Nature's Flyers: Birds, Insects, And The

David E. Alexander's fascination with the many animals and plants that have harnessed the air is evident in "Nature's Flyers: Birds, Insects, and the Biomechanics of Flight," a detailed account of our current scientific understanding of the primary aspects of flight in nature.Instead of relying on elaborate mathematical equations, Alexander explains the physical basis of flight with sharp prose and clear diagrams. Drawing upon bats, birds, insects, pterosaurs, and even winged seeds, he details the basic operating principles of wings and then moves progressively through more complex modes of animal flight, including gliding, flapping, and maneuvering. In addition to summarizing the latest thinking about flight's energy costs, Alexander presents a holistic view of flight and its ramifications as he explores the ecology and evolution of flying animals, addressing behaviorally important topics such as migration and navigation. With somewhat surprising answers, the author then concludes his study by examining,the extent to which natural flight has been inspiring or instructive for the architects of human flight -- airplane designers and engineers.

David E. Alexander is an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Kansas.

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
Cast of Characters	p. 3
Animal Aerodynamics	p. 5
Flight Plan	p. 6
How Wings Work	p. 8
Forces and Coefficients	p. 9
Producing Lift: The "Basic" Model	p. 17
Producing Lift: The "Engineering" Model	p. 21
Limits on Wing Performance	p. 30
Shapes of Wings and Why It Matters	p. 32
Wings: Too Good to Be True?	p. 35
Gliding and Soaring	p. 36
How Does Gliding Work?	p. 37
Parachuting versus Gliding	p. 41
Unpowered Flight in Animals	p. 42
Flight in Plants: Gliding Seeds	p. 48
Soaring: Staying Aloft by Gliding	p. 56
Designed for Soaring	p. 61
Who's Who among Soarers: The Effect of Size	p. 65
Gliding and Soaring in the Repertoire of Flying Animals	p. 68
Flapping and Hovering	p. 70
The Flapping Motion: How Do Wings Flap?	p. 72
Gaits of Flying Animals	p. 75
The Downstroke: Most Lift and Thrust	p. 78
The Upstroke: Changes with Gait	p. 80
Body Size: Gaits and Wing-Beat Frequencies	p. 86
Can Bumblebees Fly? Unsteady Aspects of Flapping	p. 89
Hovering	p. 98
Flight Underwater	p. 103
Birds Do It, Bees Do It, Why Can't We?	p. 108
Staying on Course and Changing Direction	p. 111
Steering	p. 111
Special Problems of Flight	p. 112
Stability	p. 114
Maneuvering	p. 119
Sensing: Where Am I Now, and Where Am I Going?	p. 130
Maneuverability and Lifestyles	p. 138
Fueling Flight	p. 140
Work and Energy in Biology	p. 141
Muscles and Energy	p. 142
The Cost of Locomotion	p. 145
Energy in Biology: Metabolic Rates	p. 145
How Much Does It Cost to Go from Here to There?	p. 150
The U-Shaped Power Curve	p. 152
Fuel for Flight	p. 160
Is High Power Combined with Low Cost a Paradox?	p. 162
Evolving Flyers	p. 165
Does Natural Selection Favor Flight?	p. 166
The Earliest Powered Flight	p. 167
Insects, the First Flyers	p. 168
Next to Fly: Pterosaurs	p. 182
Birds, Proprietors of Blue Skies	p. 195
Wings in the Dark: Bats	p. 209
Patterns in the Evolution of Flight	p. 215
Migrating	p. 217
The Advantages of Aerial Migration	p. 218
The Energetics of Migration	p. 223
Fuel for Migration	p. 226
Modes of Migration	p. 231
Migration Distances	p. 236
One Last Question	p. 241
Finding the Way	p. 242
Short-Range Navigation	p. 243
Middle-Distance Navigation	p. 248
Long-Distance Navigation: Migration	p. 250
Navigation: An Incomplete Picture	p. 259
The Global Impact of Animal Flight	p. 261
Flying Animals and the Natural World	p. 261
The Effect of Flying Animals on Humans	p. 270
The Impact of Flying Animals on Human Health	p. 276
The Effect of Humans on Flying Animals	p. 278
Have the Birds and Bees Taught Us Anything Useful?	p. 288
Direct Copying: What We Have Learned from Birds	p. 289
Parallel Achievements	p. 294
Why So Little "Technology Transfer"?	p. 306
Tiny Flying Machines	p. 308
More "Borrowing" in the Future?	p. 309
Notes	p. 311
Glossary	p. 323
Bibliography	p. 329
Index	p. 347
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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Nature's Flyers: Birds, Insects, And The Biomechanics Of Flight

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