Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Publication Title
PLoS One
Volume
3
Issue Number
12
First Page
e4016
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0004016
Disciplines
Biology | Marine Biology
Abstract
Among the varied adaptations for avian flight, the morphological traits allowing large-bodied albatrosses to capitalize on wind and wave energy for efficient long-distance flight are unparalleled. Consequently, the biogeographic distribution of most albatrosses is limited to the windiest oceanic regions on earth; however, exceptions exist. Species breeding in the North and Central Pacific Ocean (Phoebastria spp.) inhabit regions of lower wind speed and wave height than southern hemisphere genera, and have large intrageneric variation in body size and aerodynamic performance. Here, we test the hypothesis that regional wind and wave regimes explain observed differences in Phoebastria albatross morphology and we compare their aerodynamic performance to representatives from the other three genera of this globally distributed avian family. In the North and Central Pacific, two species (short-tailed P. albatrus and waved P. irrorata) are markedly larger, yet have the smallest breeding ranges near highly productive coastal upwelling systems. Short-tailed albatrosses, however, have 60% higher wing loading (weight per area of lift) compared to waved albatrosses. Indeed, calculated aerodynamic performance of waved albatrosses, the only tropical albatross species, is more similar to those of their smaller congeners (black-footed P. nigripes and Laysan P. immutabilis), which have relatively low wing loading and much larger foraging ranges that include central oceanic gyres of relatively low productivity. Globally, the aerodynamic performance of short-tailed and waved albatrosses are most anomalous for their body sizes, yet consistent with wind regimes within their breeding season foraging ranges. Our results are the first to integrate global wind and wave patterns with albatross aerodynamics, thereby identifying morphological specialization that may explain limited breeding ranges of two endangered albatross species. These results are further relevant to understanding past and potentially predicting future distributional limits of albatrosses globally, particularly with respect to climate change effects on basin-scale and regional wind fields.
Recommended Citation
R M. Suryan, D J. Anderson, Scott A. Shaffer, D D. Roby, Y Tremblay, D P. Costa, F Sato, K Ozaki, and G Balogh. "Wind, waves, and wing loading: Their relative importance to the at-sea distribution and movements of North and Central Pacific albatrosses" PLoS One (2008): e4016. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004016
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Comments
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons–Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Citation: Suryan RM, Anderson DJ, Shaffer SA, Roby DD, Tremblay Y, et al. (2008) Wind, Waves, and Wing Loading: Morphological Specialization May Limit Range Expansion of Endangered Albatrosses. PLoS ONE 3(12): e4016. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004016.