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First published online April 26, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 1695-1708 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01576

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Circulatory variables and the flight performance of birds

Charles M. Bishop

School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Bangor, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Estimated maximum aerobic flight muscle power (W) plotted against body mass (kg). Calculated maximum aerobic metabolic power input available to the flight muscles (Pmet,fm) for 15 bird species studied by Hedenström and Alerstam (1992) during migratory climbing flights (+, green regression line) and for hummingbirds (small circles). Calculations of Pmet,fm are based on measurements of heart mass and assume O2max = 33Mh0.88 (Bishop, 1997). Estimated maximum biomechanical power output available continuously from the flight muscles (Pac) for the 15 migratory bird species (large circles, red regression line) calculated using Pennycuick's computer program 1A (Pennycuick, 1989, version 1.1) with default values for CD,par ranging from 0.25 to 0.4. The blue regression line is based on Pac calculated using a value for CD,par of 0.1 for all species. Pmet,fm (green crosses) and Pac (red triangles) are also plotted for three species of hummingbird hovering at a respirometry feeder (Wells, 1993; Chai and Dudley, 1995). Values for Mh are taken from Magnan (1922) and Hartman (1961).

View larger version (23K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Estimated `apparent' flight muscle mechanochemical efficiency plotted against body mass (kg) for 15 bird species during migratory climbing flights (+). The wigeon is left out of the analysis as an outlier. The red regression line is based on the biomechanical power output continuously available (Pac) calculated using default values for CD,par ranging from 0.25 to 0.4 (Pennycuick, 1989). The blue regression line is based on Pac calculated using a value for CD,par of 0.1. Estimates of efficiency for three species of hummingbirds () are also plotted. Calculations and data sources as in Fig. 1.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Ratio of calculated biomechanical Pac and estimated biomechanical Pmin required for forward flapping flight plotted against body mass (kg). Calculations of Pac assume O2max = 33Mh0.88 and Efm = 0.3Mb1.137 (see Fig. 2 and text). Estimates of Pmin use Pennycuick's computer program 1A (Pennycuick, 1989, version 1.1); default values for CD,par range from 0.25 to 0.4. Bird morphological data based on the study of Magnan (1922); see text. Coloured lines refer to Appendix B.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Mean values for various bird families for the ratio of biomechanical Pac and estimated biomechanical Pmin required for forward flapping flight plotted against body mass (kg). Calculations and data source as for Fig. 3. Coloured lines refer to Appendix B.