Kinematics of slow turn maneuvering in the fruit bat Cynopterus brachyotis

Maneuvering abilities have long been considered key factors that influence habitat selection and foraging strategies in bats. To date, however, very little experimental work has been carried out to understand the mechanisms that bats use to perform maneuvers. In the present study, we examined the kinematics of slow-speed turning flight in the lesser short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, to understand the basic mechanics employed to perform maneuvers and to compare them with previous findings in bats and other flying organisms. Four individuals were trained to fly in L-shaped flight enclosure that required them to make a 90 deg. turn midway through each flight. Flights were recorded with three low-light, high-speed videocameras, allowing the three-dimensional reconstruction of the body and wing kinematics. For any flying organisms, turning requires changes of the direction of travel and the reorientation of the body around the center of mass to maintain the alignment with the flight direction. In C. brachyotis, changes in body orientation (i.e. heading) took place during upstroke and preceded the changes in flight direction, which were restricted to the downstroke portion of the wingbeat cycle. Mean change in flight direction was significantly correlated to the mean heading angular velocity at the beginning of the downstroke and to the mean bank angle during downstroke, although only heading velocity was significant when both variables were considered. Body reorientation prior to changes in direction might be a mechanism to maintain the head and body aligned with the direction of travel and, thus, maximizing spatial accuracy in three-dimensionally complex environments.