Instruct: Identify the main category of Biorxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Extreme tolerable winds for seabirds are determined by morphology Flying seabirds are adapted for windy environments1,2. Despite this, storms can cause widespread strandings and wrecks, demonstrating that these seabirds are not always able to avoid or compensate for extreme conditions3,4,5,6,7. The maximum wind speeds that birds can operate in should vary with morphology and flight style8, but this has been hard to quantify due to the challenges of collecting data during infrequent events9. Yet this information is crucial for predicting how seabirds are im-pacted by and respond to extreme events, which are expected to increase in intensity and frequency under climate change10,11. We analyzed > 300,000 hours of tracking data from 18 seabird species, representing all major seabird guilds in terms of flight style. We quantified the range of wind speeds that seabirds use during their foraging trips in relation to the wind speeds available, and assessed evidence for avoidance of particular wind conditions. The maximum wind speeds that birds flew in increased with wing loading, in line with general aeronautical predictions. Two species of albatross flew in extreme winds > 23 m s-1. Within the 18 species studied, we found no general preference or avoidance of specific wind speeds. Nonetheless, in a very small number of instances, albatrosses avoided speeds below their operable maxima, demonstrating that even the most wind-adapted birds avoid extreme speeds in particular scenarios. The Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross and the wandering albatross avoided the maximum wind speeds by flying towards and tracking the eye of the storm. Extreme winds therefore might pose context-dependent risks to seabirds, and there is a need for more information on the factors that determine the hierarchy of risk, given the impact of global change on storm intensity.
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The categories of this paper are: epidemiology
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The categories of this paper are: cancer
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The categories of this paper are: bioinformatics
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The categories of this paper are: paleontology
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The categories of this paper are: pharmacology
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The categories of this paper are: biochemistry
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The categories of this paper are: pathology
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The categories of this paper are: developmental
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The categories of this paper are: genetics
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The categories of this paper are: immunology
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The categories of this paper are: microbiology
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The categories of this paper are: plant
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The categories of this paper are: scientific
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The categories of this paper are: genomics
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The categories of this paper are: biophysics
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The categories of this paper are: biology