Excess Baggage for Birds: Inappropriate Placement of Tags on Gannets Changes Flight Patterns

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 3; p. e92657
• Main Authors: Vandenabeele, Sylvie P., Grundy, Edward, Friswell, Michael I., Grogan, Adam, Votier, Stephen C., Wilson, Rory P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.03.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acceleration; Accelerometers; Aircraft; Aircraft aerodynamics; Aircraft bird strikes; Animals; Baggage; Biology; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomechanical Phenomena; Birds; Birds - physiology; Ecology; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Energy expenditure; Energy Metabolism; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Flight; Flight behavior; Flight, Animal - physiology; Geographic Information Systems; Gravity; Laws, regulations and rules; Luggage; Marine ecology; Ornithology; Physical Sciences; Physics; Pitch (inclination); Research and Analysis Methods; Science Policy; Tags; Tails; Transmitters; United Kingdom > UK

Devices attached to flying birds can hugely enhance our understanding of their behavioural ecology for periods when they cannot be observed directly. For this, scientists routinely attach units to either birds' backs or their tails. However, inappropriate payload distribution is critical in air...