Highways as flyways: Time and energy optimization in migratory Levant Sparrowhawk |
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| Authors: | R Yosef |
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| Institution: | 1. Theoretical Biology Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan;2. Departamento de Física, FCEyN Universidad de Buenos Aires, and IFIBA, CONICET, Pabellón 1, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina;3. MRC-National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK;4. University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK;1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligence Computing and Novel Software Technology, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, PR China;2. Key Laboratory of Computer Vision and System (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, PR China;3. School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, PR China;1. The School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia;2. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq;1. Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati-517 502, India;2. Department of Physics, Chadalawada Ramanamma Engineering College, Renigunta Road, Tirupati-517 506, India;1. School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, PO Box 71 Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia;2. Defence Science and Technology Group, 506 Lorimer St Fishermans Bend, Victoria 3207, Australia;1. Laboratory of Physics of High Energy, Modeling & Simulations (LPHE-MS), Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University of Rabat, Av. Ibn Batouta, B.P. 1014, Rabat, Morocco;2. Laboratory of Condensed Matter and Interdisciplinary Sciences (LaMCScI), Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco;3. MAScIR Foundation, Institut of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies, B.P. 10100, Rabat, Morocco;4. Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technology, Rabat, Morocco |
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| Abstract: | A successful migratory strategy is the result of optimizing three important factors – time, energy and safety. Raptors mainly use soaring-and-gliding flight that results in time and energy minimization. I observed migratory flocks of Levant Sparrowhawk as they took off from nocturnal roost, to understand the environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting their early-morning flight behavior. The earliest flocks converged in a straight line from the roosts to the highway and flew above it for 40–70 min after sunrise. The flocks stayed ca. 40–100 m in above the highway which suggested that the Levant Sparrowhawk utilized the heat released by the highway surface to improve flight conditions. Twenty-five Levant Sparrowhawk that took off from the roost and headed across open areas had to flap an average of 16.8 ± 1.9 wing beats per minute, which was significantly greater (paired t = ?16.8, P = 0.0001) than the 8.8 ± 1.8 wing beats per minute for the same individuals when flying over the highway. The data indicate that Levant Sparrowhawk, that have behaviorally modified and adapted to flying along highways, are able to migrate an hour earlier in the day and to conserve almost 50% of the energy they would otherwise have had to invest in covering the same distance in flapping flight. The result of this strategy maximizes timing of migration while minimizing energy expenditure. |
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