Basal metabolic rate declines during long-distance migratory flight in great knots

Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) make one of the longest migratory flights in the avian world, flying almost 5500 km from Australia to China during northward migration. We measured basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body composition in birds before and after this flight and found that BMR decreased 4...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Battley, Phil F., Dekinga, Anne, Dietz, Maurine W., Piersma, Theunis, Tang, Sixian, Hulsman, Kees
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2001
Subjects:
BMR
Calidris tenuirostris
fasting
metabolism
migration
shorebirds
CALIDRIS-CANUTUS
BODY-COMPOSITION
SEASONAL ACCLIMATIZATION
OXYGEN-CONSUMPTION
ENERGY-EXPENDITURE
MIGRANT SHOREBIRD
MASS
ORGAN
WADERS
SIZE
Calidris canutus
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11370/168386c7-47c2-4bd5-a5e8-20d051a29b78
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/168386c7-47c2-4bd5-a5e8-20d051a29b78
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/6665181/2001CondorBattley.pdf
https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/103/4/838/5151751
Description
Summary:Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) make one of the longest migratory flights in the avian world, flying almost 5500 km from Australia to China during northward migration. We measured basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body composition in birds before and after this flight and found that BMR decreased 42%. The mass-specific BMR based on lean mass decreased 33%. We also starved a group of pre-migratory Great Knots in captivity to determine whether they showed the same reduction in BMR without having undergone the hard work of flight. The captive birds showed a similar range and reduction of BMR values as the wild birds. Exponents of relationships between BMR and body mass in different comparisons were high, indicating large changes in BMR as a function of body mass. Analysis of the body composition of ten wild and three captive birds found that the flight muscle mass and intestine mass positively correlated with BMR.

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