Paolo S Segre, Roslyn Dakin ... Douglas L Altshuler
Maneuverability is thought to be limited by either intrinsic constraints or physiological capacity, and automated tracking of flying hummingbirds reveals that muscle capacity explains much of the variation in their flight trajectories.
Rory P Wilson, Iwan W Griffiths ... David M Scantlebury
Increased mass enhances speed but compromises turning capacity in pursuit predators; this has widespread ramifications for the best strategies for predators and prey during chases according to their relative masses.
Even moderate winds cause auks to abort landing attempts at nest-sites, and as a result, wind characteristics may affect where these, and other seabirds, choose to breed.
Paul C Sereno, Nathan Myhrvold ... Lauren L Conroy
A digital flesh model of the sail-backed dinosaur Spinosaurus was tested and performed very poorly in water, favoring the view of this dinosaur as a two-legged, wading ambush predator of large fish in shallow waterways and not an aquatic dinosaur.
Mechanosensors in the antennae of hawkmoths provide rapid sensory feedback for the control of fast flight manoeuvres, which acts in parallel to visual information.
Flight system of flies is driven by wings and mechanosensory halteres that operate as independently driven but coupled oscillators, thereby imparting robustness against wing or thorax damage.