Extreme Endurance Flights By Landbirds Crossing The Pacific Ocean: Ecological Corridor Rather Than Barrier?

Main Category: Veterinary
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 22 Oct 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Imagine exercising nonstop for a week. The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), a sleek shorebird, does just that and more.

With the help of miniaturized satellite transmitters godwits were tracked flying between Alaska and New Zealand, directly across the central Pacific Ocean. Constantly flapping their wings and taking no breaks to rest, eat or drink, godwits flew for 6 to 9 days over distances of 8,000 to 11,700 km.

These extraordinary nonstop flights establish new extremes for avian flight performance, have profound implications for understanding the physiological capabilities of vertebrates, and challenge current physiological paradigms on topics such as sleep, dehydration, and phenotypic flexibility.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/proceedingsb