Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs
Resident temperate passerines adjust their phenotypes to cope with winter constraints, with peak performance in metabolic traits typically occurring during the coldest months. However, it is sparsely known whether cold-adapted northern species make similar adjustments when faced with variable season...
Published in: | Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |
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Online Access: | https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/30 https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 |
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:ibiopub-1029 2023-06-11T04:09:46+02:00 Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs Le Pogam, Audrey Love, Oliver P. Régimbald, Lyette Dubois, Karine Hallot, Fanny Milbergue, Myriam Petit, Magali S. O’Connor, Ryan Vézina, François 2020-11-01T07:00:00Z https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/30 https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 unknown Scholarship at UWindsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/30 doi:10.1086/711370 https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 Integrative Biology Publications Basal metabolic rate (BMR) Cold acclimatization Fat mass Hematocrit Lean mass Snow bunting Summit metabolic rate (M ) sum Winter text 2020 ftunivwindsor https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 2023-05-06T19:11:20Z Resident temperate passerines adjust their phenotypes to cope with winter constraints, with peak performance in metabolic traits typically occurring during the coldest months. However, it is sparsely known whether cold-adapted northern species make similar adjustments when faced with variable seasonal environments. Life in near-constant cold could be associated with limited flexibility in traits underlying cold endurance. We investigated this by tracking individual physiological changes over five consecutive winters in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis), an Arctic-breeding migratory passerine typically confronted with nearly constant cold. Buntings were held in an outdoor aviary and exposed to seasonal temperature variation typical of temperate zone climates. We measured phenotypic changes in body composition (body, fat, and lean mass, pectoralis muscle thickness), oxygen transport capacity (hematocrit), metabolic performance (basal metabolic rate [BMR] and summit metabolic rate [Msum]), thermogenic endurance (time to reach Msum), and cold tolerance (temperature at Msum). Snow buntings showed flexibility in functions underlying thermogenic capacity and cold endurance comparable to that observed in temperate resident passerines wintering at similar latitudes. Specifically, they increased body mass (13%), fat mass (246%), hematocrit (23%), pectoralis muscle thickness (8%), and Msum (27%). We also found remarkable cold tolerance in these birds, with individuals reaching Msum in helox at temperatures equivalent to less than 2907C in air. However, in contrast with resident temperate passerines, lean mass decreased by 12%, and there was no clear increase in maintenance costs (BMR). Our results show that the flexibility of traits underlying thermal acclimatization in a cold-adapted northern species is comparable to that of temperate resident species living at lower latitudes and is therefore not limited by life in near-constant cold. Text Arctic Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunting University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 93 6 417 433 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) Cold acclimatization Fat mass Hematocrit Lean mass Snow bunting Summit metabolic rate (M ) sum Winter |
spellingShingle |
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) Cold acclimatization Fat mass Hematocrit Lean mass Snow bunting Summit metabolic rate (M ) sum Winter Le Pogam, Audrey Love, Oliver P. Régimbald, Lyette Dubois, Karine Hallot, Fanny Milbergue, Myriam Petit, Magali S. O’Connor, Ryan Vézina, François Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
topic_facet |
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) Cold acclimatization Fat mass Hematocrit Lean mass Snow bunting Summit metabolic rate (M ) sum Winter |
description |
Resident temperate passerines adjust their phenotypes to cope with winter constraints, with peak performance in metabolic traits typically occurring during the coldest months. However, it is sparsely known whether cold-adapted northern species make similar adjustments when faced with variable seasonal environments. Life in near-constant cold could be associated with limited flexibility in traits underlying cold endurance. We investigated this by tracking individual physiological changes over five consecutive winters in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis), an Arctic-breeding migratory passerine typically confronted with nearly constant cold. Buntings were held in an outdoor aviary and exposed to seasonal temperature variation typical of temperate zone climates. We measured phenotypic changes in body composition (body, fat, and lean mass, pectoralis muscle thickness), oxygen transport capacity (hematocrit), metabolic performance (basal metabolic rate [BMR] and summit metabolic rate [Msum]), thermogenic endurance (time to reach Msum), and cold tolerance (temperature at Msum). Snow buntings showed flexibility in functions underlying thermogenic capacity and cold endurance comparable to that observed in temperate resident passerines wintering at similar latitudes. Specifically, they increased body mass (13%), fat mass (246%), hematocrit (23%), pectoralis muscle thickness (8%), and Msum (27%). We also found remarkable cold tolerance in these birds, with individuals reaching Msum in helox at temperatures equivalent to less than 2907C in air. However, in contrast with resident temperate passerines, lean mass decreased by 12%, and there was no clear increase in maintenance costs (BMR). Our results show that the flexibility of traits underlying thermal acclimatization in a cold-adapted northern species is comparable to that of temperate resident species living at lower latitudes and is therefore not limited by life in near-constant cold. |
format |
Text |
author |
Le Pogam, Audrey Love, Oliver P. Régimbald, Lyette Dubois, Karine Hallot, Fanny Milbergue, Myriam Petit, Magali S. O’Connor, Ryan Vézina, François |
author_facet |
Le Pogam, Audrey Love, Oliver P. Régimbald, Lyette Dubois, Karine Hallot, Fanny Milbergue, Myriam Petit, Magali S. O’Connor, Ryan Vézina, François |
author_sort |
Le Pogam, Audrey |
title |
Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
title_short |
Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
title_full |
Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
title_fullStr |
Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
title_sort |
wintering snow buntings elevate cold hardiness to extreme levels but show no changes in maintenance costs |
publisher |
Scholarship at UWindsor |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/30 https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunting |
genre_facet |
Arctic Plectrophenax nivalis Snow Bunting |
op_source |
Integrative Biology Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/ibiopub/30 doi:10.1086/711370 https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1086/711370 |
container_title |
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology |
container_volume |
93 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
417 |
op_container_end_page |
433 |
_version_ |
1768383755938955264 |