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Polar Coordinates

Polar Coordinates

The polar coordinate system offers an alternative to the Cartesian coordinate system for specifying points in a plane, using a distance and an angle instead of x and y coordinates. This system is particularly advantageous in situations involving circular or rotational symmetry, such as in physics or engineering problems involving waves, oscillations, or orbital paths.Defining Polar CoordinatesIn polar coordinates, a point is represented as P(r, ��), where r is the radial distance from a fixed...

Polar Curves

Polar Curves

The spirograph is a versatile tool for visualizing the relationship between geometry and mathematical representation. In particular, it demonstrates how polar coordinates offer an alternative framework for describing curves in comparison to Cartesian coordinates. Instead of specifying a point by its horizontal and vertical displacements (x, y), polar coordinates use a radius r, the distance from the origin, and an angle θ, measured counterclockwise from the polar axis. This system is...

Polar Coordinate System

Polar Coordinate System

The polar coordinate system provides a natural way to describe points in the plane when distances and directions are more meaningful than horizontal and vertical displacements. It is especially useful for modeling non-rectangular regions such as circles and spirals, where symmetry about a center point is easier to express than it is in a rectangular grid. A familiar example is a ship’s plan position indicator, which marks detected targets as dots positioned relative to the ship at the display’s...

Polar and Cylindrical Coordinates

Polar and Cylindrical Coordinates

The Cartesian coordinate system is a very convenient tool to use when describing the displacements and velocities of objects and the forces acting on them. However, it becomes cumbersome when we need to describe the rotation of objects. So, when describing rotation, the polar coordinate system is generally used.

Polar Equations of Conics

Polar Equations of Conics

A conic section can be defined in polar coordinates as the set of all points whose distance from a fixed point, known as the focus, bears a constant ratio to their distance from a fixed line, known as the directrix. This constant ratio is called the eccentricity. This definition unifies all types of conic sections—ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas—under a single framework. When the focus is positioned at the origin of the polar coordinate system, a single polar equation can describe any conic...

Optimal Foraging

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

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A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo)

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Cormorants dive through the Polar night.

David Grémillet¹, Grégoire Kuntz, Caroline Gilbert

¹Centre d'Ecologie et Physiologie Energétiques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 02, France. david.gremillet@c-strasbourg.fr

Biology Letters

|December 7, 2006

Summary

Great cormorants forage daily during the Arctic winter, even in darkness. This study reveals their adaptability to low light levels and suggests potential use of non-visual cues for hunting.

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Area of Science:

Ornithology
Animal Behavior
Arctic Ecology

Background:

Seabirds primarily rely on vision for hunting, making low light levels during polar winters a challenge.
High-latitude wintering species face extended periods of darkness, potentially disrupting foraging patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the year-round foraging rhythms of male great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) wintering north of the Arctic Circle.
To determine if great cormorants adjust their diving activity in response to extreme variations in light levels, including the polar night.

Main Methods:

Conducted the first year-round recordings of diving activity in a high-latitude seabird.
Utilized dive depth data to analyze foraging rhythms and timing relative to light levels.

Main Results:

Great cormorants exhibited daily foraging activity throughout the Arctic winter.
Foraging rhythms were not adjusted to the changing day length, with dives occurring regularly during the polar night.
A substantial portion of foraging dives took place in very low light conditions (less than 1 lux).

Conclusions:

Great cormorants demonstrate remarkable adaptability in their foraging behavior under extreme polar conditions.
The findings raise important questions about the reliance on visual cues versus non-visual senses for prey detection in diving seabirds during polar nights.