Most bird species fly with muscle-powered active flight, which gives them great mobility that, for example, enables efficient habitat utilization and long-distance migration. The cost of flight (power consumption) can be theoretically described using a mechanical model, which results in a U-shaped relationship between power and speed. Until recently, it has been difficult to measure mechanical power in flying animals and thereby test the validity of the mechanical model. Evaluating the flight mechanics model is of great interest because it is used in other models related to flight and migration strategies in birds. By using high-speed cameras for kinematic studies of body and wing movements, it is possible to determine the cost of flight, as well as it is possible to measure, with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), the kinetic energy that a bird or bat adds to the air by flapping.
In this doctoral project, different methods for determining flight power will be used, partly how it varies with flight speed and partly how it varies between species of different sizes and shapes. The overall goal is to evaluate the validity of flight mechanics models and flight efficiency with a special focus on birds and/or bats. The studies will be mainly conducted at Lund University’s wind tunnel facility for animal studies, which is equipped with modern equipment well suited to the planned research. We will also test predictions based on results from the wind tunnel studies regarding bird migration strategies by tracking birds using GPS and multisensory loggers.
See the full add here: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:915256
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