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Abstract
The evolution of the avian wing has long fascinated biologists, yet almost no work includes the length of primary feathers in consideration of overall wing length variation. Here we show that the length of the longest primary feather () contributing to overall wing length scales with negative allometry against total arm (ta = humerus+ulna+manus). The scaling exponent varied slightly, although not significantly so, depending on whether a species level analysis was used or phylogeny was controlled for using independent contrasts: . The scaling exponent was not significantly different from that predicted (0.86) by earlier work. It appears that there is a general trend for the primary feathers of birds to contribute proportionally less, and ta proportionally more, to overall wingspan as this dimension increases. Wingspan in birds is constrained close to mass (M 1/3) because of optimisation for lift production, which limits opportunities for exterior morphological change. Within the wing, variations in underlying bone and feather lengths nevertheless may, in altering the joint positions, permit a range of different flight styles by facilitating variation in upstroke kinematics.
Highlights
The total length of the avian wing derives from the underlying wing bones and the functional primary feathers (Fig. 1)
Scaling exponents vary slightly depending upon whether the effects of common ancestry are controlled for using independent contrasts or not (M0.35 and M0.39 respectively, table 1 in [1]), it is well established that wingspan (b) in birds scales with slightly positive allometry with respect to body mass (M.1/3) [1,2,3,4]
A predicted exponent of 0.86 assumes that size dependent variation in f prim is entirely responsible for the positive allometry seen in ta
Summary
The total length of the avian wing derives from the underlying wing bones (humerus, radius/ulna and manus) and the functional primary feathers (Fig. 1). Scaling exponents vary slightly depending upon whether the effects of common ancestry are controlled for using independent contrasts or not (M0.35 and M0.39 respectively, table 1 in [1]), it is well established that wingspan (b) in birds scales with slightly positive allometry with respect to body mass (M.1/3) [1,2,3,4]. A small collection of suitably stretched wing specimens was located in the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC, Canada (RBCM) Even these had the humerus removed from the wing, but kept separately to permit all wing-bone measurements to be recorded from a homogenous specimen. A predicted exponent of 0.86 assumes that size dependent variation in f prim is entirely responsible for the positive allometry seen in ta (i.e., elbow angle is constant across all wingspans)
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