QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online October 7, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3959-3968 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01233

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hambly, C. Articles by Speakman, J. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hambly, C. Articles by Speakman, J. R.

Comparison of the cost of short flights in a nectarivorous and a non-nectarivorous bird

C. Hambly^1,*, B. Pinshow², P. Wiersma³, S. Verhulst³, S. B. Piertney⁴, E. J. Harper⁵ and J. R. Speakman^1,6

¹ Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK
² Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, 84990 Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
³ Zoological Laboratory, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750AA Haren, The Netherlands
⁴ NERC Molecular Genetics in Ecology Initiative, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK
⁵ The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, Leicestershire, LE14 4RT, England, UK
⁶ Aberdeen Centre for Energy Regulation and Obesity, Division of Energy Balance and Obesity, Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB21 9BS, Scotland, UK

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: c.hambly{at}rowett.ac.uk)

Accepted 10 August 2004

Although most birds are accustomed to making short flights, particularly during foraging, the flight patterns during these short periods of activity differ between species. Nectarivorous birds, in particular, often spend time hovering, while non-nectarivorous birds do not. The cost of short flights is likely therefore to differ between nectarivorous and non-nectarivorous birds because of the different energetic contributions of different flight types to the behaviour. The ¹³C-labelled bicarbonate technique was used to measure the energy cost of short flights in the nectarivorous Palestine sunbird Nectarinia osea (mean mass 6.17±0.16 g, N=8) and the non-nectarivorous starling Sturnus vulgaris (mean mass 70.11±1.11 g, N=9). The technique was initially calibrated in five individuals for each species at temperatures ranging from 1 to 35°C, by comparing the isotope elimination rate to the metabolic rate measured simultaneously by indirect calorimetry. The cost for short intermittent flight was then measured by encouraging birds to fly between two perches at either end of a narrow corridor (perch distance for sunbirds, 6 m; for starlings, 5 m), and measuring the amount of isotope eliminated during the flight. The isotope elimination rate was interpolated onto the calibration equation to predict flight cost, as a direct calibration could not be performed during flight. Mean energy expenditure during flight was 1.64±0.32 W in sunbirds, while in starlings the flight costs averaged 20.6±0.78 W. Energy cost of flight relative to basal metabolic rate was substantially greater in the starling than the sunbird. Phylogenetic analysis of different modes of flight in these and additional species suggests that differences in flight behaviour may cause these elevated costs in slow flying non-nectarivores such as starlings, compared to birds that are more prone to short intermittent flights like the sunbirds.

Key words: energy expenditure, flight cost, labelled bicarbonate technique, Palestine sunbird, Nectarinia osea, starling, Sturnus vulgaris

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Asher and M. Bateson Use and husbandry of captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in scientific research: a review of current practice Lab Anim, April 1, 2008; 42(2): 111 - 126. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Kohler, L. Verburgt, and S. W. Nicolson Short-term energy regulation of whitebellied sunbirds (Nectarinia talatala): effects of food concentration on feeding frequency and duration J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2006; 209(15): 2880 - 2887. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Wiersma, H. M. Salomons, and S. Verhulst Metabolic adjustments to increasing foraging costs of starlings in a closed economy J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2005; 208(21): 4099 - 4108. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Hambly, E. J. Harper, and J. R. Speakman The energy cost of loaded flight is substantially lower than expected due to alterations in flight kinematics J. Exp. Biol., October 15, 2004; 207(22): 3969 - 3976. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Hambly, E. J. Harper, and J. R. Speakman The energetic cost of variations in wing span and wing asymmetry in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata J. Exp. Biol., October 15, 2004; 207(22): 3977 - 3984. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]