Airflows redefine the cost of aerial transport in the wild.

Aerial transport costs for 50 bird and bat species are significantly influenced by atmospheric flows, making flying potentially cheaper than swimming and nearly as costly as running.

• Why it matters: Understanding the true energy costs of animal flight in natural environments is crucial for predicting movement patterns and responses to changing wind conditions, which are often overlooked in laboratory estimates.
• What they did: Using high-resolution movement data, the study estimates the real-world transport costs for these species, incorporating atmospheric flow interactions to revise traditional cost rankings.
• The result: Findings suggest that atmospheric conditions can alter the energetic costs of flight, enabling better predictions of how windscape changes may impact animal movement, energetics, and distribution.