Meeting Abstract
The wings of flapping fliers are multi-purpose structures responsible for the generation of lift to support the body weight of the flier, thrust for forward flight, and directional forces for maneuvering. The relative importance of each of these functions and of flight as a whole differs among species with different flight styles and ecological pressures. Consequently, wing morphology is expected to display variation corresponding with those functions. Numerous studies have examined planform (i.e. two dimensional) avian wing shape in a variety of contexts, ranging from biomechanical studies of flight efficiency and migration to broad phylogenetically-controlled investigations of character evolution. In addition to planform variation, three-dimensional (3D) attributes of wing morphology such as camber, span-wise twist, and taper may also vary significantly among species and contribute to aerodynamic function, but have received less attention. This is likely, in part, because the advent of technology to quickly acquire 3D data is relatively recent, and applying those techniques to living animals remains challenging. To address this difficulty, we evaluated the utility of preserved spread wings in museum collections to studies of 3D wing morphology. One hundred and fifty wings from seven species of predatory birds (Accipiter cooperii, A. striatus, Buteo jamaicensis, B. lineatus, Falco peregrinus, F. columbarius and F. sparverius) spanning an order of magnitude of body mass and with three-fold variation in wingspan were scanned using a NextEngine 3D Scanner Ultra HD laser scanner (NextEngine, Inc.). The 3D data were analyzed using a custom program in MATLAB to assess interspecific and intraspecific variation and the reliability of metrics derived from such scans. We discuss the utility of this approach for future studies of morphology and biomechanics.
