55th Anniversary Juried Member's Exhibit - 2023
- August 11, 2023
- Exhibition
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- Artwork
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- Artists
Online Exhibition
Bird wings are shaped by thermoregulatory demand for heat dissipation
- Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Digital 3D,
- 9 x 9 in
- John Megahan
Animals in warmer climates tend to be longer-limbed due to the thermoregulatory need to dissipate heat. In this study comparative phylogenetic models showed that warmer climatic conditions are associated with longer wing bones in over 1,500 species of passerine birds. During flight the overwhelming thermoregulatory need is to dissipate heat. The highly vascularized musculature along the wing bones aids in heat dissipation and longer wing length contributes to this critical function.
- Subject Matter: Avian Physiology