PONE-D-20-20383

Analysis of a 180-degree U-turn maneuver executed by a Hipposiderid bat

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Windes,

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Fang-Bao Tian

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: The authors used 3D optical motion capture and aerodynamic simulations to investigate a U-turn maneuver executed by a great roundleaf bat.

Over the course of the entire flight, the bat first begins to gradually turn and climb, then executes a tight U-turn, and lastly descends while exiting the turn. This sequence was categorized into four phases. Analysis of the wing kinematics in conjunction with aerodynamic parameters during each of the four phases of the flight provides several insights into the mechanisms the bat is using to execute a U-turn maneuver.

The topic is important and within the scope of PLOS ONE. The manuscript is well written.

I would like to recommend it for publication. However, I think the following suggestion would be helpful to improve the quality of the manuscript.

1. The authors pointed that "certain unsteady mechanisms such as enhanced lift by the leading edge vortex (LEV) have been shown to be nearly ubiquitous in flapping flight, while other mechanisms such as clap and fling are only observed in certain insects operating at smaller length scales" on page 9. I think it is better to also point that bats can dynamically changing wingspan to enhance lift (Wang et al. J R Soc Interface, 12(113), 20150821,2015; Physics of Fluids, 26(6), 061903, 2014; Physics of Fluids, 27(6), 061901, 2015)

2. The authors use 44 cells per wing chord length in the simulations. The required number of cells in numerical simulations depends strongly on the Reynolds number of the flows. What is the typical Reynolds number in the simulations?

3. What is the initial flow condition for the simulations?

4. I suggest the authors to provide the details of the definition of force coefficients in Figure 7.

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Reviewer #1: No

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PONE-D-20-20383R1

Analysis of a 180-degree U-turn maneuver executed by a Hipposiderid bat

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Windes,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Nov 27 2020 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Fang-Bao Tian

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

Thank you for revising your work. I have checked it, and would like to request a minor revision regarding the definitions of Reynolds number and lift coefficient. In 3.3, the lift coefficient is defined by using "the mean flight velocity". I think this reference velocity can be used in the definition of Reynolds number. By the way, it is better to use "lift coefficient" instead of "force coefficient" in 3.3.

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[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Analysis of a 180-degree U-turn maneuver executed by a Hipposiderid bat

PONE-D-20-20383R2

Dear Dr. Tafti,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Fang-Bao Tian

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments: