The Water Economy of Land Birds

Abstract

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

“…Contrary to expectations based on literature on the scaling of RMR in heat-stressed birds (Bartholomew and Cade, 1963;Weathers, 1981), Namaqua doves in our study exhibited a shallower slope of mass-specific RMR versus T a (when accounting for individual responses in a mixed model) than the three larger species. We suspect this result reflects the fact that panting/gular fluttering was delayed until much higher T a values (∼55°C) in Namaqua doves compared with the other two species (∼44, 41 and 48°C in laughing doves, Cape turtle doves and crested pigeons, respectively).…”

“…As expected on the basis of allometric scaling predictions (Bartholomew and Cade, 1963;Dawson, 1982;Williams, 1996), EWL at T a =56°C (highest T a reached by all three species) generally increased with increasing M b , although the value for crested pigeons was lower than that for the smaller Cape turtle dove (Table 1). The slope of mass-specific EWL versus T a was steepest in Namaqua doves and shallowest in crested pigeons, as expected on the basis of the scaling of this variable (McKechnie and Wolf, 2010).…”

Avian thermoregulation in the heat: resting metabolism, evaporative cooling and heat tolerance in Sonoran Desert doves and quail

“…During the Sonoran Desert summer, they constrain their activities to shaded microsites during the heat of the day, with only intermittent exposure to the sun when moving between shaded sites or flying short distances (Goldstein, 1984;Goldstein and Nagy, 1985). Gambel's quail often live independent of surface water resources and rely on vegetation and insects in desert valleys far from water (Lowe, 1955;Hungerford, 1960;Bartholomew and Cade, 1963). Very high air temperatures, however, may constrain the ability of quail to forage and potentially limit their distribution in future climates (Goldstein, 1984;McKechnie and Wolf, 2010).…”

Small game water troughs in a Spanish agrarian pseudo steppe: visits and water site choice by wild fauna

“…A possible reason which could explain the consumption differences between the first 3 years (2002, 2003, and 2004) and the last year (2005) is the harsh drought period recorded this year, the driest season in Spain since 1947 (INM 2006). This finding is particularly significant as it indicates that drinking water (Leopold 1933) is necessary when the water obtained from the food is not enough to offset water loss (Hayward 1961;Bartholomew and Cade 1963;Degen et al 1983;Degen 1987).…”