Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration
Hypertrophy of the flight muscles is regularly observed in birds prior to long-distance migrations. We tested the hypothesis that a large migratory bird would increase flight behaviour prior to migration, in order to cause hypertrophy of the flight muscles, and upregulate key components of the aerob...
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Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367731 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22090201 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 |
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3367731 2023-05-15T15:46:27+02:00 Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration Portugal, Steven J. Green, Jonathan A. White, Craig R. Guillemette, Magella Butler, Patrick J. 2012-06-23 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367731 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22090201 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367731 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22090201 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society Physiology Text 2012 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 2013-09-04T08:15:10Z Hypertrophy of the flight muscles is regularly observed in birds prior to long-distance migrations. We tested the hypothesis that a large migratory bird would increase flight behaviour prior to migration, in order to cause hypertrophy of the flight muscles, and upregulate key components of the aerobic metabolic pathways. Implantable data loggers were used to record year-round heart rate in six wild barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), and the amount of time spent in flight each day was identified. Time in flight per day did not significantly increase prior to either the spring or the autumn migration, both between time periods prior to migration (5, 10 and 15 days), or when compared with a control period of low activity during winter. The lack of significant increase in flight prior to migration suggests that approximately 22 min per day is sufficient to maintain the flight muscles in condition for prolonged long-distance flight. This apparent lack of a requirement for increased flight activity prior to migration may be attributable to pre-migratory mass gains in the geese increasing workload during short flights, potentially prompting hypertrophy of the flight muscles. Text Branta leucopsis PubMed Central (PMC) Biology Letters 8 3 469 472 |
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English |
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Physiology |
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Physiology Portugal, Steven J. Green, Jonathan A. White, Craig R. Guillemette, Magella Butler, Patrick J. Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
topic_facet |
Physiology |
description |
Hypertrophy of the flight muscles is regularly observed in birds prior to long-distance migrations. We tested the hypothesis that a large migratory bird would increase flight behaviour prior to migration, in order to cause hypertrophy of the flight muscles, and upregulate key components of the aerobic metabolic pathways. Implantable data loggers were used to record year-round heart rate in six wild barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), and the amount of time spent in flight each day was identified. Time in flight per day did not significantly increase prior to either the spring or the autumn migration, both between time periods prior to migration (5, 10 and 15 days), or when compared with a control period of low activity during winter. The lack of significant increase in flight prior to migration suggests that approximately 22 min per day is sufficient to maintain the flight muscles in condition for prolonged long-distance flight. This apparent lack of a requirement for increased flight activity prior to migration may be attributable to pre-migratory mass gains in the geese increasing workload during short flights, potentially prompting hypertrophy of the flight muscles. |
format |
Text |
author |
Portugal, Steven J. Green, Jonathan A. White, Craig R. Guillemette, Magella Butler, Patrick J. |
author_facet |
Portugal, Steven J. Green, Jonathan A. White, Craig R. Guillemette, Magella Butler, Patrick J. |
author_sort |
Portugal, Steven J. |
title |
Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
title_short |
Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
title_full |
Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
title_fullStr |
Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
title_sort |
wild geese do not increase flight behaviour prior to migration |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367731 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22090201 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 |
genre |
Branta leucopsis |
genre_facet |
Branta leucopsis |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3367731 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22090201 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 |
op_rights |
This journal is © 2011 The Royal Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0975 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
469 |
op_container_end_page |
472 |
_version_ |
1766381143334060032 |