Flies compensate for unilateral wing damage through modular adjustments of wing and body kinematics.

ABSTRACT: Using high-speed videography, we investigated how fruit flies compensate for unilateral wing damage, in which loss of area on one wing compromises both weight support and roll torque equilibrium. Our results show that flies control for unilateral damage by rolling their body towards the damaged wing and by adjusting the kinematics of both the intact and damaged wings. To compensate for the reduction in vertical lift force due to damage, flies elevate wingbeat frequency. Because this rise in frequency increases the flapping velocity of both wings, it has the undesired consequence of further increasing roll torque. To compensate for this effect, flies increase the stroke amplitude and advance the timing of pronation and supination of the damaged wing, while making the opposite adjustments on

SUBMITTER: Muijres FT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5206612 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature