scholarly journals Field and laboratory metabolism and thermoregulation in rhinoceros auklets

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11460
Author(s):  
Aika Umeyama ◽  
Yasuaki Niizuma ◽  
Masaki Shirai

Seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, except when visiting their breeding sites. Since the thermal conductivity of water is 25 times higher than that of air, seabirds resting on water lose heat and expend a considerable amount of energy for thermoregulation. For example, rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), a medium-sized (480–620 g) alcid, spends most of its time floating on the sea. In order to estimate the cost of this behavior in terms of their daily energy expenditure (DEE), we studied rhinoceros auklets breeding on Teuri Island, Hokkaido Japan. We measured their resting metabolic rate (RMR) in air and on water by respirometry, and estimated their DEE by the doubly labeled water method. While RMR on water did not vary significantly between 10 °C and 15 °C, it was significantly higher at 5 °C. Air temperature (5.0–20.0 °C) had no effect on RMR. The DEE of free-ranging auklets averaged 1,005.5 kJ day−1 (±130.2, n = 3). Our results indicate that RMRs are elevated for auklets resting on water, particularly below their lower critical temperature (LCT), compared with in air. Accordingly, spending time above their LCT on water at any time of year will provide enhanced benefits, particularly to seabirds such as rhinoceros auklets which rest a considerable amount of time on water.

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1412-1416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin D. Congdon ◽  
Donald W. Tinkle

Metabolic rates of free-ranging Sceloporus graciosus (Sauria: Iguanidae) were measured during the summer using doubly labeled H2O. Adults of either sex and juveniles did not differ in field metabolic rates (0.26 mL CO2∙g−1∙h−1or 160 J∙g−1∙day−1). Field metabolic rates were 2.4 times the resting metabolic rate, and activity respiration was 3.1 times the resting metabolic rate at lizard activity temperatures. Activity accounted for 59% of the energy consumption due to respiration. Calculated rates of feeding indicated a 415 J∙day−1 deficit in metabolizable energy intake, and this was reflected in rate of loss of body mass throughout the study. Daily energy harvested by 200 lizards (31 kJ∙day−1), which approximates densities (per hectare) on the study area, would supply only 40% of the daily energy requirements of one insectivorous bird with similar body mass and activity level of a Phainopepla (79 kJ∙day−1).


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5599
Author(s):  
Eko Supriyanto ◽  
Jayan Sentanuhady ◽  
Ariyana Dwiputra ◽  
Ari Permana ◽  
Muhammad Akhsin Muflikhun

Biodiesel has caught the attention of many researchers because it has great potential to be a sustainable fossil fuel substitute. Biodiesel has a non-toxic and renewable nature and has been proven to emit less environmentally harmful emissions such as hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO) as smoke particles during combustion. Problems related to global warming caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could also be solved by utilizing biodiesel as a daily energy source. However, the expensive cost of biodiesel production, mainly because of the cost of natural feedstock, hinders the potential of biodiesel commercialization. The selection of natural sources of biodiesel should be made with observations from economic, agricultural, and technical perspectives to obtain one feasible biodiesel with superior characteristics. This review paper presents a detailed overview of various natural sources, their physicochemical properties, the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of biodiesel when used in a diesel engine. The recent progress in studies about natural feedstocks and manufacturing methods used in biodiesel production were evaluated in detail. Finally, the findings of the present work reveal that transesterification is currently the most superior and commonly used biodiesel production method compared to other methods available.


Parasitology ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Delahay ◽  
J. R. Speakman ◽  
R. Moss

SUMMARYThe timing of the energetic consequences of a developing, single-dose infection of Trichostrongylus tenuis larvae was investigated in captive red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. At 12 days post-infection (p.i.), infected birds had a resting metabolic rate 16% greater than controls and thenceforth lost weight at a faster rate than controls. At 16 days p.i. infected birds consumed 38% less energy and excreted 33% less energy than controls. The estimated total daily energy expenditure and energy expended on activity for infected birds at 16 days p.i. were 36% and 83% lower, respectively, than for controls. Infected birds lost condition from 16 days p.i. onwards. The period of energy imbalance at 12–16 days p.i. coincided with development of late 4th-stage larvae into adult worms and the onset of patency. After this, the effects on energy balance diminished. Synchronous development of previously arrested T. tenuis larvae in wild birds in spring probably has similar effects to those reported here and places grouse under conditions of energy imbalance. The observed effects on energy balance provide a possible mechanism by which the parasite can reduce fecundity and survival of infected grouse.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika M. Felton ◽  
Adam Felton ◽  
David Raubenheimer ◽  
Stephen J. Simpson ◽  
William J. Foley ◽  
...  

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karol A. Worden ◽  
Peter J. Pekins

Winter is a critical time of year for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northern regions because their food consumption does not meet their daily energy demands. We measured feed intake, fasting metabolic rate (FMR), and body composition of five captive adult female white-tailed deer from September 1991 through March 1992 in New Hampshire to investigate the relationships between FMR and feed intake to fat deposition and mobilization. Deuterium oxide dilution was used to estimate monthly body composition, indirect respiration calorimetry was used to measure monthly FMR, and metabolizable energy intake (MEI) was calculated from daily feed intake. Mean percent body fat increased from 9.1 ± 1.5 to 24.9 ± 4.4% from September to December, and then declined through March. Mean percent body protein did not change during the study (range 20–21%). Mean MEI peaked during September and October (171.9 ± 8.1 and 168.7 ± 10.3 kcal∙kg body mass−0.75∙d−1, respectively), and declined 54% by February. Mean FMR ranged from 79 to 90 from October through March. Correlations between MEI or FMR and change in body fat were weak. It was estimated that intake rates of free-ranging deer were only 90–110% of winter FMR, and that deer with 20% body fat could balance their daily energy expenditure (1.7 × FMR) with fat stores for about 3 months, or the period of time during which MEI was depressed in captive deer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 158 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-437
Author(s):  
Michael Kam ◽  
Shaher El-Meccawi ◽  
Arieh Brosh ◽  
A. Allan Degen

AbstractSheep are grazers and goats are intermediate feeders. By employing O2 consumption and heart rate measurements, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and field metabolic rate (FMR) were determined in four male fat-tailed Awassi sheep (44.0 ± 3.94) and four male Baladi goats (35.5 ± 5.42 kg) that were co-grazing natural pasture in the Negev Desert. There were 67.7 ± 3.75 g DM/m2 of herbaceous vegetation biomass, which was rapidly becoming senescent and more fibrous. We hypothesized that FMR of these desert-adapted ruminants would be relatively low when compared to other sheep and goat breeds, as animals in arid areas tend to have low metabolic rates. Both sheep (n = 6) and goats (n = 6) foraged 71% of the allotted 11 h free-pasture period; however, sheep grazed more than goats (P < 0.001); whereas goats browsed more than sheep (P < 0.001). RMR was higher (P = 0.007) in sheep than in goats (529 ± 23.5 v. 474 ± 25.4 kJ/kg0.75 BW/d), but FMR did not differ between species (618 ± 55.7 v. 613 ± 115.2 kJ/kg0.75 BW/d). In addition, the cost of activities, as a proportion of FMR, did not differ between sheep and goats; FMR increased by 89 kJ/kg0.75 BW/d or 17% in sheep and by 138 kJ/kg0.75 BW/d or 29% in goats. In comparing FMRs of sheep and goats in this study with these species in other studies, differences were inconsistent and, therefore, our hypothesis was not supported.


1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (3) ◽  
pp. R631-R639 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Morgan ◽  
George K. Iwama

Few studies have made direct estimates of the energy required for ion transport in gills of freshwater (FW) and seawater (SW) fish. Oxygen consumption was measured in excised gill tissue of FW-adapted cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki clarki) to estimate the energy cost of NaCl transport in that osmoregulatory organ. Ouabain (0.5 mM) and bafilomycin A1 (1 μM) were used to inhibit the Na+-K+and H+ pumps, respectively. Both inhibitors significantly decreased gill tissue oxygen consumption, accounting for 37% of total tissue respiration. On a whole mass basis, the cost of NaCl uptake in the FW trout gill was estimated to be 1.8% of whole animal oxygen uptake. An isolated, saline-perfused gill arch preparation was also used to compare gill energetics in FW- and SW-adapted trout. The oxygen consumption of FW gills was significantly (33%) higher than SW gills. On a whole animal basis, total gill oxygen consumption in FW and SW trout accounted for 3.9 and 2.4% of resting metabolic rate, respectively. The results of both experiments suggest that the energy cost of NaCl transport in FW and SW trout gills represents a relatively small (<4%) portion of the animal’s total energy budget.


2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (10) ◽  
pp. 956-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Sheriff ◽  
J. R. Speakman ◽  
L. Kuchel ◽  
S. Boutin ◽  
M. M. Humphries

The hypothesis that cold air temperatures (Ta) constrain the metabolic diversity of high-latitude endotherms is based on the observation among birds and mammals that mean field metabolic rate (FMR) increases, whereas the variability of FMR decreases, from the warm tropics to the cold poles. However, there is a paucity of FMR measurements from above 60° latitude and below 0 °C. We measured the daily energy expenditure of a high-latitude population of free-ranging snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) in Yukon, Canada, in winter (Ta-mean = –16.4 °C) and in autumn (Ta-mean = 0.5 °C). Doubly labelled water measures of FMR were approximately 20% lower in winter than in autumn, and were a similar, low multiple of resting metabolic rate in both seasons (2.04 and 1.94, respectively). The mass-corrected FMR of snowshoe hares in winter was only half the value predicted by extrapolating the relationship between FMR and Ta > 0 to –16.4 °C. These results contribute to an emerging pattern of a reversal in the relationship between FMR and Ta in free-ranging mammals from negative above 0 °C to positive below 0 °C. We refer to the positive, low Ta portion of this relationship as the cold shoulder, and suggest that it may reflect the general necessity for free-ranging mammals to use behavioural and (or) physiological means to conserve energy during long winters when cold conditions coincide with resource scarcity.


Biology Open ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (11) ◽  
pp. 1141-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Shirai ◽  
M. Ito ◽  
K. Yoda ◽  
Y. Niizuma

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