Predator escape tactics in birds: Linking ecology and aerodynamics

Behavioral Ecology

Volumn 21, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 16-25

  Van Den Hout, Piet J ^a   Mathot, Kimberley J ^b   Maas, Leo R M ^a   Piersma, Theunis ^a,c  

^a ROYAL NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR SEA RESEARCH   (Netherlands)

^b UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL   (Canada)

^c UNIVERSITY OF GRONINGEN   (Netherlands)

Author keywords

Aerodynamics; Body mass; Escape performance; Flight; Pectoral muscle; Phenotypic flexibility; Raptors; Risk management

Indexed keywords

AERODYNAMICS; ANTIPREDATOR DEFENSE; BODY MASS; ESCAPE BEHAVIOR; FLIGHT; MUSCLE; PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY; PREDATION RISK; RAPTOR; VULNERABILITY; WADER;

AVES; RAPTORES;

EID: 72649097300     PISSN: 10452249     EISSN: 14657279     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp146     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Akaike H. 1974. New look at statistical model identification. IEEE Trans Automat Contr. AC-19:716-723.
2. Alerstam T, Lindström A. 1990. Optimal bird migration: the relative importance of time, energy, and safety. In: Gwinner E, editor. Bird migration physiology and ecology. Berlin (Germany): Springer Verlag. p. 331-351.
3. Bensch S, Grahn M. 1993. A new method for estimating individual speed of moult. Condor. 95:305-315.
4. Brown JS, Kotler BP. 2007. Foraging and the ecology of fear. In: Stephens DW, Brown JS, Ydenberg RC, editors. Foraging: behavior and ecology. Chicago: Chicago University Press. p. 437-480.
5. Burns JG, Ydenberg RC. 2002. The effects of wing loading and gender on the escape flights of least sandpipers (Calidris minutilla) and western sandpipers (Calidris mauri). Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 52:128-136.
6. Caro T. 2005. Antipredator defenses in birds and mammals. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
7. Carrascal LM, Polo V. 1999. Coal tits, Parus ater, lose weight in response to chases by predators. Anim Behav. 58:281-285.
8. Cramp S, Simmons KEL, Brooks DJ, Collar NJ, Dunn E, Gillmor R, Hollom PAD, Hudson R, Nicholson EM, Ogilvie MA, et al. 1983. The birds of the Western Palearctic. New York: Oxford University Press.
9. Cresswell W. 1996. Surprise as a winter hunting strategy in sparrow-hawks Accipiter nisus, peregrines Falco peregrinus and merlins F. columbarius. Ibis. 138:684-692.
10. Cresswell W, Quinn JL. 2004. Faced with a choice, sparrowhawks more often attack the more vulnerable prey group. Oikos. 104: 71-76.
11. Dawkins R. 1999. The extended phenotype (revised edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12. Dierschke V. 2003. Predation hazard during stop-over: are light or heavy birds under risk? J Avian Biol. 34:24-29.
13. Dietz MW, Dekinga A, Piersma T, Verhulst S. 1999. Estimating organ size in small migrating shorebirds with ultrasonogaphy: an intercal-ibration exercise. Physiol Biochem Zool. 72:28-37.
14. Dietz MW, Hedenström A, Piersma T, Brugge M. 2007. Intraspecific variation in avian pectoral muscle mass: constraints on maintaining manoeuvrability with increasing body mass. Funct Ecol. 21:317-326.
15. Dietz MW, Piersma T. 2007. Red knots give up flight capacity and defend food processing capacity during winter starvation. Funct Ecol. 21:899-904.
16. Dietz MW, Piersma T, Dekinga A. 1999. Body-building without power training: endogeneously regulated pectoral muscle hypertrophy in confined shorebirds. J Exp Biol. 202:2831-2837.
17. Fox AD, Kahlert J. 2005. Changes in body mass and organ size during wing moult in non-breeding greylag geese Anser anser. J Avian Biol. 36:538-548.
18. Fox ZG, Mihalik JP, Blackburn JT, Battaglini CL, Guskiewicz KM. 2008. Return of postural control to baseline after anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols. J Athl Train. 43:456-463.
19. Fuller RA. 2003. Factors influencing foraging decisions in ruddy turnstones Arenaria intrepres (L.). [PhD thesis]. [Durham (NC)]: University of Durham.
20. Gaunt AS, Hikida RS, Jehl JR, Fenbert L. 1990. Rapid atrophy and hypertrophy of an avian flight muscle. Auk. 107:649-659.
21. Ginn HD, Melville DS. 1983. Moult in birds. Tring (UK): BTO.
22. Gosler AG, Greenwood JJD, Perrins CM. 1995. Predation risk and the cost of being fat. Nature. 377:621-623.
23. Hedenström A, Alerstam T. 1992. Climbing performance of migratory birds as a basis for estimating limits for fuel carrying capacity and muscle work. J Exp Biol. 164:19-38.
24. Hedenström A, Rosén M. 2001. Predator versus prey: on aerial hunting and escape strategies in birds. Behav Ecol. 12:150-156.
25. Hedenström A, Sunada S. 1999. On the aerodynamics of moult gaps in birds. J Exp Biol. 202:67-76.
26. Howland HC. 1974. Optimal strategies for predator avoidance-relative importance of speed and maneuverability. J Theor Biol. 47:333-350.
27. Krause J, Ruxton GD. 2002. Living in groups. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
28. Kullberg C, Fransson T, Jakobsson S. 1996. Impaired predator evasion in fat blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla). Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 263:1671-1675.
29. Kullberg C, Houston DC, Metcalfe NB. 2002. Impaired flight ability-a cost of reproduction in female blue tits. Behav Ecol. 13:575-579.
30. Kullberg C, Jakobsson S, Fransson T. 1998. Predator-induced take-off strategy in great tits (Parus major). Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 265:1659-1664.
31. Kumagai K, Abe T, Brechue WF, Ryushi T, Takano S, Mizuno M. 2000. Sprint performance is related to muscle fascicle length in male 100-m sprinters. J Appl Physiol. 88:811-816.
32. Lank DB, Ydenberg RC. 2003. Death and danger at migratory stopovers: problems with "predation risk". J Avian Biol. 34: 225-228.
33. Lessells CM, Boag PT. 1987. Unrepeatable repeatabilities: a common mistake. Auk. 104:116-121.
34. Lilliendahl K. 1997. The effect of predator presence on body mass in captive greenfinches. Anim Behav. 53:75-81.
35. Lilliendahl K. 2000. Daily accumulation of body reserves under increased predation risk in captive greenfinches Carduelis chloris. Ibis. 142:587-595.
36. Lima SL. 1993. Ecological and evolutionary perspectives on escape from predatory attack: a survey of North American birds. Wilson Bull. 105:1-47.
37. Lima SL. 1995. Collective detection of predatory attack by social foragers: fraught with ambiguity? Anim Behav. 50:1097-1108.
38. Lima SL, Valone TJ. 1986. Influence of predation risk on diet selections-a simple example in the grey squirrel. Anim Behav. 34:536-544.
39. Lind J. 2001. Escape flight in moulting tree sparrows (Passer monta-nus). Funct Ecol. 15:29-35.
40. Lind J. 2004. What determines probability of surviving predator attacks in bird migration?: the relative importance of vigilance and fuel load. J Theor Biol. 231:223-227.
41. Lind J, Jakobsson S. 2001. Body building and concurrent mass loss: flight adaptations in tree sparrows. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 268:1915-1919.
42. Lindström A. 1989. Finch flock size and risk of hawk predation at a migratory stopover site. Auk. 106:225-232.
43. Lindström A, Klaassen M, Piersma T, Holmgren N. 2002. Fuel storage of juvenile waders on autumn migration in high arctic Canada. Ardea. 90:93-101.
44. Lindström A, Kvist A, Piersma T, Dekinga A, Dietz MW. 2000. Avian pectoral muscle size rapidly tracks body mass changes during flight, fasting and fuelling. J Exp Biol. 203:913-919.
45. Lockwood R, Swaddle JP, Rayner JMV. 1998. Avian wingtip shape reconsidered: wingtip shape indices and morphological adaptations to migration. J Avian Biol. 29:273-292.
46. Marchetti K, Price T, Richman A. 1995. Correlates of wing mophology with foraging behavior and migration distance in the genus Phyllo-scopus. J Avian Biol. 26:177-181.
47. Marsh RL. 1984. Adaptations of the gray catbird Dumetella carolinensis to long-distance migration: flight muscle hypertrophy associated with elevated body mass. J Physiol Zool. 57:105-117.
48. Mathot KJ, van den Hout PJ, Piersma T. 2009. Differential responses of red knots, Calidris canutus, to perching and flying sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, models. Anim Behav. 77:1179-1185.
49. McNamara JM, Houston AI. 1990. The value of fat reserves and the trade-off between starvation and predation. Acta Biotheor. 38:37-61.
50. Metcalfe N. 1984. The effects of habitat on the vigilance of shorebirds: is visibility important? Anim Behav. 32:981-985.
51. Metcalfe NB. 1986. Variation in winter flocking associations and dispersion patterns in the turnstone Arenaria interpres. J Zool. 209: 385-403.
52. Monkkonen M. 1995. Do migrant birds have more pointed wings-a comparative study. Evol Ecol. 9:520-528.
53. Nebel S, Piersma T, Van Gils J, Dekinga A, Spaans B. 2000. Length of stopover, fuel storage and a sex-bias in the occurrence of two subspecies of red knots Calidris c. canutus and C. c. islandica in the Dutch Wadden Sea during southward migration. Ardea. 88:165-176.
54. Norberg UM. 1989. Vertebrate flight, mechanisc, physiology, morphology, ecology and evolution. Berlin (Germany): Springer Verlag.
55. Piersma T. 1988. Breast muscle atrophy and constraints on foraging during the flightless period of wing moulting great crested grebes. Ardea. 76:96-106.
56. Piersma T. 2007. Using the power of comparison to explain habitat use and migration strategies of shorebirds worldwide. J Ornithol. 148:S45-S59.
57. Piersma T, Drent J. 2003. Phenotypic flexibility and the evolution of organismal design. Trends Ecol Evol. 18:228-233.
58. Piersma T, Gudmundsson GA, Lilliendahl K. 1999. Rapid changes in the size of different functional organ and muscle groups during refueling in an long-distance migrating shorebird. Physiol Biochem Zool. 72:405-415.
59. Piersma T, Hoekstra R, Dekinga A, Koolhaas A, Wolf P, Battley P, Wiersma P. 1993. Scale and intensity of intertidal habitat use by knots Calidris canutus in the western Wadden Sea in relation to food, friends and foes. J Sea Res. 31:331-357.
60. Portugal SJ, Thorpe SKS, Green JA, Myatt JP, Butler PJ. 2009. Testing the use/disuse hypothesis: pectoral and leg muscle changes in captive barnacle geese Branta leucopsis during wing moult. J Exp Biol. 212:2403-2410.
61. Potts WK. 1984. The chorus-line hypothesis of manoeuvre coordination in avian flocks. Nature. 309:344-345.
62. Rayner JMV. 1993. On aerodynamics and the energetics of vertebrate flapping flight. In: Cheer AY, Dam CP, editors. Fluid dynamics in biology. Providence (RI): American Mathemetical Society. p. 351-400.
63. Rogers DI, Battley PF, Piersma T, van Gils JA, Rogers KG. 2006. High-tide habitat choice: insights from modelling roost selection by shorebirds around a tropical bay. Anim Behav. 72: 563-575.
64. Rosser BWC, George JC. 1986. The avian pectoralis-histochemical characterization and distribution of muscle-fiber types. Can J Zool. 64:1174-1185.
65. Rudebeck G. 1950-1951 The choice of prey and modes of hunting of predatory birds with special reference to their selective effect. Oikos. 2:65-88; 3:200-231.
66. Selman RG, Houston DC. 1996. A technique for measuring lean pectoral muscle mass in live small birds. Ibis. 138:348-350.
67. Swaddle JP, Biewener AA. 2000. Exercise and reduced muscle mass in starlings. Nature. 406:585-586.
68. Swaddle JP, Lockwood R. 1998. Morphological adaptations to preda-tion risk in passerines. J Avian Biol. 29:172-176.
69. Swaddle JP, Williams EV, Rayner JMV. 1999. The effect of simulated flight feather moult on escape take-off performance in starlings. J Avian Biol. 30:351-358.
70. van den Hout PJ, Piersma T, Dekinga A, Lubbe SK, Visser GH. 2006. Ruddy turnstones Arenaria interpres rapidly build pectoral muscle after raptor scares. J Avian Biol. 37:425-430.
71. van den Hout PJ, Spaans B, Piersma T. 2008. Differential mortality of wintering shorebirds on the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, due to pre-dation by large falcons. Ibis. 150(Suppl 1):219-230.
72. van der Veen IT, Lindström KM. 2000. Escape flights of yellowhammers and greenfinches: more than just physics. Anim Behav. 59:593-601.
73. Vézina F, Jalvingh KM, Dekinga A, Piersma T. 2006. Acclimation to different thermal conditions in a northerly wintering shorebird is driven by body mass-related changes in organ size. J Exp Biol. 209:3141-3154.
74. Videler JJ. 2005. Avian flight. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
75. Warrick DR. 1998. The turning-and linear-maneuvering performance of birds: the cost of efficiency for coursing insectivores. Can J Zool. 76:1063-1079.
76. Warrick DR, Dial KP. 1998. Kinematic, aerodynamic and antomical mechnisms in the slow, maneuvering flight of pigeons. J Exp Biol. 201:655-762.
77. Warrick DR, Dial KP, Biewener AA. 1998. Asymmetrical force production in the maneuvering flight of pigeons. Auk. 115:916-928.
78. Whitfield DP, Evans AD, Whitfield PA. 1988. The impact of raptor predation on wintering waders. In: Ouellet H, editor. Congressus Internationalis Ornithologici XIX. Ottowa: University of Ottowa Press. p. 674-687.
79. Witter MS, Cuthill IC. 1993. The ecological costs of avian fat storage. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 340:73-92.
80. Witter MS, Cuthill IC, Bonser RHC. 1994. Experimental investigations of mass-dependant predation risk in the European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Anim Behav. 48:201-222.
81. Witter MS, Swaddle JP, Cuthill IC. 1995. Periodic food availability and strategic regulation of body mass in the European starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Funct Ecol. 9:568-574.
82. Ydenberg RC, Dill LM. 1986. The economics of fleeing from predators. Adv Study Behav. 16:229-249.
83. Zar JH. 1999. Biostatistical analysis. 4 ed. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice Hall.
84. Zwarts L. 1988. Numbers and distribution of coastal waders in Guinea-Bissau. Ardea. 76:42-55.