biology

Matsudaira's storm petrel

Matsudaira's storm petrel is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Matsudaira's storm petrel rather than just read about it. In short: Matsudaira's storm petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae) is a species of seabird in the family Hydrobatidae. It breeds solely in the Volcano Islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and winters in the Indian Ocean.

Key takeaways

Matsudaira's storm petrel belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matsudaira's storm petrel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matsudaira's storm petrel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Matsudaira's storm petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae) is a species of seabird in the family Hydrobatidae. It breeds solely in the Volcano Islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and winters in the Indian Ocean. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Japanese ornithologist Yorikatsu Matsudaira. It was formerly defined in the genus Oceanodroma before that genus was synonymized with Hydrobates. The genus name Bianchoma Mathews, 1943 was created for this particular species, though that name is now a synonym of Hydrobates. As the image shows, Matsudaira's storm petrel can be told by its blackish alula feathers, which are offset by white bases to its dark primaries. The tail is long and greatly forked, and the beak is also lengthy with a pronounced hook at its tip.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matsudaira's storm petrel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matsudaira's storm petrel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matsudaira's storm petrel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matsudaira's storm petrel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matsudaira's storm petrel

In research: Matsudaira's storm petrel appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matsudaira's storm petrel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matsudaira's storm petrel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1922, Birds of Japan, Hydrobatidae, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matsudaira's storm petrel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Matsudaira's storm petrel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matsudaira's storm petrel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matsudaira's storm petrel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matsudaira's storm petrel in simple terms?

Why does Matsudaira's storm petrel matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matsudaira's storm petrel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matsudaira's storm petrel.