Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.

We investigated the relationship between wing element proportions and flight mode in a dataset of living avian species to provide a framework for making basic estimates of the range of flight styles evolved by Mesozoic birds. Our results show that feather length (f(prim)) and total arm length (ta) (...

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Autores principales:	Xia Wang, Alistair J McGowan, Gareth J Dyke
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8d82b605d04949ae8fd4206261bea392
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8d82b605d04949ae8fd4206261bea3922021-11-18T07:32:48ZAvian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0028672https://doaj.org/article/8d82b605d04949ae8fd4206261bea3922011-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22163324/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203We investigated the relationship between wing element proportions and flight mode in a dataset of living avian species to provide a framework for making basic estimates of the range of flight styles evolved by Mesozoic birds. Our results show that feather length (f(prim)) and total arm length (ta) (sum of the humerus, ulna and manus length) ratios differ significantly between four flight style groups defined and widely used for living birds and as a result are predictive for fossils. This was confirmed using multivariate ordination analyses, with four wing elements (humerus, ulna/radius, manus, primary feathers), that discriminate the four broad flight styles within living birds. Among the variables tested, manus length is closely correlated with wing size, yet is the poorest predictor for flight style, suggesting that the shape of the bones in the hand wing is most important in determining flight style. Wing bone thickness (shape) must vary with wing beat strength, with weaker forces requiring less bone. Finally, we show that by incorporating data from Mesozoic birds, multivariate ordination analyses can be used to predict the flight styles of fossils.Xia WangAlistair J McGowanGareth J DykePublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 12, p e28672 (2011)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Xia Wang Alistair J McGowan Gareth J Dyke Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
description	We investigated the relationship between wing element proportions and flight mode in a dataset of living avian species to provide a framework for making basic estimates of the range of flight styles evolved by Mesozoic birds. Our results show that feather length (f(prim)) and total arm length (ta) (sum of the humerus, ulna and manus length) ratios differ significantly between four flight style groups defined and widely used for living birds and as a result are predictive for fossils. This was confirmed using multivariate ordination analyses, with four wing elements (humerus, ulna/radius, manus, primary feathers), that discriminate the four broad flight styles within living birds. Among the variables tested, manus length is closely correlated with wing size, yet is the poorest predictor for flight style, suggesting that the shape of the bones in the hand wing is most important in determining flight style. Wing bone thickness (shape) must vary with wing beat strength, with weaker forces requiring less bone. Finally, we show that by incorporating data from Mesozoic birds, multivariate ordination analyses can be used to predict the flight styles of fossils.
format	article
author	Xia Wang Alistair J McGowan Gareth J Dyke
author_facet	Xia Wang Alistair J McGowan Gareth J Dyke
author_sort	Xia Wang
title	Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
title_short	Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
title_full	Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
title_fullStr	Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
title_full_unstemmed	Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
title_sort	avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2011
url	https://doaj.org/article/8d82b605d04949ae8fd4206261bea392
work_keys_str_mv	AT xiawang avianwingproportionsandflightstylesfirststeptowardspredictingtheflightmodesofmesozoicbirds AT alistairjmcgowan avianwingproportionsandflightstylesfirststeptowardspredictingtheflightmodesofmesozoicbirds AT garethjdyke avianwingproportionsandflightstylesfirststeptowardspredictingtheflightmodesofmesozoicbirds
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Avian wing proportions and flight styles: first step towards predicting the flight modes of mesozoic birds.

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