Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Energetics of Avian Growth: The Causal Link with BMR and Metabolic Scope

  • Chapter
Physiology of Cold Adaptation in Birds

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIAS,volume 173))

Abstract

Our point of departure is Lack’s (1968) viewpoint that avian growth rate is one of the parameters adjusted in the course of evolution to help match the needs of the brood to the foraging ability of the parents in nidicolous species. A second selective pressure, valid especially for nidifugous species, is to minimize the period of heightened predation risk when the chicks are small and cannot yet fly. Furthermore, Lack reasoned that the seasonal timing of growth required synchrony, between the period of maximal demand of the growing young and the period of greatest food abundance. A further selective pressure for rapid growth rate might be expected in strongly seasonal environments where it is imperative to complete development before the onset of unfavourable conditions. These considerations are based on the premise that changes in growth rate bring about large changes in the daily ration required to raise the chick, i. e. the energetic consequences of alteration of growth rate loom large in the daily energy budget.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Literature Cited

  1. Ackerman, R. A., Whittow, G. C., Paganelli, C. V., and Pettit, T. N., 1980, Oxygen consumption, gas exchange and growth of embryonic wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus chlororhynchus), Physiol. Zool., 53: 210–221.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Ashmole, N. P., 1963, The biology of the wideawake or sooty tern Sterna fuscata on Ascension Island, Ibis, 103b: 297–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bech, C., Brent, R., Pederson, P. F., Rasmussen, J. G., and Johansen, K., 1982, Temperature regulation in chicks of the manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). Ornis Scand., 13: 206–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bech, C., Martini, S., Brent, R., and Rasmussen, J., 1984, Thermoregulation in newly hatched black-legged kittiwakes, Condor, 86: 339–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bech, C., Mehlum, F., and Haftorn, S., 1988, Development of chicks during extreme cold conditions: the antarctic petrel (Thallassoica antarctica), Proc. Ornithol. Congr. 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bryant, D. M., and Hails, C. J., 1983, Energetics and growth patterns of three tropical bird species, Auk, 100: 425–439.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Daan, S., Masman, D., Strijkstra, A., and Verhulst, S., 1989, Intraspecific allometry of basal metabolic rate: relations with body size, temperature, composition and circadian phase in the kestrel, Falco tinnunculus:, J. Biol. Rhythms., (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Dawson, W. R., Bennett, A. F., and Hudson, W. J., 1976, Metabolism and thermoregulation in hatchling ring-billed gulls, Condor, 78: 49–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dawson, W. R., and Bennet, A. F., 1980, metabolism and thermoregulation in hatchling western gulls (Larus occidentalis livens), Condor, 82: 103–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dawson, W. R., Hudson, J. W., and Hill, R. W., 1972, Temperature regulation in newly hatched laughing gulls (Larus atricilla), Condor, 74: 177–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dorward, D. F., 1963, The fairy tern Gygis alba on Ascension Island, Ibis, 103b: 365–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Drent, R. H., 1970, Functional aspects of incubation in the herring gull (Larus argentatus Pont.), Behaviour suppl., 17: 1–132.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Drent, R. H., 1975, Incubation, Pp. 333–420, in: “Avian Biology,” Vol. V, D. S. Farner, and J. R. King, eds., Academic Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Drent, R. H., and Daan, S., 1980, The prudent parent: energetic adjustments in avian breeding, Ardea, 68: 225–252.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ellis, H. I., 1984, Energetics of free ranging seabirds, Pp 203–234, in: “Seabird Energetics,” G. C. Whittow, and H. Rahn, eds., Plenum Press, New York and London.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  16. Gabrielsen, G. W., Mehlum, F., and Karlsen, H. E., 1988, Thermoregulation in four species of arctic seabirds, J. Comp. Physiol. B, 157: 703–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Glutz von Blotzheim, U. N., and Bauer, K. M., 1982, Handbuch der Vögel Mitteleuropas, 8: I: 1–699, Akad. Verlag, Wiesbaden.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hails, C. J., 1983, The metabolic rate of tropical birds, Condor 85: 61–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hume, I. D., 1982, Digestive Physiology and Nutrition of Marsupials, Cambridge Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Kirkwood, J. K., 1983, A limit to metabolisable energy intake in mammals and birds, Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 75A: 1–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Klaassen, M., Slagsvold, G., and Bech, C., 1987, Metabolic rate and thermostability in relation to availability of yolk in hatchlings of black-legged kittiwake and domestic chicken, Auk, 104: 787–789.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Lack, D., 1968, Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds, Methuen, London.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Langham, N. P., 1983, growth strategies in marine terns, Stud. Avian Biol., 8: 73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Mehlum, F., Bech, C., and Haftorn, S., 1987, Breeding ecology of the antarctic petrel Thalassoica antarctica in Mühlighofmannfjella, Dronning Maud Land, Proc. NIPR Symp. Polar Biol., 1: 161–165.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Nelson, J. B., 1978, The Sulidae, Gannets and Boobies, Oxford Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  26. O’Connor, R. J., 1984, The Growth and Development of Birds, John Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Palokangas, R., and Hissa, R., 1971, Thermoregulation in young black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus L.), Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 38A: 743–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Pettit, T. N., Grant, G. S., Whittow, G. C., Rahn, H., and Paganelli, C. V., 1981, Respiratory gas exchange and growth of white tern embryos, Condor, 83: 355–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Pettit, T. N., Grant, G. S., Whittow, G. C., Rahn, H., and Paganelli, C. V., 1982, Embryonic oxygen consumption and growth of the laysan and black-footed albatross, Am. Journ. Physiol. 242: R121–R128.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Pettit, T. N., Grant, G. S., Whittow, G. C., Rahn, H., and Paganelli, C. V., 1982, Respiratory gas exchange and growth of bonin petrel embryos, Physiol. Zool., 55: 162–170.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Pettit, T. N., and Whittow, G. C., 1983, Embryonic respiration and growth in two species of noddy terns, Physiol. Zool., 56: 455–464.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Pettit, T. N., Whittow, G. C., and Ellis, H. I., 1984, Food and energy requirements of seabirds at french frigate shoals, Hawaii, Pp 265-282, in: Proc. 2nd Symp. Res. Inv., R. W. Grigg, and K. Y. Tanoue, eds., Univ. Hawaii, Honolulu.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Ricklefs, R. E., 1968, Patterns of growth in birds, Ibis, 110: 419–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Ricklefs, R. E., 1973, Patterns of growth in birds II. Growth rate and mode of development, Ibis, 115: 177–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Ricklefs, R. E., 1983, Avian Post-Natal Development, Pp 1–83, in: “Avian Biology,” Vol. VII, D. S. Farner, and J. R. King, eds., Academic Press, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  36. Ricklefs, R. E., 1987, Comparative analysis of avian embryonic growth, J. Exp. Zool. Suppl., 1: 309–323.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Ricklefs, R. E., and White, S. C., 1981, Growth and energetics of chicks of the sooty tern (Sterna fuscata) and common tern (S. hirundo), Auk, 98: 361–378.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Schreiber, E. A., and Schreiber, R. W., 1980, Breeding biology of laughing gulls in Florida, J. Field Orn. 51: 340–355.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Spaans, A. L., 1971, On the feeding ecology of the herring gull in the northern part of the Netherlands, Ardea, 59: 73–188.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Taylor, J. R. E., 1985, Ontogeny of thermoregulation and energy metabolism in pygoscelid penguin chicks, J. Comp. Physiol., 155B: 615–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Visser and Beintema, 1989, Energetics of growth in waders, Ardea, 77: (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Weathers, W. W., 1979, Climatic adaptations in avian standard metabolic rate, Oecologia (Berlin) 42: 81–89.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Laboratory, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands

    Rudolf Drent & Marcel Klaassen

  2. Research Institute for Nature Management (RIN), P.O. Box 9201, 6800 HB, Arnhem, The Netherlands

    Marcel Klaassen

Authors
  1. Rudolf Drent
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marcel Klaassen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway

    Claus Bech  & Randi Eidsmo Reinertsen  & 

Additional information

Dedicated in friendship to Robert Rocklefs for his stimulation

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Drent, R., Klaassen, M. (1989). Energetics of Avian Growth: The Causal Link with BMR and Metabolic Scope. In: Bech, C., Reinertsen, R.E. (eds) Physiology of Cold Adaptation in Birds. NATO ASI Series, vol 173. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0031-2_37

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0031-2_37

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-0033-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-0031-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation