The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds

Balance between energy acquisition and expense is critical for the survival and reproductive success of organisms. Energy budgets may be limited by environmental factors as well as by animal design. These restrictions may be especially important for small endotherms such as hummingbirds, which have...

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Autores principales:	McWHORTER,TODD J., LOPEZ-CALLEJA,M. VICTORIA
Lenguaje:	English
Publicado:	Sociedad de Biología de Chile 2000
Materias:	energetics digestion feeding behavior hummingbirds nectarivory
Acceso en línea:	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2000000300008
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spelling	oai:scielo:S0716-078X20000003000082000-11-09The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birdsMcWHORTER,TODD J.LOPEZ-CALLEJA,M. VICTORIA energetics digestion feeding behavior hummingbirds nectarivory Balance between energy acquisition and expense is critical for the survival and reproductive success of organisms. Energy budgets may be limited by environmental factors as well as by animal design. These restrictions may be especially important for small endotherms such as hummingbirds, which have exceedingly high energy demands. Many nectar-feeding bird species decrease food intake when sugar concentration in food is increased. This feeding response can be explained by two alternative hypotheses: compensatory feeding and physiological constraint. The compensatory feeding hypothesis predicts that if birds vary intake to maintain a constant energy intake to match energy expenditures, then they should increase intake when expenditures are increased. Broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) and Green-backed fire crown hummingbirds (Sephanoides sephaniodes) were presented with diets varying in energy density and exposed to various environmental temperatures. Birds decreased volumetric food intake in response to sugar concentration. However, when they were exposed to lower environmental temperatures, and hence increased thermoregulatory demands, they did not increase their rate of energy consumption and lost mass. These results support the existence of a physiological constraint to the energy budgets of hummingbirds. Digestive and peripheral organ function limitations may impose severe challenges to the energy budgets of these small endotherms, and therefore play a significant role in determining their distribution, ecology, and natural history.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessSociedad de Biología de ChileRevista chilena de historia natural v.73 n.3 20002000-09-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2000000300008en10.4067/S0716-078X2000000300008
institution	Scielo Chile
collection	Scielo Chile
language	English
topic	energetics digestion feeding behavior hummingbirds nectarivory
spellingShingle	energetics digestion feeding behavior hummingbirds nectarivory McWHORTER,TODD J. LOPEZ-CALLEJA,M. VICTORIA The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
description	Balance between energy acquisition and expense is critical for the survival and reproductive success of organisms. Energy budgets may be limited by environmental factors as well as by animal design. These restrictions may be especially important for small endotherms such as hummingbirds, which have exceedingly high energy demands. Many nectar-feeding bird species decrease food intake when sugar concentration in food is increased. This feeding response can be explained by two alternative hypotheses: compensatory feeding and physiological constraint. The compensatory feeding hypothesis predicts that if birds vary intake to maintain a constant energy intake to match energy expenditures, then they should increase intake when expenditures are increased. Broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) and Green-backed fire crown hummingbirds (Sephanoides sephaniodes) were presented with diets varying in energy density and exposed to various environmental temperatures. Birds decreased volumetric food intake in response to sugar concentration. However, when they were exposed to lower environmental temperatures, and hence increased thermoregulatory demands, they did not increase their rate of energy consumption and lost mass. These results support the existence of a physiological constraint to the energy budgets of hummingbirds. Digestive and peripheral organ function limitations may impose severe challenges to the energy budgets of these small endotherms, and therefore play a significant role in determining their distribution, ecology, and natural history.
author	McWHORTER,TODD J. LOPEZ-CALLEJA,M. VICTORIA
author_facet	McWHORTER,TODD J. LOPEZ-CALLEJA,M. VICTORIA
author_sort	McWHORTER,TODD J.
title	The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
title_short	The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
title_full	The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
title_fullStr	The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
title_full_unstemmed	The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
title_sort	integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds
publisher	Sociedad de Biología de Chile
publishDate	2000
url	http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2000000300008
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The integration of diet, physiology, and ecology of nectar-feeding birds

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