Abstract
Physiology–life history interactions suggest that birds living with a fast ‘pace-of-life’ should have higher metabolic capacity to provision higher reproductive activity. Previous work supports this, but does not consider migration. We measured summit metabolism (\(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{ 2\;{\text{summit}}}}\)) in Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) while wintering in the Republic of Panama, migrating northwards through eastern North America, and while breeding in northeastern North America. \(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{{ 2\;{\text{summit}}}}\) is similar between breeding and overwintering (non-migratory) and is significantly elevated in migration. These data suggest that migration is a driver of phenotypic flexibility in these birds and that migration, like winter survival, may be an important determinant of connections between life history and physiology.
Zusammenfassung
Beim Uferwaldsänger, Parkesia noveboracensis , einem neotropischen Zugvogel, zeigen Stoffwechsel-Spitzenwerte phänotypisch Flexibilität bei Ortswechseln, aber nicht hinsichtlich der geographischen Breite
Die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Physiologie und Lebensweise legen die Vermutung nahe, dass Vögel mit ihrem sehr hohen Lebenstempo bei ihren intensiven Fortpflanzungsaktivitäten auch eine höhere Stoffwechselkapazität haben müssten. Frühere Untersuchungen unterstützen diese Annahme, haben aber die Vogelwanderungen nie berücksichtigt. Wir maßen die Stoffwechsel-Spitzen beim Uferwaldsänger (Parkesia noveboracensis) während seiner Überwinterung in der Republik Panama, während seiner Wanderung nach Norden durch das östliche Nordamerika und während seiner Brutperiode in Nordostamerika. Der Stoffwechsel während der Überwinterung ist dem in der Brutzeit ähnlich, während des Zugs aber signifikant erhöht. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der Vogelzug ein Treiber für die phänotypische Flexibilität dieser Vögel ist und dass der Zug, wie auch das Überleben im Winter, ein wichtiger, ausschlaggebender Faktor in der Wechselbeziehung von Lebensweise und Physiologie der Vögel sein könnte.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and staff at the Bocas del Toro research station and the Miami University Ecology Research Center, as well as Mo Correll, Stan Lindstedt, Brian Olsen, James Roper, David E. Russell, George Schaeffer and Jacqueline Wagner for assistance. We also thank Hank Stevens for providing assistance with statistical analysis. Funding was provided by the Percy Sladen Fund of the Linnean Society of London and the National Science Foundation (Grant #1257455 to PJS).
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Communicated by C. G. Guglielmo.
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Corder, K.R., Schaeffer, P.J. Summit metabolic rate exhibits phenotypic flexibility with migration, but not latitude in a neotropical migrant, Parkesia noveboracensis . J Ornithol 156, 547–550 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1157-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1157-x