scholarly journals Beyond thermal melanism: association of wing melanization with fitness and flight behaviour in a butterfly

2020 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 275-288
Author(s):  
Elena Rosa ◽  
Marjo Saastamoinen
Keyword(s):  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Thermal Melanism

scholarly journals A minimal 3D model of mosquito flight behaviour around the human baited bed net

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Jones ◽  
Gregory P D Murray ◽  
Philip J McCall
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Video Tracking ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Bed Nets ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Bed Net ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Individual Agent ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Mosquito Behaviour

Abstract Background Advances in digitized video-tracking and behavioural analysis have enabled accurate recording and quantification of mosquito flight and host-seeking behaviours, facilitating development of individual (agent) based models at much finer spatial scales than previously possible. Methods Quantified behavioural parameters were used to create a novel virtual testing model, capable of accurately simulating indoor flight behaviour by a virtual population of host-seeking mosquitoes as they interact with and respond to simulated stimuli from a human-occupied bed net. The model is described, including base mosquito behaviour, state transitions, environmental representation and host stimulus representation. Results In the absence of a bed net and human host bait, flight distribution of the model population was relatively uniform throughout the arena. Introducing an unbaited untreated bed net induced a change in distribution with an increase in landing events on the net surface, predominantly on the sides of the net. Adding the presence of a simulated human bait dramatically impacted flight distribution patterns, exploratory foraging and, the number and distribution of landing positions on the net, which were determined largely by the orientation of the human within. The model replicates experimental results with free-flying living mosquitoes at human-occupied bed nets, where contact occurs predominantly on the top surface of the net. This accuracy is important as it quantifies exposure to the lethal insecticide residues that may be unique to the net roof (or theoretically any other surface). Number of net contacts and height of contacts decreased with increasing attractant dispersal noise. Conclusions Results generated by the model are an accurate representation of actual mosquito behaviour recorded at and around a human-occupied bed net in untreated and insecticide-treated nets. This fine-grained model is highly flexible and has significant potential for in silico screening of novel bed net designs, potentially reducing time and cost and accelerating the deployment of new and more effective tools for protecting against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

scholarly journals Natural barriers: waterfall transit by small flying animals

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 201185
Author(s):  
Victor M. Ortega-Jimenez ◽  
Eva C. Herbst ◽  
Michelle S. Leung ◽  
Robert Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
The Body ◽  
Heterogeneous Structure ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Physical Constraints ◽  
Physical Barriers ◽  
Translational Speed ◽  
Geomorphological Features ◽  
Stroke Amplitude

Waterfalls are conspicuous geomorphological features with heterogeneous structure, complex dynamics and multiphase flows. Swifts, dippers and starlings are well-known to nest behind waterfalls, and have been reported to fly through them. For smaller fliers, by contrast, waterfalls seem to represent impenetrable barriers, but associated physical constraints and the kinematic responses of volant animals during transit are unknown. Here, we describe the flight behaviour of hummingbirds (the sister group to the swifts) and of various insect taxa as they fly through an artificial sheet waterfall. We additionally launched plastic balls at different speeds at the waterfall so as to assess the inertial dependence of sheet penetration. Hummingbirds were able to penetrate the waterfall with reductions in both their translational speed, and stroke amplitude. The body tilted more vertically and exhibited greater rotations in roll, pitch and yaw, along with increases in tail spread and pitch. The much smaller plastic balls and some flies moving at speeds greater than 2.3 m s −1 and 1.6 m s −1 , respectively, also overcame effects of surface tension and water momentum and passed through the waterfall; objects with lower momentum, by contrast, entered the sheet but then fell along with the moving water. Waterfalls can thus represent impenetrable physical barriers for small and slow animal fliers, and may also serve to exclude both predators and parasites from nests of some avian taxa.

Cercal ablation modifies tethered flight behaviour of cockroach

Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 268 (5620) ◽  
pp. 523-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER J. FRASER
Keyword(s):  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Tethered Flight

Nocturnal observations on the emergence and flight behaviour of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the post-rainy season in central India

1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Riley ◽  
N.J. Armes ◽  
D.R. Reynolds ◽  
A.D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Helicoverpa Armigera ◽  
Central India ◽  
Pigeon Pea ◽  
Mate Finding ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Infra Red ◽  
Helicoverpa Armígera ◽  
Migratory Strategies ◽  
Lepidoptera Noctuidae ◽  
Oviposition Sites

AbstractA range of techniques was used to quantify the nocturnal flight behaviour of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) crops near Hyderabad, in central India. These included visual observations in the field, the use of field cages and a vehicle-mounted net, optical and video imaging in the infra-red, and radar. Moth emergence from the soil was observed to start at dusk and recruitment continued steadily throughout the first half of the night. Little activity was observed in moths on the night of emergence, except for weak flying or crawling to daytime refuges. Flight activity of one-day old moths started about 20 min after sunset, peaked 15 min later and within about an hour of sunset had declined to a low level which persisted for the rest of the night. Flight of reproductively mature moths was most frequent about 1 h after sunset and at this time mainly comprised females searching for oviposition sites and nectar sources. By about 2 h after sunset, flight had decreased markedly, but there was a slight increase in activity in the second half of the night caused by males undertaking mate-finding flights. Under the conditions studied, the majority of H. armigera dispersed below 10 m, and there were no mass ascents to higher altitudes like those observed at outbreak sites of the African armyworm, Spodoptera exempta (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The contrasting migratory strategies of H. armigera and S. exempta are briefly discussed.

Flight behaviour of the bird cherry aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi

1991 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN F. NOTTINGHAM ◽  
JIM HARDIE ◽  
G. M. TATCHELL
Keyword(s):  
Rhopalosiphum Padi ◽  
Flight Behaviour

scholarly journals Wing tags severely impair movement in African Cape Vultures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teja Curk ◽  
Martina Scacco ◽  
Kamran Safi ◽  
Martin Wikelski ◽  
Wolfgang Fiedler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Animal Movement ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Observed Behaviour ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tagging Methods ◽  
Study Species

AbstractBackgroundThe use of tracking technologies is key for the study of animal movement and pivotal to ecological and conservation research. However, the potential effects of devices attached to animals are sometimes neglected. The impact of tagging not only rises welfare concerns, but can also bias the data collected, causing misinterpretation of the observed behaviour which invalidates the comparability of information across individuals and populations. Patagial (wing) tags have been extensively used as a marking method for visual resightings in endangered vulture species, but their effect on the aerodynamics of the birds and their flight behaviour is yet to be investigated. Using GPS backpack mounted devices, we compared the flight performance of 27 captive and wild Cape Vultures (Gyps coprotheres), marked with either patagial tags or coloured leg bands.ResultsIndividuals equipped with patagial tags were less likely to fly, travelled shorter distances and flew slower compared to individuals equipped with leg bands. These effects were also observed in one individual that recovered its flight performance after replacing its patagial tag by a leg band.ConclusionsAlthough we did not measure the effects of patagial tags on body condition or survival, our study strongly suggests that they have severe adverse effects on vultures’ flight behaviour and emphasises the importance of investigating the effects that tagging methods can have on the behaviour and conservation of the study species, as well as on the quality of the scientific results.

scholarly journals Groping in the fog: soaring migrants exhibit wider scatter and do not properly adjust their flight in response to wind under low visibility conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Becciu ◽  
Michele Panuccio ◽  
Giacomo Dell'Omo ◽  
Nir Sapir
Keyword(s):  
Flight Speed ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Flight Behaviour ◽  
Cost Of Transport ◽  
Migration Direction ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Migrating Birds ◽  
Behaviour Changes

Atmospheric conditions are known to affect flight propensity, behaviour during flight, and migration route in birds. Yet, the effects of fog have only been rarely studied, although they could disrupt orientation and hamper the accomplishment of the journey. Soaring migrants modulate their flight speed and direction in relation to the wind vector to optimize the cost of transport. Fog could limit the visibility of migrating birds such that they might not be able to detect landmarks that guide them during their journey. Consequently, landmark-based orientation, as well as adjustments of flight speed and direction in relation to wind conditions, could be jeopardized when flying in fog. Using a radar system that operated in a migration bottleneck (Strait of Messina, Italy), we studied the behaviour of soaring birds under variable wind and fog conditions over two consecutive springs (2016 and 2017), discovering that migrating birds exhibited a wider scatter of flight directions and responded differently to wind conditions under fog conditions. Birds flying through fog deviated more from the mean migration direction and increased their speed with increasing crosswinds. In addition, airspeed and groundspeed increased in the direction of the crosswind, causing a lateral drift of the individuals. Furthermore, the response to tailwind was opposite to that predicted by optimal migration theory. Our findings represent the first quantitative empirical evidence of flight behaviour changes when birds migrate through fog and explain why low visibility conditions could risk their migration journey.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document