scholarly journals Avian thermoregulation in the heat: resting metabolism, evaporative cooling and heat tolerance in Sonoran Desert songbirds

2017 ◽  
Vol 220 (18) ◽  
pp. 3290-3300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Krabbe Smith ◽  
Jacqueline J. O'Neill ◽  
Alexander R. Gerson ◽  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
Blair O. Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Resting Metabolism

scholarly journals Regularly drinking desert birds have greater evaporative cooling capacity and higher heat tolerance limits than non‐drinking species

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1589-1600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zenon J. Czenze ◽  
Ryno Kemp ◽  
Barry Jaarsveld ◽  
Marc T. Freeman ◽  
Ben Smit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Cooling Capacity ◽  
Tolerance Limits

scholarly journals Avian thermoregulation in the heat: phylogenetic variation among avian orders in evaporative cooling capacity and heat tolerance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Smit ◽  
Maxine C. Whitfield ◽  
William A. Talbot ◽  
Alexander R. Gerson ◽  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Cooling Capacity ◽  
Evaporative Heat Loss ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Cutaneous Evaporation ◽  
Hot Environments

AbstractLittle is known about the phylogenetic variation of avian evaporative cooling efficiency and heat tolerance in hot environments. We quantified thermoregulatory responses to high air temperature (Ta) in ~100-g representatives of three orders: African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis, Cuculiformes), lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus, Coraciiformes), and Burchell’s starling (Lamprotornis australis, Passeriformes). All three species initiated respiratory mechanisms to increase evaporative heat dissipation when body temperature (Tb) approached 41.5°C in response to increasing Ta, with gular flutter observed in cuckoos and panting in rollers and starlings. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and evaporative water loss (EWL) increased by quantitatively similar magnitudes in all three species, although maximum rates of EWL were proportionately lower in starlings. Evaporative cooling efficiency [defined as the ratio of evaporative heat loss (EHL) to metabolic heat production (MHP)] generally remained below 2.0 in cuckoos and starlings, but reached a maximum of ~3.5 in rollers. The high value for rollers reveals a very efficient evaporative cooling mechanism, and is similar to EHL/MHP maxima for similarly sized columbids which very effectively dissipate heat via cutaneous evaporation. This unexpected phylogenetic variation among the orders tested in the physiological mechanisms of heat dissipation is an important step toward determining the evolution of heat tolerance traits in desert birds.Summary statementWe show that avian evaporative cooling efficiency and heat tolerance display substantial taxonomic variation that are, unexpectedly, not systematically related to the use of panting versus gular flutter processes.

scholarly journals Avian thermoregulation in the heat: efficient evaporative cooling allows for extreme heat tolerance in four southern hemisphere columbids

2016 ◽  
Vol 219 (14) ◽  
pp. 2145-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
Maxine C. Whitfield ◽  
Ben Smit ◽  
Alexander R. Gerson ◽  
Eric Krabbe Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Extreme Heat

scholarly journals Avian thermoregulation in the heat: phylogenetic variation among avian orders in evaporative cooling capacity and heat tolerance

2018 ◽  
Vol 221 (6) ◽  
pp. jeb174870 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Smit ◽  
Maxine C. Whitfield ◽  
William A. Talbot ◽  
Alexander R. Gerson ◽  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Cooling Capacity

Seasonal variations in wool growth and heat tolerance of sheep. II. Heat tolerance

1960 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Wodzicka
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapour ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Vapour Pressure ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Water Vapour Pressure ◽  
Heat Acclimatization ◽  
Wool Growth ◽  
Heat Tolerant

The heat tolerance of rams at an air temperature of 105°F (40.6°C) and 34 mm Hg water vapour pressure was studied over a period of 1 year at Beltsville, Maryland. The rams were more heat tolerant in summer than in winter. This difference was significant (P < 0.001). Tolerance was less in July than in June and August. The reasons for this are discussed. Shearing increased the heat tolerance of rams (P < 0.001), presumably by enhancing the efficiency of evaporative cooling from the skin. There is evidence that shearing reduced heat acclimatization, especially during the cooler months.

scholarly journals Limited heat tolerance in a cold-adapted seabird: implications of a warming Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily S. Choy ◽  
Ryan S. O'Connor ◽  
H. Grant Gilchrist ◽  
Anna L. Hargreaves ◽  
Oliver P. Love ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Water Loss ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Evaporative Water Loss ◽  
Cooling Efficiency ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Rate Of Increase

ABSTRACT The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate, with well-documented indirect effects on wildlife. However, few studies have examined the direct effects of warming temperatures on Arctic wildlife, leaving the importance of heat stress unclear. Here, we assessed the direct effects of increasing air temperatures on the physiology of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), an Arctic seabird with reported mortalities due to heat stress while nesting on sun-exposed cliffs. We used flow-through respirometry to measure the response of body temperature, resting metabolic rate, evaporative water loss and evaporative cooling efficiency (the ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production) in murres while experimentally increasing air temperature. Murres had limited heat tolerance, exhibiting: (1) a low maximum body temperature (43.3°C); (2) a moderate increase in resting metabolic rate relative that within their thermoneutral zone (1.57 times); (3) a small increase in evaporative water loss rate relative that within their thermoneutral zone (1.26 times); and (4) a low maximum evaporative cooling efficiency (0.33). Moreover, evaporative cooling efficiency decreased with increasing air temperature, suggesting murres were producing heat at a faster rate than they were dissipating it. Larger murres also had a higher rate of increase in resting metabolic rate and a lower rate of increase in evaporative water loss than smaller murres; therefore, evaporative cooling efficiency declined with increasing body mass. As a cold-adapted bird, murres' limited heat tolerance likely explains their mortality on warm days. Direct effects of overheating on Arctic wildlife may be an important but under-reported impact of climate change.

scholarly journals Efficient Evaporative Cooling and Pronounced Heat Tolerance in an Eagle-Owl, a Thick-Knee and a Sandgrouse

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zenon J. Czenze ◽  
Marc T. Freeman ◽  
Ryno Kemp ◽  
Barry van Jaarsveld ◽  
Blair O. Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Cooling Capacity ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Evaporative Heat Loss ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Eagle Owl

Avian evaporative cooling and the maintenance of body temperature (Tb) below lethal limits during heat exposure has received more attention in small species compared to larger-bodied taxa. Here, we examined thermoregulation at air temperatures (Tair) approaching and exceeding normothermic Tb in three larger birds that use gular flutter, thought to provide the basis for pronounced evaporative cooling capacity and heat tolerance. We quantified Tb, evaporative water loss (EWL) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in the ∼170-g Namaqua sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua), ∼430-g spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) and ∼670-g spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus), using flow-through respirometry and a stepped Tair profile with very low chamber humidities. All three species tolerated Tair of 56–60°C before the onset of severe hyperthermia, with maximum Tb of 43.2°C, 44.3°C, and 44.2°C in sandgrouse, thick-knees and eagle-owls, respectively. Evaporative scope (i.e., maximum EWL/minimum thermoneutral EWL) was 7.4 in sandgrouse, 12.9 in thick-knees and 7.8 in eagle-owls. The relationship between RMR and Tair varied substantially among species: whereas thick-knees and eagle-owls showed clear upper critical limits of thermoneutrality above which RMR increased rapidly and linearly, sandgrouse did not. Maximum evaporative heat loss/metabolic heat production ranged from 2.8 (eagle-owls) to 5.5 (sandgrouse), the latter the highest avian value yet reported. Our data reveal some larger species with gular flutter possess pronounced evaporative cooling capacity and heat tolerance and, when taken together with published data, show thermoregulatory performance varies widely among species larger than 250 g. Our data for Namaqua sandgrouse reveal unexpectedly pronounced variation in the metabolic costs of evaporative cooling within the genus Pterocles.

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