Abstract
Patterns of normothermy and heterothermy in two mousebird species differed in several respects from typical endothermic patterns. Primarily, heterothermic responses in Colius striatus lacked the entry and maintenance phases characteristic of typical torpor bouts. These observations suggest that mousebirds may exhibit “proto-torpor”, a form of torpor intermediate between hypothesized ancestral wide-amplitude Tb cycling and modern heterothermy. Clustering behaviour also formed an obligatory component of thermoregulation, and was necessary for the defence of a constant Tb during the rest-phase. The evolution of typical avian torpor appears to have been arrested in the mousebirds by the development of sociality and clustering.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bartholomew GA, Howell TR, Cade TJ (1957) Torpidity in the white-throated swift, Anna hummingbird, and poor-will. Condor 59: 145–155
Bartholomew GA, Trost CH (1970) Temperature regulation in the speckled mousebird, Colius striatus. Condor 72: 141–146
Bech C., Abe AS, Steffensen JF, Berger M, Bicudo JEPW (1997) Torpor in three species of Brazilian hummingbirds under semi-natural conditions. Condor 99: 780–788
Boix-Hinzen C, Lovegrove BG (1998) Circadian metabolic and thermoregulatory patterns of red-billed woodhoopoes (Phoeniculus purpureus): the influence of huddling. J. Zool., Lond 244: 33–41
Brigham RM (1992) Daily torpor in a free-ranging goatsucker, the common poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii). Physiol. Zool. 65: 457–472
Fry CH, Keith S, Urban EK (1988) The Birds of Africa Vol. 3. Academic Press, London.
Geiser F (1998) Evolution of daily torpor and hibernation in birds and mammals: importance of body size. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol. 25: 736–740
Geiser F, Ruf T (1995) Hibernation versus daily torpor in mammals and birds: physiological variables and classification of torpor patterns. Physiol. Zool. 68: 935–966
Hiebert S (1990) Energy costs and temporal organization of torpor in the rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). Physiol. Zool. 63: 1082–1097
Hoffmann R, Prinzinger R (1984) Torpor und Nahrungsausnutzung bei 4 Mausvogelarten (Coliiformes). J. Orn. 125L: 225–237
Krüger K, Prinzinger R, Schuchmann KL (1982) Torpor and metabolism in hummingbirds. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 73A: 679–689
Lovegrove BG, Lawes MJ, Roxburgh L (1999) Confirmation of plesiomorphic daily torpor in mammals: the rounded-eared elephant shrew Macroscelides proboscideus (Macroscelidea). J. Comp. Physiol. 169: 453–460
Lyman CP, Willis JS, Malan A, Wang LCH (1982) Hibernation and torpor in mammals and birds. Academic Press, New York.
Malan A (1996) The origins of hibernation: a reappraisal. In: Geiser F, Hulbert, AJ, Nicol SC (eds) Adaptations to the cold: Tenth International Hibernation Symposium. Armidale: University of New England Press, pp. 1–6
Prinzinger R, Göppel R, Lorenz A, Kulzer E (1981) Body temperature and metabolism in the red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus) during fasting and torpor. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 69A: 689–692
Prinzinger R, Preßmar A, Schleucher E (1991) Body temperature in birds. Comp. Biochem. Phvsiol. 99A: 499–506
Reinertsen RE (1996) Physiological and ecological aspects of hypothermia. In: C. Carey (ed) Avian energetics and nutritional ecology: Chapman & Hall, pp. 125–157
Rich PV, Haarhoff PJ (1985) Early Pliocene Coliidae (Aves, Coliiformes) from Langebaanweg, South Africa. Ostrich 56: 20–41
Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE (1990) Phylogeny and classification of birds: a study in molecular evolution. Yale University Press, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
McKechnie, A.E., Lovegrove, B.G. (2000). Heterothermy in Mousebirds: Evidence of Avian Proto-torpor?. In: Heldmaier, G., Klingenspor, M. (eds) Life in the Cold. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04162-8_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08682-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-04162-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive