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Article
Open AccessThe biomechanical origin of extreme wing allometry in hummingbirds
Flying animals of different masses vary widely in body proportions, but the functional implications of this variation are often unclear. We address this ambiguity by develo** an integrative allometric approa...
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Article
Open AccessSpiderweb deformation induced by electrostatically charged insects
Capture success of spider webs has been associated with their microstructure, ornamentation and wind-induced vibrations. Indirect evidence suggests that statically charged objects can attract silk thread, but ...
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Article
Directed aerial descent in canopy ants
Many tree-dwelling animals use gliding flight to get from tree to tree, for example flying squirrels, gliders and lemurs. Now similar behaviour has been observed in a wingless insect — the ants of tropical rai...
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Article
Limits to vertebrate locomotor energetics suggested by hummingbirds hovering in heliox
OXYGEN consumption1 and muscle power output2 of hovering hummingbirds are among the highest recorded for vertebrates. Maximum performance of hummingbirds thus approaches the upper limits of vertebrate aerobic loc...
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Article
Implications of the late Palaeozoic oxygen pulse for physiology and evolution
The late Palaeozoic was marked by significant changes in atmospheric chemistry and biotic composition. Geochemical models suggest a marked increase and then decline of atmospheric oxygen and associated shifts ...