FERNANDEZ, M.J*; BOZINOVIC, F.B; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile: Flight efficiency and energetic costs along an altitudinal gradient in the world’s largest hummingbird: Patagona gigas Patagona gigas is an outlier in the body size distribution of the approximately 330 species of hummingbirds, weighing twice as much as the second largest […]

ALTSHULER, Douglas L.; DICKINSON, Michael H.; California Institute of Technology; California Institute of Technology: Detailed kinematics of hovering flight in hummingbirds Although hovering flight is common among insects, hummingbirds are the only vertebrate group that perform sustained hovering. Hummingbirds are larger than most insects, operate at higher Re numbers, and thus experience the air as […]

HORISAWA, S.; BYRNES, G.T.; DUDLEY, R.; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of California, Berkeley: Characterization of Erratic Flight Trajectories in Free-Flying Butterflies Palatability of butterflies is correlated with flight speed, flight trajectory, maneuverability, body shape, wing aspect ratio, and the position of center of body mass. Relative to unpalatable butterflies, palatable […]

USHERWOOD, J.R.; HEDRICK, T.L.; BIEWENER, A.A.; Harvard University: Aerodynamics of flapping bird wings: insights from direct pressure measurements. Vertebrates power flight with flapping wings of complex and changing geometries. The aerodynamics of such dynamic aerofoils remains obscure. While a fixed-wing view of aerodynamics is likely to be appropriate for gliding and soaring flight, flapping flight […]

COMBES, S.A.*; LONGNION, J.K.; DANIEL, T.L.; Univ. of Washington, Seattle; Univ. of Washington, Seattle; Univ. of Washington, Seattle: Abdominal flexion and maneuvering flight in hawkmoths Maneuvering flight involves a number of control surfaces, including the wings, head, legs, and abdomen. For example, many insects display strong abdominal flexion during flight, associated with corrective steering behavior, […]

TOBALSKE, B.*; CLARK, C.; POWERS, D.; HYDER, G.; WARRICK, D.; HEDRICK, T.; BIEWENER, A.; Univ. of Portland, OR; Univ. of California, Berkeley; George Fox Univ., OR; Univ. of Portland, OR; Univ. of Portland, OR; Harvard Univ., MA; Harvard Univ., MA; : 3D kinematics and neuromuscular activity during hummingbird flight over a range of speeds. Hummingbirds […]

ROBERTS, L. F.*; O’REILLY, J. C.; WASSERSUG, R. J.; Dalhousie University, NS; University of Miami, FL; Dalhousie University, NS: The Behavioral Responses of Serpentine and Fossorial Amphibians and Reptiles to Microgravity in Parabolic Flight Although few vertebrate species have been observed in microgravity, certain behaviors are common. Most tetrapods interpret weightlessness as if they are […]

KABELIK, D.*; WEISS, S.L.; MOORE, M.C.; Arizona State University; Arizona State University; Arizona State University: Testosterone, aggression, and amygdala morphology in the tree lizard, Urosaurus ornatus How steroid hormones affect aggression is not well understood. Recent years have seen increased attention paid to the effect of steroids on plasticity of gross neural morphology, both during […]

BOORSE, GC; CRESPI, EJ; DAUTZENBERG, FM; DENVER, RJ; Univ of Michigan; Univ of Michigan; Johnson & Johnson, R&D; Univ of Michigan: Molecular cloning and analysis of Xenopus laevis urocortin 1 and urocortin 3 Vertebrates have several corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-like peptides that bind to and activate two G protein-coupled receptors (CRF1 and CRF2) to modulate endocrine, […]

CODDINGTON, EJ; ROSE, JD; MOORE, FL; Univ. Wyoming, Laramie; Univ. Wyoming, Laramie; Oregon State Univ., Corvallis: Endogenous Cannabinoid Signaling System Regulates Neuroendocrine Control of Behavior in an Amphibian, Taricha granulosa. Prior research has established endocannabinoid signaling as an important basic neural process, but, the physiological mechanism by which endocannabinoids regulate vertebrate behavior remains unknown. Truncated […]