Basal metabolic rate declines during long-distance migratory flight in great knots

From Pubwiki

Jump to: navigation, search

[edit] Author(s)

  • Battley, P. F.
  • Dekinga, A.
  • Dietz, M. W.
  • Piersma, T.
  • Tang, S. X.
  • Hulsman, K.

[edit] Journal

Condor 103.4 (2001): 838-45.

[edit] Keywords

bmr calidris tenuirostris fasting metabolism migration shorebirds calidris-canutus body-composition seasonal acclimatization oxygen-consumption energy-expenditure migrant shorebird mass organ waders size

[edit] Abstract

Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) make one of the longest migratory flights in the avian world, flying almost 5500 km from Australia to China during northward migration. We measured basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body composition in birds before and after this flight and found that BMR decreased 42%. The mass-specific BMR based on lean mass decreased 33%. We also starved a group of pre-migratory Great Knots in captivity to determine whether they showed the same reduction in BMR without having undergone the hard work of flight. The captive birds showed a similar range and reduction of BMR values as the wild birds. Exponents of relationships between BMR and body mass in different comparisons were high, indicating large changes in BMR as a function of body mass. Analysis of the body composition of ten wild and three captive birds found that the flight muscle mass and intestine mass positively correlated with BMR.

[edit] Complete Publication (PDF; password required)

If you would like to join MIGRATE to get access to this publication, please email us!

Retrieved from "http://www.migrate.ou.edu/pubwiki/index.php/Basal_metabolic_rate_declines_during_long-distance_migratory_flight_in_great_knots"