Science· 2026Q1
Airflows redefine the cost of aerial transport in the wild
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Flying can be cheaper than swimming and almost as costly as running for wild animals, depending on environmental and behavioral interactions, according to new estimates using high-resolution movement data.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Wild flying animals can extract energy from atmospheric flows, altering transport cost calculations.
- New estimates suggest flight costs are comparable to running and cheaper than swimming for some species.
- Transport costs are influenced by interactions between the physical environment, animal morphology, and behavior.
- Findings provide a basis for predicting how windscape changes will impact flying animal movements and distributions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Fuel economy matters to both animals and machines, as the cost of transport can determine where, when, and how far locomotion is possible. However, established estimates of these values for animal flight come from laboratories and treat the atmosphere as constant, even though free-flying animals routinely extract energy from atmospheric flows. Using high-resolution movement data, we estimate the cost of transport for 50 bird and bat species flying in the wild. Our results revise the classic ranking of locomotion costs, suggesting that flying can be cheaper than swimming though almost as costly as running, depending on interactions between physical environment, morphology, and behavior. Linking transport costs to atmospheric conditions provides a mechanistic basis for predicting how changing windscapes will reshape the energetics, movements, and distributions of flying animals.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace EngineeringEngineering