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COMMENTARY
Individual variation and the biomechanics of maneuvering flight in hummingbirds
R. Dakin, P. S. Segre, D. L. Altshuler
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb161828 doi: 10.1242/jeb.161828 Published 27 October 2020
R. Dakin
1Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
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P. S. Segre
2Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 93950, USA
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D. L. Altshuler
3Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 4200-6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
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ABSTRACT

An animal's maneuverability will determine the outcome of many of its most important interactions. A common approach to studying maneuverability is to force the animal to perform a specific maneuver or to try to elicit maximal performance. Recently, the availability of wider-field tracking technology has allowed for high-throughput measurements of voluntary behavior, an approach that produces large volumes of data. Here, we show how these data allow for measures of inter-individual variation that are necessary to evaluate how performance depends on other traits, both within and among species. We use simulated data to illustrate best practices when sampling a large number of voluntary maneuvers. Our results show how the sample average can be the best measure of inter-individual variation, whereas the sample maximum is neither repeatable nor a useful metric of the true variation among individuals. Our studies with flying hummingbirds reveal that their maneuvers fall into three major categories: simple translations, simple rotations and complex turns. Simple maneuvers are largely governed by distinct morphological and/or physiological traits. Complex turns involve both translations and rotations, and are more subject to inter-individual differences that are not explained by morphology. This three-part framework suggests that different wingbeat kinematics can be used to maximize specific aspects of maneuverability. Thus, a broad explanatory framework has emerged for interpreting hummingbird maneuverability. This framework is general enough to be applied to other types of locomotion, and informative enough to explain mechanisms of maneuverability that could be applied to both animals and bio-inspired robots.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests

    The authors declare no competing or financial interests.

  • Author contributions

    R.D. and D.L.A. wrote the manuscript. All authors developed the ideas and edited the manuscript.

  • Funding

    Our research on hummingbird maneuverability was funded by grants from the US National Science Foundation (IOS 0923849) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (402667 and RGPIN-2016-05381).

  • Supplementary information

    Supplementary information available online at https://jeb.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/jeb.161828.supplemental

  • © 2020. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
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Keywords

  • Behavior
  • Statistics
  • Maneuverability
  • Repeatability
  • Wingbeat kinematics

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COMMENTARY
Individual variation and the biomechanics of maneuvering flight in hummingbirds
R. Dakin, P. S. Segre, D. L. Altshuler
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb161828 doi: 10.1242/jeb.161828 Published 27 October 2020
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COMMENTARY
Individual variation and the biomechanics of maneuvering flight in hummingbirds
R. Dakin, P. S. Segre, D. L. Altshuler
Journal of Experimental Biology 2020 223: jeb161828 doi: 10.1242/jeb.161828 Published 27 October 2020

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Article navigation

  • Top
  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • Introduction
    • Big data and individual variation
    • Using big data to study maneuverability in hummingbirds
    • Hummingbird wingbeat kinematics during flight maneuvers
    • Conclusions and future research on the biomechanics of maneuvering in flying animals
    • Acknowledgements
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & tables
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