ArticleIntegrative organismal biology (Oxford, England)2021
Wing Shape in Waterbirds: Morphometric Patterns Associated with Behavior, Habitat, Migration, and Phylogenetic Convergence.
Article in Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Theoretical morphospace reveals mixed optimisation of the avian wing planform for flight style.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Body size, wing area, and wing loading follow a pattern of trait conservatism inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Wing morphology of Anchiornis huxleyi and the evolution of molt strategies in paravian dinosaurs.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Small body size is associated with increased evolutionary lability of wing skeleton proportions in birds.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Reconstructing locomotor ecology of extinct avialans: a case study ofProceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Contrasting coloured ventral wings are a visual collision avoidance signal in birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Wing shape plays a critical role in flight function in birds and other powered fliers and has been shown to be correlated with flight performance, migratory distance, and the biomechanics of generating lift during flight. Avian wing shape and flight mechanics have also been shown to be associated with general foraging behavior and habitat choice. We aim to determine if wing shape in waterbirds, a functionally and ecologically diverse assemblage united by their coastal and aquatic habitats, is correlated with various functional and ecological traits. We applied geometric morphometric approaches to the spread wings of a selection of waterbirds to search for evolutionary patterns between wing shape and foraging behavior, habitat, and migratory patterns. We found strong evidence of convergent evolution of high and low aspect ratio wing shapes in multiple clades. Foraging behavior also consistently exhibits strong evolutionary correlations with wing shape. Habitat, migration, and flight style, in contrast, do not exhibit significant correlation with wing shape in waterbirds. Although wing shape is critical to aerial flight function, its relationship to habitat and periodic locomotor demands such as migration is complex.
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Registered trials
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