 15% less power compared to a rigid wing but needs 20% higher forces to flap. Even when flapping kinematics deviate from those observed during hover, the flexible wing outperforms the rigid wing in terms of aerodynamic force generation and power across a wide range of flexural rigidity gradients. Peak force requirements and power consumption are inversely proportional with respect to flexural rigidity gradient, which may present a trade-off between insect muscle size and energy storage requirements. The model developed in this work can be used to efficiently investigate other spatially variant morphological or material wing features moving forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Reade
- Montana State University, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Bozeman, MT, United States of America
| | - Mark Jankauski
- Montana State University, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Bozeman, MT, United States of America
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47
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Ding H, Yan S. Physiological Signatures of Changes in Honeybee's Central Complex During Wing Flapping. J Insect Sci 2022; 22:10. [PMID: 36222481 PMCID: PMC9554949 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieac060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Many kinds of locomotion abilities of insects-including flight control, spatial orientation memory, position memory, angle information integration, and polarized light guidance are considered to be related to the central complex. However, evidence was still not sufficient to support those conclusions from the aspect of neural basis. For the locomotion form of wing flapping, little is known about the patterns of changes in brain activity of the central complex during movement. Here, we analyze the changes in honeybees' neuronal population firing activity of central complex and optic lobes with the perspectives of energy and nonlinear changes. Although the specific function of the central complex remains unknown, evidence suggests that its neural activities change remarkably during wing flapping and its delta rhythm is dominative. Together, our data reveal that the firing activity of some of the neuronal populations of the optic lobe shows reduction in complexity during wing flapping. Elucidating the brain activity changes during a flapping period of insects promotes our understanding of the neuro-mechanisms of insect locomotor control, thus can inspire the fine control of insect cyborgs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haojia Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment (SKLT), Division of Intelligent and Biomechanical Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
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48
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Fan X, Swartz S, Breuer K. Power requirements for bat-inspired flapping flight with heavy, highly articulated and cambered wings. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20220315. [PMID: 36128710 PMCID: PMC9490335 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bats fly with highly articulated and heavy wings. To understand their power requirements, we develop a three-dimensional reduced-order model, and apply it to flights of Cynopterus brachyotis, the lesser dog-faced fruit bat. Using previously measured wing kinematics, the model computes aerodynamic forces using blade element momentum theory, and incorporates inertial forces of the flapping wing using the measured mass distribution of the membrane wing and body. The two are combined into a Lagrangian equation of motion, and we performed Monte Carlo simulations to address uncertainties in measurement errors and modelling assumptions. We find that the camber of the armwing decreases with flight speed whereas the handwing camber is more independent of speed. Wing camber disproportionately impacts energetics, mainly during the downstroke, and increases the power requirement from 8% to 22% over flight speed U = 3.2-7.4 m s-1. We separate total power into aerodynamic and inertial components, and aerodynamic power into parasitic, profile and induced power, and find strong agreement with previous theoretical and experimental studies. We find that inertia of wings help to balance aerodynamic forces, alleviating the muscle power required for weight support and thrust generation. Furthermore, the model suggests aerodynamic forces assist in lifting the heavy wing during upstroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaozhou Fan
- Center for Fluid Mechanics, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Sharon Swartz
- Center for Fluid Mechanics, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Aeromechanics & Evolutionary Morphology Lab, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Kenneth Breuer
- Center for Fluid Mechanics, School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Aeromechanics & Evolutionary Morphology Lab, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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Abstract
Performance benefits of stable, warm muscles are believed to be important for the evolution of endothermy in mammals, birds and flying insects. However, thermal performance curves have never been measured for a free-flying endotherm, as it is challenging to vary body temperatures of these animals, and maximal flight performance is difficult to elicit. We varied air temperatures and gas densities to manipulate thoracic temperatures of flying honeybees from 29°C to 44°C, with low air densities used to increase flight metabolic rates to maximal values. Honeybees showed a clear thermal performance curve with an optimal temperature of 39°C. Maximal flight metabolic rates increased by approximately 2% per 1°C increase in thoracic temperature at suboptimal thoracic temperatures, but decreased approximately 5% per 1°C increase as the bees continued to heat up. This study provides the first quantification of the maximal metabolic performance benefit of thermoregulation in an endotherm. These data directly support aerobic capacity models for benefits of thermoregulation in honeybees, and suggest that improved aerobic capacity probably contributes to the multiple origins of endothermic heterothermy in bees and other insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan R. Glass
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Jon F. Harrison
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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50
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Cai X, Xue Y, Kolomenskiy D, Xu R, Liu H. Elastic storage enables robustness of flapping wing dynamics. Bioinspir Biomim 2022; 17:045003. [PMID: 35504276 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac6c66] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Flying insects could perform robust flapping-wing dynamics under various environments while minimizing the high energetic cost by using elastic flight muscles and motors. Here we propose a fluid-structure interaction model that couples unsteady flapping aerodynamics and three-torsional-spring-based elastic wing-hinge dynamics to determine passive and active mechanisms (PAM) in bumblebee hovering. The results show that a strategy of active-controlled stroke, passive-controlled wing pitch and deviation enables an optimal elastic storage. The flapping-wing dynamics is robust, which is characterized by dynamics-based passive elevation-rotation and aerodynamics-based passive feathering-rotation, capable of producing aerodynamic force while achieving high power efficiency over a broad range of wing-hinge stiffness. A force-impulse model further confirms the capability of external perturbation robustness under the PAM-based strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuefei Cai
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
| | - Yujing Xue
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
| | - Dmitry Kolomenskiy
- Skoltech Center for Design, Manufacturing and Materials, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ru Xu
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
| | - Hao Liu
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chiba University International Cooperative Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China
- Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
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