QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online October 17, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3478-3489 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.017590

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplementary Material Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Iriarte-Díaz, J. Articles by Swartz, S. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Iriarte-Díaz, J. Articles by Swartz, S. M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Kinematics of slow turn maneuvering in the fruit bat Cynopterus brachyotis

José Iriarte-Díaz^1,* and Sharon M. Swartz^1,2

¹ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
² Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA

^* Author for correspondence at current address: Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA (e-mail: jiriarte{at}uchicago.edu)

Accepted 6 September 2008

Maneuvering abilities have long been considered key factors that influence habitat selection and foraging strategies in bats. To date, however, very little experimental work has been carried out to understand the mechanisms that bats use to perform maneuvers. In the present study, we examined the kinematics of slow-speed turning flight in the lesser short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, to understand the basic mechanics employed to perform maneuvers and to compare them with previous findings in bats and other flying organisms. Four individuals were trained to fly in L-shaped flight enclosure that required them to make a 90 deg. turn midway through each flight. Flights were recorded with three low-light, high-speed videocameras, allowing the three-dimensional reconstruction of the body and wing kinematics. For any flying organisms, turning requires changes of the direction of travel and the reorientation of the body around the center of mass to maintain the alignment with the flight direction. In C. brachyotis, changes in body orientation (i.e. heading) took place during upstroke and preceded the changes in flight direction, which were restricted to the downstroke portion of the wingbeat cycle. Mean change in flight direction was significantly correlated to the mean heading angular velocity at the beginning of the downstroke and to the mean bank angle during downstroke, although only heading velocity was significant when both variables were considered. Body reorientation prior to changes in direction might be a mechanism to maintain the head and body aligned with the direction of travel and, thus, maximizing spatial accuracy in three-dimensionally complex environments.

Key words: aerodynamics, bat, flight, kinematics, turning

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

BATS TAKE TURNS BY BANKING AND CRABBING

Kathryn Phillips
JEB 2008 211: ii. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Phillips BATS TAKE TURNS BY BANKING AND CRABBING J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2008; 211(21): ii - ii. [Full Text] [PDF]