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Energy metabolism during endurance flight and the post-flight recovery phase

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Abstract

Migrating birds are known to fly non-stop for thousands of kilometres without food or water intake and at a high metabolic rate thereby relying on energy stores which were built up preceding a flight bout. Hence, from a physiological point of view the metabolism of a migrant has to switch between an active fasting phase during flight and a fuelling phase during stopover. To meet the energetic and water requirements of endurance flight, migratory birds have to store an optimal fuel composition and they have to be able to quickly mobilize and deliver sufficient energy to the working flight muscles. After flight, birds have to recover from a strenuous exercise and sleeplessness, but, at the same time, they have to be alert to escape from predators and to prepare the next flight bout. In this overview, metabolic adaptations of free-ranging migrants to both phases will be presented and compared with results from windtunnel studies. The questions whether migratory strategy (long distance versus short distance) and diet composition influence the metabolic pathways will be discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The manuscript is based on data collected during more than 20 years of research. My special thanks and appreciation goes to Lukas Jenni with whom I planned and carried out all the studies together. I would also like to thank the former students Karen Falsone, Ivan Maggini, Michael Schaub and Regine Schwilch for their valuable contributions and the numerous helpers during field work. The studies were financed by the Swiss Ornithological Institute.

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    Susanne Jenni-Eiermann

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Correspondence to Susanne Jenni-Eiermann.

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Jenni-Eiermann, S. Energy metabolism during endurance flight and the post-flight recovery phase. J Comp Physiol A 203, 431–438 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1150-3

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