Evaporative water loss in domestic fowls and its partition in relation to ambient temperature

1976 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Richards

SummaryThe rate of evaporative water loss has been studied in domestic fowls in the ambient temperature range from 0 to 40°C.Results for whole-body evaporation were similar when obtained by the open-flow and direct-weighing methods. At low levels of absolute humidity the rate increased by 0·03 mg/(g.h.°C) from 0 to 22 °C and by 0·17 mg/(g.h.°C) from 23 to 40 °C. Wholebody evaporation decreased with rising ambient water vapour pressure by 0·7 mg/(g.h.kPa).Cutaneous water loss was greater than respiratory water loss below 21 °C; it accounted for 78% of whole-body evaporation at 0 °C, falling to 25% at 40 °C.The rates of respiratory and whole-body evaporation could both be expressed as linear functions of respiratory frequency.

1977 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. Bernstein ◽  
D. M. Hudson ◽  
J. M. Stearns ◽  
R. W. Hoyt

This paper presents the procedures and equations to be utilized for measurement of evaporative water loss (mw), by use of the dew-point hygrometer, in small animals exposed to air containing water vapor in an open-flow system. The system accounted accurately for the water evaporated from a bubble flask. In addition, hygrometric measurements of pulmocutaneous mw in pigeons (Columba livia, mean mass 0.31 kg) agreed closely with simultaneous gravimetric measurements, utilizing a desiccant in the sample stream, in a manner independently of air temperature (Ta, 20 or 40 degrees C), ambient water vapor pressure (PW, 4–16 10(2) Pa), or mw (5–66 mg-min-1). Evaporation in pigeons was independent of PW at 20 degrees C, but increased with decreasing PW at 40 degrees C, suggesting differences in ventilatory adjustments to changes in PW at the two temperatures.


1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
JR Roberts ◽  
RV Baudinette

Stubble quail occur in more arid areas of Australia than king quail; however, the rates of metabolism and the ability to regulate body temperature in response to varying ambient temperature are similar in both birds, and resemble those of other quail species. At high ambient temperatures, rates of heat loss mediated by evaporative water loss are lower than those previously reported for more xerophilic species. Overall rates of water turnover and evaporative water loss at lower ambient temperatures are at the lower end of the range predicted for birds.


Author(s):  
Thomas E. Murphy ◽  
Halil Berberoglu

This study describes the thermal modeling of a novel algal biofilm photobioreactor aimed at cultivating algae for biofuel production. The thermal model is developed to assess the photo-bioreactor’s thermal profile and evaporative water loss rate for a range of environmental parameters, including relative humidity, ambient air temperature, solar irradiation, and wind speed. First, a 24 hour simulation of the system has been performed using environmental data for Memphis, TN, USA on a typical spring day to assess the diurnal variations in system performance. Then, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the effect of each environmental parameter on the temperature and evaporative losses of the photobioreactor. It is observed that because of the high surface area-to-volume ratio of the system, the temperature of the system exceeds that of the maximum ambient temperature during daylight hours by approximately 0.5 °C and is lower than the minimum ambient temperature at night by approximately 1.4 °C because of evaporative and radiative cooling. Furthermore, without active cooling, the characteristic evaporative water loss from the system is approximately 4.8 L/m2-day.


2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1784) ◽  
pp. 20140149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip C. Withers ◽  
Christine E. Cooper

It is a central paradigm of comparative physiology that the effect of humidity on evaporative water loss (EWL) is determined for most mammals and birds, in and below thermoneutrality, essentially by physics and is not under physiological regulation. Fick's law predicts that EWL should be inversely proportional to ambient relative humidity (RH) and linearly proportional to the water vapour pressure deficit (Δwvp) between animal and air. However, we show here for a small dasyurid marsupial, the little kaluta ( Dasykaluta rosamondae ), that EWL is essentially independent of RH (and Δwvp) at low RH (as are metabolic rate and thermal conductance). These results suggest regulation of a constant EWL independent of RH, a hitherto unappreciated capacity of endothermic vertebrates. Independence of EWL from RH conserves water and heat at low RH, and avoids physiological adjustments to changes in evaporative heat loss such as thermoregulation. Re-evaluation of previously published data for mammals and birds suggests that a lesser dependence of EWL on RH is observed more commonly than previously thought, suggesting that physiological independence of EWL of RH is not just an unusual capacity of a few species, such as the little kaluta, but a more general capability of many mammals and birds.


2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1867) ◽  
pp. 20171478 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. C. Eto ◽  
P. C. Withers ◽  
C. E. Cooper

Birds have many physiological characteristics that are convergent with mammals. In the light of recent evidence that mammals can maintain a constant insensible evaporative water loss (EWL) over a range of perturbing environmental conditions, we hypothesized that birds might also regulate insensible EWL, reflecting this convergence. We found that budgerigars ( Melopsittacus undulatus ) maintain EWL constant over a range of relative humidities at three ambient temperatures. EWL, expressed as a function of water vapour pressure deficit, differed from a physical model where the water vapour pressure deficit between the animal and the ambient air is the driver of evaporation, indicating physiological control of EWL. Regulating EWL avoids thermoregulatory impacts of varied evaporative heat loss; changes in relative humidity had no effect on body temperature, metabolic rate or thermal conductance. Our findings that a small bird can regulate EWL are evidence that this is a common feature of convergently endothermic birds and mammals, and may therefore be a fundamental characteristic of endothermy.


1983 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 1603-1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kolka ◽  
R. S. Elizondo

A thermal balance study over an ambient temperature (Ta) range of 15-40 degrees C was performed on six nonacclimated patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) weighing between 3.9 and 6.0 kg. O2 consumption, CO2 production, mean weighted skin temperature (Tsk), rectal temperature (Tre), respiratory evaporative water loss (Eresp), and total evaporative water loss (Etot) were measured continuously after equilibration at each Ta. Tsk increased as Ta increased, whereas Tre was maintained between 37.6 and 38.4 degrees C at Ta from 15 to 40 degrees C. Total evaporative heat losses increased with increasing Ta to a mean value of 76 W/m2 at 40 degrees C. Eresp was relatively constant and increased from 1.0 to 8.0 W/m2 at 15 and 40 degrees C, respectively. Whole-body conductance was similar to that previously reported for Macaca mulatta except at the highest Ta (40 degrees C), where the values for the patas monkey were significantly lower than those reported for the rhesus monkey (rhesus = 72 W/m2; patas = 33 W/m2). The data demonstrate that the patas monkey can maintain its core temperature within a narrow range over a wide range of Ta values. Additionally, Etot in the patas monkey is significantly higher than what has been reported in other nonhuman primates and approaches that reported in humans.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 20170537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Elizabeth Cooper ◽  
Philip Carew Withers

‘Insensible’ evaporative water loss of mammals has been traditionally viewed as a passive process, but recent studies suggest that insensible water loss is under regulatory control, although the physiological role of this control is unclear. We test the hypothesis that regulation of insensible water loss has a thermoregulatory function by quantifying for the first time evaporative water loss control, along with metabolic rate and body temperature, of a heterothermic mammal during normothermia and torpor. Evaporative water loss was independent of ambient relative humidity at ambient temperatures of 20 and 30°C, but not at 25°C or during torpor at 20°C. Evaporative water loss per water vapour pressure deficit had a positive linear relationship with relative humidity at ambient temperatures of 20 and 30°C, but not at 25°C or during torpor at 20 or 25°C. These findings suggest that insensible water loss deviates from a physical model only during thermoregulation, providing support for the hypothesis that regulation of insensible evaporative water loss has a thermoregulatory role.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document