The merits and implications of travel by swimming, flight and running for animals of different sizes

Simple models are presented of the energetics of annual migration and of central place foraging, taking account of the speed and energy cost of the journeys. They are applied to insects, fish, birds and mammals of a wide range of sizes, which travel by flapping or soaring flight, by swimming or by running. It is shown that annual migrations of several thousand kilometres are unlikely to be beneficial except for marine mammals and flying birds. Marine mammals and large flying birds are the animals most likely to be able to benefit from foraging over very large distances. Observed migration and foraging ranges generally lie within the limits predicted by the models.