Oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones.

In late summer and autumn, the passage of intense tropical cyclones can profoundly perturb oceanic and coastal ecosystems. Direct negative effects on individuals and marine communities can be dramatic, especially in the coastal zone,1,2,3,4 but cyclones can also enhance pelagic primary and secondary production.5,6,7,8,9 However, cyclone impacts on open ocean marine life remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate their effects on the foraging movements of a wide-ranging higher predator, the Desertas petrel (Pterodroma deserta), in the mid-latitude North Atlantic during hurricane season. Contrary to previously studied pelagic seabirds in tropical and mid-latitude regions,10,11 Desertas petrels did not avoid cyclones by altering course, nor did they seek calmer conditions within the cyclone eye. Approximately one-third of petrels tracked from their breeding colony interacted with approaching cyclones. Upon encountering strong winds, the birds reduced ground speed, likely by spending less time in flight. A quarter of birds followed cyclone wakes for days and over thousands of kilometers, a behavior documented here for the first time. Within these wakes, tailwind support was higher than along alternative routes. Furthermore, at the mesoscale (hours-weeks and hundreds of kilometers), sea surface temperature dropped and surface chlorophyll sharply increased, suggesting direct effects on ocean stratification, primary production, and therefore presumably prey abundance and accessibility for surface-feeding petrels. We therefore hypothesize that cyclone wakes provide both predictably favorable wind conditions and foraging opportunities. As such, cyclones may have positive net effects on the demography of many mid-latitude pelagic seabirds and, likely, other marine top-predators.

Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross.

Wandering albatrosses exploit wind shear by dynamic soaring (DS), enabling rapid, efficient, long-range flight. We compared the ability of a theoretical nonlinear DS model and a linear empirical model to explain the observed variation of mean across-wind airspeeds of GPS-tracked wandering albatrosses. Assuming a flight trajectory of linked, 137° turns, a DS cycle of 10 s and a cruise airspeed of 16 m s-1, the theoretical model predicted that the minimum wind speed necessary to support DS is greater than 3 m s-1. Despite this, tracked albatrosses were observed in flight at wind speeds as low as 2 m s-1. We hypothesize at these very low wind speeds, wandering albatrosses fly by obtaining additional energy from updrafts over water waves. In fast winds (greater than 8 m s-1), assuming the same 10 s cycle period and a turn angle (TA) of 90°, the DS model predicts mean across-wind airspeeds of up to around 50 m s-1. In contrast, the maximum observed across-wind mean airspeed of our tracked albatrosses reached an asymptote at approximately 20 m s-1. We hypothesize that this is due to birds actively limiting airspeed by making fine-scale adjustments to TAs and soaring heights in order to limit aerodynamic force on their wings.

Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind.

BACKGROUND: Albatrosses and other large seabirds use dynamic soaring to gain sufficient energy from the wind to travel large distances rapidly and with little apparent effort. The recent development of miniature bird-borne tracking devices now makes it possible to explore the physical and biological implications of this means of locomotion in detail. Here we use GPS tracking and concurrent reanalyzed wind speed data to model the flight performance of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans soaring over the Southern Ocean. We investigate the extent to which flight speed and performance of albatrosses is facilitated or constrained by wind conditions encountered during foraging trips. RESULTS: We derived simple equations to model observed albatross ground speed as a function of wind speed and relative wind direction. Ground speeds of the tracked birds in the along-wind direction varied primarily by wind-induced leeway, which averaged 0.51 (± 0.02) times the wind speed at a reference height of 5 m. By subtracting leeway velocity from ground velocity, we were able to estimate airspeed (the magnitude of the bird's velocity through the air). As wind speeds increased from 3 to 18 m/s, the airspeed of wandering albatrosses flying in an across-wind direction increased by 0.42 (± 0.04) times the wind speed (i.e. ~ 6 m/s). At low wind speeds, tracked birds increased their airspeed in upwind flight relative to that in downwind flight. At higher wind speeds they apparently limited their airspeeds to a maximum of around 20 m/s, probably to keep the forces on their wings in dynamic soaring well within tolerable limits. Upwind airspeeds were nearly constant and downwind leeway increased with wind speed. Birds therefore achieved their fastest upwind ground speeds (~ 9 m/s) at low wind speeds (~ 3 m/s). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into which flight strategies are optimal for dynamic soaring. Our results are consistent with the prediction that the optimal range speed of albatrosses is higher in headwind than tailwind flight but only in wind speeds of up to ~ 7 m/s. Our models predict that wandering albatrosses have oval-shaped airspeed polars, with the fastest airspeeds ~ 20 m/s centered in the across-wind direction. This suggests that in upwind flight in high winds, albatrosses can increase their ground speed by tacking like sailboats.