Who is the fastest racing pigeon of all? A preliminary study on the influence of the physical condition of racing pigeons on their flight performance in a varying environment. Lizanne Jeninga 14-2-2018 Wageningen University & Research Nederlandse Postduivenhouders Resource ecology group Organisatie Who is the fastest racing pigeon of all? A preliminary study on the influence of the physical condition of racing pigeons on their flight performance in a varying environment. Author Lizanne Jeninga (student number: 930520-399-120) In the context of my master thesis, part of the study Forest and Nature Conservation. Supervisors Fred de Boer & Kevin Matson Wageningen University & Research Resource Ecology Group Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen Contact person NPO Leo van der Waart Wageningen, 14 February 2018 Preface and acknowledgements Various studies have addressed the navigational abilities of pigeons during their flight and how they form habitual routes. However, in contrast, few is known about the factors influencing the flight performance of a pigeon during a race; for instance, is the habitual route influenceable? This research report is the result of a study that is performed in context of a master thesis at the Wageningen University and Research in cooperation with the Dutch Racing Pigeon Fanciers Organisation (NPO) and deals with the effects of the physiological traits of pigeons on the flight performance and how this is related to the environmental circumstances they encounter along the route to home. The field study and this research report are established by the help of a lot of people. I want to thank everyone who has contributed. Special thanks to Fred de Boer and Kevin Matson, who supervised me on behalf of the Resource Ecology Group of the Wageningen University and Research. They gave me very helpful feedback on concept versions of my research proposal and research report. I also want to give special thanks to Jan van Wanrooij of Interpalomas Lofts b.v., who helped me with the data collection. He drove many kilometres for me to release the pigeons and has learned me a lot on pigeon holding and racing. Moreover thanks to Interpalomas Lofts b.v., and in special Dr. De Weerd, for providing the pigeons and facilities for this study. Additionally, I would like to thank the NPO and its scientific board, WOWD, in providing the needed GPS rings and the pleasant corporation, and in special Jaap van Doormaal for revising the concept version of my research report on behalf of the WOWD. Other people I want to mention are Yanjie Xu and Jasper Eijkelboom, both PhD students at the Resource Ecology Group; they helped me with the data analyses in ArcGis, Excel and ‘’R’’. Lastly, I want to thank Jeroen Maas, as he has given me feedback on my research proposal and report, which was very helpful. I hope that this study can contribute to the understanding of the pigeon’s flight performance and will be helpful for the further improvement of pigeon racing. Lizanne Jeninga 14-02-2018 Table of contents Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2 2. Materials and methods ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Animals and housing ..................................................................................................................... 7 2.2. Experimental flights ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.1. Dummy flights ....................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.2. GPS flights ............................................................................................................................ 10 2.4. Data analyses .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.4.1. Dummy flight data ............................................................................................................... 13 2.4.2. GPS flight data ..................................................................................................................... 13 3. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1. Dummy flights ............................................................................................................................ 17 3.1.1 Arrival time ........................................................................................................................... 17 3.1.2 Arrival day ............................................................................................................................. 18 3.2. GPS flights ................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2.1 Overall flight performance ................................................................................................... 19 3.2.2 Track analyses ....................................................................................................................... 24 Discussion and conclusion .................................................................................................................... 47 References............................................................................................................................................. 57 Appendix 1. Data pigeons dummy flights.............................................................................................. 64 Appendix 2. Data pigeons GPS flights ................................................................................................... 65 Appendix 3. Weather conditions flights ................................................................................................ 71 Appendix 4. Release site test flight ....................................................................................................... 72 Appendix 5. Data pigeons test flight and results .................................................................................. 73 Appendix 6. Release site dummy flights ............................................................................................... 75 Appendix 7. Behavioural observations .................................................................................................. 76 Appendix 8. Release sites GPS flights .................................................................................................... 80 Appendix 9. Determination moulting status ......................................................................................... 83 Appendix 10. Accuracy tests ................................................................................................................. 84 Appendix 11. Normal distribution tests dummy arrival data ................................................................ 96 Appendix 12. Normal distribution tests GPS arrival data ...................................................................... 98 Appendix 13. Calculation turning angles ............................................................................................. 100 Appendix 14. Calculation deviation bee-line ....................................................................................... 101 Appendix 15. Landscape types of the world wide landcover dataset ................................................. 102 Appendix 16. Number of recorded stops in the GPS flights ................................................................ 104 Appendix 17. Excluded fixes from the statistical models .................................................................... 105 Appendix 18. Results Efficiency Index ................................................................................................ 106 Appendix 19. Tracked flight paths in GPS flights ................................................................................. 107 Appendix 20. Step characteristics per GPS flight ................................................................................ 109 Summary Background: The flight performance of pigeons in pigeon racing is determined by their flight speed and route efficiency. Although pigeons have been well studied in relation to their navigational abilities, much less is known about other factors that can influence the orientation and flight speed during a flight. For instance, questions are remaining on the influence of landscape and weather conditions along the track on the flight performance and whether this interacts with the body condition of the pigeons. More knowledge on this topic can contribute to a better understanding of the variation in flight performance and can contribute to the improvement of racing strategies in pigeon racing. Aim: To determine the contribution of pre-flight physical condition to the flight performances of pigeons under different environmental conditions, and at different trajectories. Organisms: homing pigeons (Columba livia domestica) Place of research: Benelux (from multiple release sites in Belgium to the loft site in Breda, Netherlands).