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Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag (2022)
Journal Article
Cheney, J., Rehm, J., Swartz, S., & Breuer, K. (in press). Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag. Journal of Experimental Biology, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243974

Bat wing skin is exceptionally compliant and cambers significantly during flight. Plagiopatagiales proprii, arrays of small muscles embedded in the armwing membrane, are activated during flight and are hypothesized to modulate membrane tension. We ex... Read More about Bats actively modulate membrane compliance to control camber and reduce drag.

Virtual manipulation of tail postures of a gliding barn owl (Tyto alba) demonstrates drag minimisation when gliding (2022)
Journal Article
Song, J., Cheney, J., Bomphrey, R., & Usherwood, J. (2023). Virtual manipulation of tail postures of a gliding barn owl (Tyto alba) demonstrates drag minimisation when gliding. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0710

Aerodynamic functions of the avian tail have been studied previously using observations of bird flight, physical models in wind tunnels, theoretical modelling, and flow visualization. However, none of these approaches has provided rigorous, quantitat... Read More about Virtual manipulation of tail postures of a gliding barn owl (Tyto alba) demonstrates drag minimisation when gliding.

Raptor wing morphing with flight speed (2021)
Journal Article
Cheney, J., Stevenson, J., Durston, N., Maeda, M., Song, J., Megson-Smith, D., …Bomphrey, R. (2021). Raptor wing morphing with flight speed. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0349

In gliding flight, birds morph their wings and tails to control their flight trajectory and speed. Using high-resolution videogrammetry, we reconstructed accurate and detailed 3D geometries of gliding flights for three raptors (barn owl, Tyto alba; t... Read More about Raptor wing morphing with flight speed.

Bird wings act as a suspension system that rejects gusts (2020)
Journal Article
Cheney, J. A., Stevenson, J. P. J., Durston, N. E., Song, J., Usherwood, J. R., Bomphrey, R. J., & Windsor, S. P. (2020). Bird wings act as a suspension system that rejects gusts. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287(1937), 20201748. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1748

Musculoskeletal systems cope with many environmental perturbations without neurological control. These passive preflex responses aid animals to move swiftly through complex terrain. Whether preflexes play a substantial role in animal flight is uncert... Read More about Bird wings act as a suspension system that rejects gusts.

Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes inspires a surface detector for autonomous flying vehicles (2020)
Journal Article
Nakata, T., Phillips, N., Simões, P., Russell, I. J., Cheney, J. A., Walker, S. M., & Bomphrey, R. J. (2020). Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes inspires a surface detector for autonomous flying vehicles. Science, 368(6491), 634-637. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz9634

Some flying animals use active sense to perceive and avoid obstacles. Nocturnal mosquitoes exhibit a behavioral response to divert away from surfaces when vision is unavailable, indicating a short-range, mechanosensory collision avoidance mechanism.... Read More about Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes inspires a surface detector for autonomous flying vehicles.

High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors (2020)
Journal Article
Usherwood, J. R., Cheney, J. A., Song, J., Windsor, S. P., Stevenson, J. P. J., Dierksheide, U., …Bomphrey, R. J. (2020). High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors. Journal of Experimental Biology, 223, https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.214809

Many functions have been postulated for the aerodynamic role of the avian tail during steady-state flight. By analogy with conventional aircraft, the tail might provide passive pitch stability if it produced very low or negative lift. Alternatively,... Read More about High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors.

Tempo and mode of performance evolution across multiple independent origins of adhesive toe pads in lizards (2017)
Journal Article
Hagey, T. J., Uyeda, J. C., Crandell, K. E., Cheney, J. A., Autumn, K., & Harmon, L. J. (2017). Tempo and mode of performance evolution across multiple independent origins of adhesive toe pads in lizards. Evolution, 71(10), 2344-2358. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13318

Understanding macroevolutionary dynamics of trait evolution is an important endeavor in evolutionary biology. Ecological opportunity can liberate a trait as it diversifies through trait space, while genetic and selective constraints can limit diversi... Read More about Tempo and mode of performance evolution across multiple independent origins of adhesive toe pads in lizards.

Diversity in the organization of elastin bundles and intramembranous muscles in bat wings (2017)
Journal Article
Cheney, J. A., Allen, J. J., & Swartz, S. M. (2017). Diversity in the organization of elastin bundles and intramembranous muscles in bat wings. Journal of Anatomy, 230(5), 510-523. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.12580

Pose and shape changes of avian flight surfaces for control
Journal Article
Stevenson, J. P. J., Cheney, J. A., Durston, N. E., Usherwood, J. R., Windsor, S. P., & Bomphrey, R. J. Pose and shape changes of avian flight surfaces for control. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 59, E415

Avian gust rejection in gliding flight through updrafts
Journal Article
Cheney, J. A., Stevenson, J. P. J., Durston, N. E., Usherwood, J. R., Bomphrey, R. J., & Windsor, S. P. Avian gust rejection in gliding flight through updrafts. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 59, E36