scholarly journals How hornbills handle heat: sex-specific thermoregulation in the southern yellow-billed hornbill

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (4) ◽  
pp. jeb232777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry van Jaarsveld ◽  
Nigel C. Bennett ◽  
Zenon J. Czenze ◽  
Ryno Kemp ◽  
Tanja M. F. N. van de Ven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Core Body Temperature ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Evaporative Heat Loss ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Thermal Physiology ◽  
Tolerance Limits ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Tree Cavity

ABSTRACTAt a global scale, thermal physiology is correlated with climatic variables such as temperature and aridity. There is also evidence that thermoregulatory traits vary with fine-scale microclimate, but this has received less attention in endotherms. Here, we test the hypothesis that avian thermoregulation varies with microclimate and behavioural constraints in a non-passerine bird. Male and female southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) experience markedly different microclimates while breeding, with the female sealing herself into a tree cavity and moulting all her flight feathers during the breeding attempt, becoming entirely reliant on the male for provisioning. We examined interactions between resting metabolic rate (RMR), evaporative water loss (EWL) and core body temperature (Tb) at air temperatures (Ta) between 30°C and 52°C in male and female hornbills, and quantified evaporative cooling efficiencies and heat tolerance limits. At thermoneutral Ta, neither RMR, EWL nor Tb differed between sexes. At Ta >40°C, however, RMR and EWL of females were significantly lower than those of males, by ∼13% and ∼17%, respectively, despite similar relationships between Tb and Ta, maximum ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production and heat tolerance limits (∼50°C). These sex-specific differences in hornbill thermoregulation support the hypothesis that avian thermal physiology can vary within species in response to fine-scale microclimatic factors. In addition, Q10 for RMR varied substantially, with Q10 ≤2 in some individuals, supporting recent arguments that active metabolic suppression may be an underappreciated aspect of endotherm thermoregulation in the heat.

scholarly journals Thermoregulation in desert birds: scaling and phylogenetic variation in heat tolerance and evaporative cooling

2021 ◽  
Vol 224 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. jeb229211
Author(s):  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
Alexander R. Gerson ◽  
Blair O. Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Evaporative Heat Loss ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Difference

ABSTRACTEvaporative heat dissipation is a key aspect of avian thermoregulation in hot environments. We quantified variation in avian thermoregulatory performance at high air temperatures (Ta) using published data on body temperature (Tb), evaporative water loss (EWL) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) measured under standardized conditions of very low humidity in 56 arid-zone species. Maximum Tb during acute heat exposure varied from 42.5±1.3°C in caprimulgids to 44.5±0.5°C in passerines. Among passerines, both maximum Tb and the difference between maximum and normothermic Tb decreased significantly with body mass (Mb). Scaling exponents for minimum thermoneutral EWL and maximum EWL were 0.825 and 0.801, respectively, even though evaporative scope (ratio of maximum to minimum EWL) varied widely among species. Upper critical limits of thermoneutrality (Tuc) varied by >20°C and maximum RMR during acute heat exposure scaled to Mb0.75 in both the overall data set and among passerines. The slope of RMR at Ta>Tuc increased significantly with Mb but was substantially higher among passerines, which rely on panting, compared with columbids, in which cutaneous evaporation predominates. Our analysis supports recent arguments that interspecific within-taxon variation in heat tolerance is functionally linked to evaporative scope and maximum ratios of evaporative heat loss (EHL) to metabolic heat production (MHP). We provide predictive equations for most variables related to avian heat tolerance. Metabolic costs of heat dissipation pathways, rather than capacity to increase EWL above baseline levels, appear to represent the major constraint on the upper limits of avian heat tolerance.

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 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.

scholarly journals Interspecific variation in heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity among sympatric temperate-latitude bats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Noakes ◽  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
R.M. Brigham
Keyword(s):  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Core Body Temperature ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Evaporative Cooling ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Cooling Capacity ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Temperate Latitude ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Hoary Bats

We tested the hypothesis that interspecific variation in chiropteran heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity is correlated with day-roost microclimates, using three vespertilionid bats that occur sympatrically during summer in Saskatchewan, Canada. We predicted that hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus Palisot de Beauvois, 1796; ~ 22 g) would have higher heat tolerance than little brown (Myotis lucifugus Le Conte, 1831; ~ 7 g) and silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans Le Conte, 1831; ~ 13 g), as the latter two species roost in tree crevices/cavities that are more thermally buffered than the foliage roosts of hoary bats. We measured core body temperature (Tb; passive integrated transponder tags), evaporative water loss and resting metabolic rate (flow-through respirometry), while exposing individuals to a stepped profile of increasing air temperature (Ta) from ~ 30 °C in ~ 2 °C increments. Experiments were terminated when individuals became hyperthermic (Tb ≈ 42.5 °C), with maximum Ta (Ta,max) ranging from 42.0 °C – 49.7 °C. As predicted, hoary bats had the highest heat tolerance and evaporative cooling capacity, reaching Ta,max ~ 2.4 °C and 1.2 °C higher than little brown and silver-haired bats, respectively. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that heat tolerance of bats is correlated with roost microclimates, although interspecific variation in body mass and phylogeny may confound these conclusions.

Fine-scale genetic structure and its consequence in breeding aggregations of a passerine bird

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2728-2739 ◽  
Author(s):  
JIN-WON LEE ◽  
BYOUNG-SOON JANG ◽  
DEBORAH A. DAWSON ◽  
TERRY BURKE ◽  
BEN J. HATCHWELL
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Fine Scale

Inhibiting ventilatory evaporation produces an adaptive increase in cutaneous evaporation in mourning doves Zenaida macroura

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (21) ◽  
pp. 3021-3028 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.C. Hoffman ◽  
G.E. Walsberg
Keyword(s):  
Skin Surface ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evaporative Heat Loss ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Zenaida Macroura ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Rapid Adjustment ◽  
Mourning Doves ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Cutaneous Evaporation

We tested the hypothesis that birds can rapidly change the conductance of water vapor at the skin surface in response to a changing need for evaporative heat loss. Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) were placed in a two-compartment chamber separating the head from the rest of the body. The rate of cutaneous evaporation was measured in response to dry ventilatory inflow at three ambient temperatures and in response to vapor-saturated ventilatory inflow at two ambient temperatures. At 35 degrees C, cutaneous evaporation increased by 72 % when evaporative water loss from the mouth was prevented, but no increase was observed at 45 degrees C. For both dry and vapor-saturated treatments, cutaneous evaporation increased significantly with increased ambient temperature. Changes in skin temperature made only a minor contribution to any observed increase in cutaneous evaporation. This indicates that Z. macroura can effect rapid adjustment of evaporative conductance at the skin in response to acute change in thermoregulatory demand.

scholarly journals Variation in fine-scale genetic structure and local dispersal patterns between peripheral populations of a South American passerine bird

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. 8363-8378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Botero-Delgadillo ◽  
Verónica Quirici ◽  
Yanina Poblete ◽  
Élfego Cuevas ◽  
Sylvia Kuhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
South American ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Local Dispersal

scholarly journals Thermal tolerance patterns across latitude and elevation

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1778) ◽  
pp. 20190036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sunday ◽  
Joanne M. Bennett ◽  
Piero Calosi ◽  
Susana Clusella-Trullas ◽  
Sarah Gravel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cold Tolerance ◽  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Acclimation Temperature ◽  
Tolerance Limits ◽  
Thermal Limits

Linking variation in species' traits to large-scale environmental gradients can lend insight into the evolutionary processes that have shaped functional diversity and future responses to environmental change. Here, we ask how heat and cold tolerance vary as a function of latitude, elevation and climate extremes, using an extensive global dataset of ectotherm and endotherm thermal tolerance limits, while accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and duration of exposure among studies. We show that previously reported relationships between thermal limits and latitude in ectotherms are robust to variation in methods. Heat tolerance of terrestrial ectotherms declined marginally towards higher latitudes and did not vary with elevation, whereas heat tolerance of freshwater and marine ectotherms declined more steeply with latitude. By contrast, cold tolerance limits declined steeply with latitude in marine, intertidal, freshwater and terrestrial ectotherms, and towards higher elevations on land. In all realms, both upper and lower thermal tolerance limits increased with extreme daily temperature, suggesting that different experienced climate extremes across realms explain the patterns, as predicted under the Climate Extremes Hypothesis . Statistically accounting for methodological variation in acclimation temperature, ramping rate and exposure duration improved model fits, and increased slopes with extreme ambient temperature. Our results suggest that fundamentally different patterns of thermal limits found among the earth's realms may be largely explained by differences in episodic thermal extremes among realms, updating global macrophysiological ‘rules’. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Physiological diversity, biodiversity patterns and global climate change: testing key hypotheses involving temperature and oxygen’.

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 The Physiology of Heat Tolerance in Small Endotherms

Physiology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew E. McKechnie ◽  
Blair O. Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Body Temperature ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Heat Tolerance ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Tolerance Limits

Understanding the heat tolerances of small mammals and birds has taken on new urgency with the advent of climate change. Here, we review heat tolerance limits, pathways of evaporative heat dissipation that permit the defense of body temperature during heat exposure, and mechanisms operating at tissue, cellular, and molecular levels.

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