A comparison of methods to evaluate energy expenditure of incubating wandering albatrosses

• Published in: Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
• Main Authors: Shaffer, Scott A, Costa, D P, Weimerskirch, H
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: SJSU ScholarWorks 2001
• Subjects: Publications; Biology; Marine Biology; Diomedea exulans
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/biol_pub/30; https://doi.org/10.1086/323650; https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/context/biol_pub/article/1030/viewcontent/Shaffer_ComparisonofMethods_PhysBiochemZoo_072013_AC.pdf

Measurements of incubation energetics can vary depending on the method used to measure metabolism of an incubating bird. Therefore, we evaluated the energy expenditure of six male and four female wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans Linnaeus) using doubly labeled water (DLW), the rate of mass loss, and estimates of metabolic water production derived from water influx rate (WIR). Incubation metabolic rates (IMR) determined with DLW ( 169 ± 21 kJ kg d SD) were significantly lower than estimates derived from mass loss ( 277 ± 46kJ kg d SD) and WIR ( males=289 ± 60 kJ kg d vs. females = 400 ± 69 kJ kg d SD). Estimates of IMR from f WIR were similar to IMR (305 ± 39 kJ kg d SD) determined by respirometry in a previous study, and IMR from DLW was similar to estimates based on heart rate (HR; 147 ± 26 kJ d SD) determined in another study. Ap- 147 26 plying the different measurements of IMR to construct an en-ergy budget, we estimate that a breeding pair of wandering albatrosses spends 124--234 MJ to incubate the egg for 78 d. Finally, IMRs determined with DLW and HR were similar.