Haverford College Haverford Scholarship Faculty Publications Physics 2018 Biomechanics of the peafowl’s crest reveals frequencies tuned to social displays Suzanne Amador Kane Haverford College,
[email protected] Daniel Van Beveren '20 Class of 2020, Haverford College Roslyn Dakin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.haverford.edu/physics_facpubs Repository Citation Kane, S.A.; Beveren, V.D.; Dakin, R. (2018). "Biomechanics of the peafowl’s crest reveals frequencies tuned to social displays," PLoS ONE, 13(11). This Journal Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Physics at Haverford Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Haverford Scholarship. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. RESEARCH ARTICLE Biomechanics of the peafowl's crest reveals frequencies tuned to social displays 1 1 2,3 Suzanne Amador KaneID *, Daniel Van Beveren , Roslyn Dakin 1 Physics Department, Haverford College, Haverford, PA United States of America, 2 Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 3 Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, United States of America *
[email protected] a1111111111 a1111111111 Abstract a1111111111 a1111111111 Feathers act as vibrotactile sensors that can detect mechanical stimuli during avian flight a1111111111 and tactile navigation, suggesting that they may also detect stimuli during social displays. In this study, we present the first measurements of the biomechanical properties of the feather crests found on the heads of birds, with an emphasis on those from the Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus). We show that in peafowl these crest feathers are coupled to filoplumes, OPEN ACCESS small feathers known to function as mechanosensors.