Maximum Daily Energy Intake: It Takes Time to Lift the Metabolic Ceiling

Kvist, Anders; Lindström, Åke

doi:10.1086/316719

Cited by 53 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…At least three hypotheses may explain the observed increase in migration speed in spring compared to in autumn. First, the ‘day-length hypothesis’ which suggests that the increase in day length during spring migration offers increased foraging opportunities and energy intake for European songbirds [49]. Day length measured at the mean date (28 April) and mean latitude (34.6°N) of all tracked spring migrations (daylight hours 13h 34min) was 19% longer in spring than in autumn (date 23 August, latitude 36.0°N, daylight hours 11h 26min).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler

Lemke

Tarka

Klaassen³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

122

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Recent technological advancements now allow us to obtain geographical position data for a wide range of animal movements. Here we used light-level geolocators to study the annual migration cycle in great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), a passerine bird breeding in Eurasia and wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. We were specifically interested in seasonal strategies in routes and schedules of migration. We found that the great reed warblers (all males, no females were included) migrated from the Swedish breeding site in early August. After spending up to three weeks at scattered stopover sites in central to south-eastern Europe, they resumed migration and crossed the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert without lengthy stopovers. They then spread out over a large overwintering area and each bird utilised two (or even three) main wintering sites that were spatially separated by a distinct mid-winter movement. Spring migration initiation date differed widely between individuals (1-27 April). Several males took a more westerly route over the Sahara in spring than in autumn, and in general there were fewer long-distance travels and more frequent shorter stopovers, including one in northern Africa, in spring. The shorter stopovers made spring migration on average faster than autumn migration. There was a strong correlation between the spring departure dates from wintering sites and the arrival dates at the breeding ground. All males had a high migration speed in spring despite large variation in departure dates, indicating a time-minimization strategy to achieve an early arrival at the breeding site; the latter being decisive for high reproductive success in great reed warblers. Our results have important implications for the understanding of long-distance migrants’ ability to predict conditions at distant breeding sites and adapt to rapid environmental change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler

Lemke

Tarka

Klaassen³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

122

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“…Foraging behaviour and fuel accumulation can also be influenced by the time available for foraging (both during day and over the entire stopover season, as shown for orange‐throated whiptail Cnemidophorus hyperythrus : Karasov and Anderson , thrush nightingales Luscinia luscinia : Kvist and Lindström , Bewick's swan: Nolet and Klaassen ). For some species the amount of accumulated fuel increases if there is more time available for foraging (e.g.…”

Section: Summary Of the Studied Factors And They Expected Influence Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging behaviour and fuel accumulation of capital breeders during spring migration as derived from a combination of satellite‐ and ground‐based observations

Chudzińska

Nabe‐Nielsen

Nolet

et al. 2016

Journal of Avian Biology

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The migration strategy of many capital breeders is to garner body stores along the flyway at distinct stopover sites. The rate at which they can fuel is likely to be strongly influenced by a range of factors, such as physiology, food availability, time available for foraging and perceived predation. We analysed the foraging behaviour and fuel accumulation of pink-footed geese, an Arctic capital breeder, at their mid-flyway spring stopover site and evaluated to what extent their behaviour and fuelling were related to physiological and external factors and how it differed from other stopovers along the flyway. We found that fuel accumulation rates of geese at the mid-flyway site were limited by habitat availability rather than by digestive constraints. However, as the time available for foraging increased over the stopover season, geese were able to keep constant fuelling rate. Putting this in perspective, geese increased their daily net energy intake along the flyway corresponding to the increase in time available for foraging. The net energy intake per hour of foraging remained the same. Geese showed differences in their reaction to predators/disturbance between the sites, taking higher risks particularly at the final stopover site. Hence, perceived predation along the flyway may force birds to postpone the final fuel accumulation to the last stopover along the flyway. Flexibility in behaviour appears to be an important trait to ensure fitness in this capital breeder. Our findings are based on a new, improved method for estimating fuel accumulation of animals foraging in heterogeneous landscapes based on data obtained from satellite telemetry and habitat specific intake rates.Because some animals use stored fat and protein as an important energy source during their migration and breeding, studying their foraging behaviour and fuel accumulation is necessary in order to understand their migratory behaviour (Sapir et al. 2011). Arctic-nesting birds migrating in steps have a limited time to prepare for migration and subsequent breeding because the time window where conditions are suitable at each stopover site as well as for breeding is short (Ankney and MacInnes 1978, Alerstam and Lindström 1990, Prop and Black 1998, Drent et al. 2003. A common migration strategy is therefore to garner body stores along the flyway at distinct stopover sites in order to commence breeding soon after arrival -a strategy called capital breeding Daan 1980, Klaassen et al. 2006a). Stopover sites should provide sufficient food to allow for refuelling during their stay (Bauer et al. 2006). However, the optimal foraging conditions for the animals are limited in time and space and therefore the strategy they should employ in order to forage optimally is likely to depend on a range of factors whose importance may vary within a stopover season as well as among different stopover sites along the migratory route.

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“…During such endeavours it remains important to pay attention to constraints other than work level, especially time limitations, that may prevent animals from eating for long enough to keep up with the high energy expenditure (Tinbergen and Verhulst, 2000;Kvist and Lindström, 2000). When interpretable aspects of the ecological context can be linked to maximal performance, or rather to the relationships between experimentally manipulated work levels and both reproduction and survival (Fig.4) [see Bouwhuis et al for a possible field setting (Bouwhuis et al, 2009)], we may achieve deeper levels of understanding of the selection factors driving the height of metabolic ceilings.…”

Section: Towards An Ecology Of Physiological Constraintmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why marathon migrants get away with high metabolic ceilings: towards an ecology of physiological restraint

Piersma¹

2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

101

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SummaryAnimals usually are not willing to perform at levels, or for lengths of time, of which they should be maximally capable. In stating this, exercise performance and inferred capacity are gauged with respect to body size and the duration of particular levels of energy expenditure. In such relative terms, the long-term metabolic ceiling of ca. 7 times basal metabolic rate in challenged but energy-balanced individuals may be real and general, because greater performance over long periods requires larger metabolic machinery that is ever more expensive to maintain. Avian marathon migrants relying on stored fuel (and therefore not in energy balance) that work for 9 consecutive days at levels of 9-10 times basal metabolic rate are exceptional performers in terms of the 'relative expenditure' on 'duration of a particular activity' curve nevertheless. Here I argue that metabolic ceilings in all situations (energy balanced or not) have their origin in the fitness costs of high performance levels due to subsequently reduced survival, which then precludes the possibility of future reproduction. The limits to performance should therefore be studied relative to ecological context (which includes aspects such as pathogen pressure and risk of overheating), which determines the severity of the survival punishment of over-exertion. I conclude that many dimensions of ecology have determined at which performance levels (accounting for time) individual animals, including human athletes, begin to show physiological restraint. Using modern molecular techniques to assay wear and tear, in combination with manipulated work levels in different ecological contexts, might enable experimental verification of these ideas.

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Maximum Daily Energy Intake: It Takes Time to Lift the Metabolic Ceiling

Cited by 53 publications

References 27 publications

Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler

Annual Cycle and Migration Strategies of a Trans-Saharan Migratory Songbird: A Geolocator Study in the Great Reed Warbler

Foraging behaviour and fuel accumulation of capital breeders during spring migration as derived from a combination of satellite‐ and ground‐based observations

Why marathon migrants get away with high metabolic ceilings: towards an ecology of physiological restraint

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