Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Birds

by Bicudo, J. Eduardo P. W.; Buttemer, William A.; Chappell, Mark A.; Pearson, James T.; Bech, Claus

• ISBN13: 9780199228454
• ISBN10: 0199228450
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Birds have colonized almost every terrestrial habitat on the planet - from the poles to the tropics, and from deserts to high mountain tops.Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Birdsfocuses on our current understanding of the unique physiological characteristics of birds that are of particular interest to ornithologists, but also have a wider biological relevance. An introductory chapter covers the basic avian body plan and their still-enigmatic evolutionary history. The focus then shifts to a consideration of the essential components of that most fundamental of avian attributes: the ability to fly. The emphasis here is on feather evolution and development, flight energetics and aerodynamics, migration, and as a counterpoint, the curious secondary evolution of flightlessness that has occurred in several lineages. This sets the stage for subsequent chapters, which present specific physiological topics within a strongly ecological and environmental framework. These include gas exchange, thermal and osmotic balance, 'classical' life history parameters (male and female reproductive costs, parental care and investment in offspring, and fecundity versus longevity tradeoffs), feeding and digestive physiology, adaptations to challenging environments (high altitude, deserts, marine habitats, cold), and neural specializations (notably those important in foraging, long-distance navigation, and song production). Throughout the book classical studies are integrated with the latest research findings. Numerous important and intriguing questions await further work, and the book concludes with a discussion of methods (emphasizing cutting-edge technology), approaches, and future research directions.

Author Biography

The contributors to this book are a diverse group of professional biologists from across the globe, each with their own particular specialized training and expertise. Each is thoroughly versed in the rigorous, disciplined, and objective methods of science and has used them to build a career, in whole or in part, probing physiological questions and adding to our understanding of how avian biology 'works' at a mechanistic level.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xii
Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction - Blueprint of a Bird (Bauplan/Body plan)	p. 1
What is a Bird?	p. 1
Evolution of Birds	p. 2
Summary of Passerine Bird Phylogeny	p. 6
Evolution of Feathers	p. 8
Developmental Biology of Feathers	p. 10
Origin and Evolution of Flight	p. 12
Energy Requirements for Flight	p. 15
Migration	p. 19
Modes of Locomotion	p. 20
Molting	p. 20
Migration Flocks	p. 21
Nocturnal Migration	p. 21
Evolutionary Aspects	p. 22
Adaptations	p. 23
Flightlessness	p. 24
Overview	p. 26
General Physiological Principles	p. 28
Gas Diffusion	p. 28
Gas Exchange	p. 29
The Bird Lung	p. 30
The Bird Egg	p. 32
Temperature and Thermal Exchanges	p. 34
Radiation	p. 35
Conduction	p. 36
Convection	p. 37
Evaporation	p. 38
Heat Balance	p. 39
Thermoneutrality	p. 40
Body Size	p. 41
Water and lon Fluxes	p. 43
Osmosis	p. 44
Bird Regulation of Water and lon Fluxes	p. 45
Salt Glands	p. 48
Physiological Bases of Fecundity/Longevity Tradeoffs	p. 49
Costs of Egg Laying	p. 49
Nutrient and Energy Demands	p. 49
Self-Maintenance/Egg Production Tradeoffs	p. 54
Fitness Consequences	p. 56
Male Mating Costs	p. 59
Testosterone Phenology	p. 59
Behavioral Effects of Testosterone	p. 62
Physiological Effects of Testosterone	p. 64
Costs of Parenting	p. 75
Costs of Incubation	p. 76
Costs of Chick Rearing	p. 80
Oxidative Stress and Longevity	p. 86
Oxidative Stress	p. 86
Reactive O2 Species Production	p. 87
Antioxidant Defenses	p. 92
Membrane Lipids and Peroxidation Resistance	p. 93
Adaptations: Obtaining and Processing Food	p. 99
Energy and Nutrition	p. 102
Energy and Structure and Function	p. 104
Digestive Adaptation	p. 106
Chemical Reactor Theory	p. 107
Digestive Efficiency	p. 110
Phenotypic Flexibility	p. 112
Modulation of Digestive Enzymes	p. 113
Modulation of Absorption Rate	p. 115
Modulation of Retention Time	p. 118
Geometric Analysis	p. 120
Digestion Rate and Digestive Efficiency	p. 120
Handling and Digestion	p. 123
Morphological Adjustments of the Gastrointestinal Tract	p. 127
Adjustments during Reproduction	p. 128
Adjustments in Migrant Birds	p. 128
Plant Secondary Metabolites	p. 131
Adaptations: Living in Specific Environments	p. 134
Desert and Arid Environments	p. 134
Evaporative Water Loss	p. 136
Arid Environment and Phenotypic Plasticity in Birds	p. 139
Hyperthermia	p. 141
Cloacal Evaporation	p. 143
Energy Expenditure and Water Influx in the Field	p. 145
Controllable Vascular Thermal Radiator	p. 146
Low Temperatures	p. 147
Metabolic Heat Production	p. 148
Adjustments to Basal Metabolic Rate	p. 148
Non-Shivering Thermogenesis	p. 150
Heat from Digestion	p. 151
Heat Derived from Activity	p. 151
Thermal Conductance	p. 152
Hibernation and Torpor	p. 153
Behavioral Adaptations	p. 156
Adaptations to Low Food Supply	p. 156
Coping with Global Warming?	p. 157
High Altitude	p. 158
Constraints at High Altitude	p. 158
Respiratory Adaptations	p. 161
Water Loss and Thermoregulation	p. 163
Wind Speeds	p. 165
Marine Environment	p. 167
Energetics of Reproduction	p. 167
Thermal Consequences of a Marine Lifestyle	p. 168
Coping with High Salinity	p. 171
Diving and Swimming	p. 172
Surface Swimming versus Sub-surface Swimming	p. 173
Thermal Exchanges while Swimming	p. 178
Diving and Foraging Behavior	p. 182
Dive Capacity	p. 185
Adaptations: Neural and Sensory	p. 187
Response of Birds to Novel Environments	p. 189
Chemical Senses	p. 192
Predator Detection	p. 192
Foraging, Orientation, and Navigation	p. 193
Magnetoreception	p. 197
Field Studies	p. 199
Visual Capacity	p. 200
Night Vision	p. 200
Eye Size and Foraging Methods	p. 201
Vocalization	p. 202
Adaptations: Developmental Physiology	p. 208
Reproduction and Development	p. 208
Nest Environments, Eggs, and Incubation	p. 209
Neonate and Development	p. 218
Approaches and Techniques	p. 226
Methods for Measuring Energy Expenditure and Movement	p. 226
Patterns of Free-living Birds	p. 226
Free-living Energy Expenditure	p. 227
Temporal Considerations	p. 228
Calibration Requirements	p. 229
Size Considerations	p. 231
Recapture and Mobility Considerations	p. 232
Measuring Movement Patterns	p. 234
Electronic Methods	p. 234
Stable Isotopic Methods	p. 235
Flight Energy Requirements	p. 237
Mass Loss in the Field	p. 238
Wind Tunnel Mass Loss, Metabolic, and Heart Rate Measurements	p. 238
Evolutionary and Ecological Functional Genomics	p. 240
Studies on Birds	p. 241
Molecular Biology	p. 242
MicroRNAs	p. 242
Microarrays	p. 243
Phenotypic Plasticity	p. 245
Variability Analysis	p. 246
Lévy Flight (or Walk) Searching Patterns	p. 246
Conclusions and Future Directions	p. 248
Responses to Habitat Variation	p. 248
Changes in Movement Patterns and Food Use	p. 249
Temperature Effects on Development	p. 250
Maternal Effects on Development	p. 251
Establishing Physiological Health Indices	p. 251
Physiological Performance Measures	p. 252
Bibliography	p. 254
Index	p. 309
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