IMPLICATIONS OF THE FORELIMB MYOLOGY ON THE FALCONID HABITS

MOSTO, M.C.; PICASSO, M.B.J.; KRONE, O.

Puerto Iguazú

Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas; 2017

RAO, AFO, CBO

The mass of a muscle or a functional group can provide information about theimportance of the muscles during locomotion. The Falconidae Family is composed of three subfamilies, which present different flight modes. The aim of this study was to explore whether the main muscles of the humerus and ulna-radius have variations in mass that are indicative of their flying habits. A total of nine species that represented the subfamilies (n= one to five specimens per species) were studied. The body mass and the individual unilateral wing muscles were recorded, their proportions were calculated and a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for a selection of muscles of the humerus and ulna-radius (n = 11). The wing muscles ranged from 5.5% (Falco subbuteo) to 11% (F. peregrinus) of the bodymass. The selection of some muscles in particular was more informative for the subfamily segregation than all the muscles as a whole.The ACP showed that the muscles that contributed most to the variability among the subfamilies were the pectoralis, supracoracoideus and deltoids. This segregation could be related to the degree of use of the flight to obtain food: The Falconinae species seek and hunt on the wing, whereas this is not the main habit in the Polyborinae as they mainly obtain their food from the ground and Micrastur (Herpetotherinae) flies among dense vegetation to hunt prey, a habit that requires greater maneuverability.