Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/3247
Title: Torpor in Australian birds
Contributor(s): Geiser, Fritz  (author)orcid ; Koertner, Gerhard  (author)orcid ; Maddocks, Tracy (author); Brigham, R Mark (author)
Publication Date: 2006
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/3247
Abstract: Energy-conserving torpor is characterized by pronounced reductions in body temperature and metabolic rate and, in Australian birds, is known to occur in the Caprimulgiformes (spotted nightjar, Australian owlet-nightjar, tawny frogmouth), Apodiformes (white-throated needletail) and the Passeriformes (dusky woodswallow). Anecdotal evidence suggests that it also may occur in the white-fronted honeyeater, crimson chat, banded whiteface, red-capped robin, white-backed swallow, mistletoebird, and perhaps welcome swallow. Daily torpor (bouts lasting for several hours) appears to be the most common pattern, although anecdotal evidence indicates that white-backed swallows can undergo prolonged torpor. Diurnal birds enter torpor only during the night but nocturnal birds may use it by the day and/or night, and often in more than one bout/day. Body temperatures fall from ~38–41°C during activity to ~29°C during torpor in spotted nightjars, tawny frogmouths, dusky woodswallows and white-throated needletails, and to ~22°C in Australian owlet-nightjars. In the spotted nightjar, a reduction in Tb by ~10°C resulted in a 75% reduction in metabolic rate, emphasizing energy conservation potential. Since torpor is likely to be more crucial for the survival of small birds, a detailed understanding of its use is important, not only for physiologists but also ecologists and wildlife managers. It is thus disappointing that so much information on torpidity in Australian birds is anecdotal, and that so little effort has been made to characterize its patterns and quantify the resulting energy savings and survival benefits for birds in the wild.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Acta Zoologica Sinica, 52(Supplement), p. 405-408
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Place of Publication: China
ISSN: 0001-7302
1674-5507
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060604 Comparative Physiology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: http://www.une.edu.au/esnrm/pdf/fritz%20geiser/TorporOzBirdsZoolSin06.pdf
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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