Oxygen consumption and acid-base balance during shallow hypothermia in the pigeon

Do small precocial birds enter torpor to conserve energy during development?

Precocial birds hatch feathered and mobile, but when they become fully endothermic soon after hatching, their heat loss is high and they may become energy depleted. These chicks could benefit from using energy-conserving torpor, which is characterised by controlled reductions of metabolism and body temperature (Tb). We investigated at what age the precocial king quail Coturnix chinensis can defend a high Tb under a mild thermal challenge and whether they can express torpor soon after achieving endothermy to overcome energetic and thermal challenges. Measurements of surface temperature (Ts) using an infrared thermometer showed that king quail chicks are partially endothermic at 2-10 days, but can defend high Tb at a body mass of ∼13 g. Two chicks expressed shallow nocturnal torpor at 14 and 17 days for 4-5 h with a reduction of metabolism by >40% and another approached the torpor threshold. Although chicks were able to rewarm endogenously from the first torpor bout, metabolism and Ts decreased again by the end of the night, but they rewarmed passively when removed from the chamber. The total metabolic rate increased with body mass. All chicks measured showed a greater reduction of nocturnal metabolism than previously reported in quails. Our data show that shallow torpor can be expressed during the early postnatal phase of quails, when thermoregulatory efficiency is still developing, but heat loss is high. We suggest that torpor may be a common strategy for overcoming challenging conditions during development in small precocial and not only altricial birds.

Facultative hypothermia as a survival strategy during snowstorm induced food shortages in Antarctic storm-petrel chicks

Wilson's storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) are the smallest marine birds breeding in Antarctica, where events like snowstorms often prevent parents from providing food daily for their offspring. To minimize energy expenses, Wilson's storm-petrel chicks can reduce their metabolism and body temperature by entering hypothermia. Hypothermia is reported to impact development, hence we hypothesized that hypothermia will be majorly used after long fasting periods. Chick development in a breeding colony of Wilson's storm-petrels on the South Shetland Islands was monitored daily during three consecutive summers by recording chicks' body mass and temperature, as well as environmental parameters. Provisioning, and body conditions were highest in 2017, and chicks became hypothermic most frequently in 2016. Body temperature was influenced by age, mass, body condition, and minimal nocturnal temperatures. While most chicks were able to maintain stable body temperatures when not fed for one day, some chicks' body temperatures decreased by up to 21 °C. Age did not differ between those two groups, but chicks maintaining their active body temperatures had higher body conditions. Snowstorms were typically followed by several days of unreliable food provisioning and continuous days of fasting. Most chicks were hypothermic during this time, and were hence able to survive periods of food shortages, reverse their low body temperatures after the next feeding event, and regain body mass. We conclude that hypothermia is a strong survival strategy to endure times of fasting, which might be necessary for Antarctic storm-petrel chicks to reach adulthood. However, in future scenarios, which may include more frequent snowstorms due to climate change, malnourishment could lead to more frequent use of hypothermia, which could affect chicks' development.

Thermoregulation in African Green Pigeons (Treron calvus) and a re-analysis of insular effects on basal metabolic rate and heterothermy in columbid birds

Columbid birds represent a useful model taxon for examining adaptation in metabolic and thermal traits, including the effects of insularity. To test predictions concerning the role of insularity and low predation risk as factors selecting for the use of torpor, and the evolution of low basal metabolic rate in island species, we examined thermoregulation under laboratory and semi-natural conditions in a mainland species, the African Green Pigeon (Treron calvus). Under laboratory conditions, rest-phase body temperature (T b) was significantly and positively correlated with air temperature (T a) between 0 and 35 °C, and the relationship between resting metabolic rate (RMR) and T a differed from typical endothermic patterns. The minimum RMR, which we interpret as basal metabolic rate (BMR), was 0.825 ± 0.090 W. Green pigeons responded to food restriction by significantly decreasing rest-phase T b, but the reductions were small (at most ~5 °C below normothermic values), with a minimum T b of 33.1 °C recorded in a food-deprived bird. We found no evidence of the large reductions in T b and metabolic rate and the lethargic state characteristic of torpor. The absence of torpor in T. calvus lends support to the idea that species restricted to islands that are free of predators are more likely to use torpor than mainland species that face the risk of predation during the rest-phase. We also analysed interspecific variation in columbid BMR in a phylogenetically informed framework and verified the conclusions of an earlier study which found that BMR is significantly lower in island species compared to those that occur on mainlands.

Shivering and digestion-related thermogenesis in pigeons during dark phase

The pigeon's main source of regulated heat production, shivering, is especially likely to be used for thermoregulation during the dark phase of the day when there is little heat from locomotor activity. However, food stored in the pigeon's crop is digested during the night, and digestion-related thermogenesis (DRT) will provide heat that should decrease the need for shivering to maintain body temperature (Tb). We investigated the conditions under which DRT alters the occurrence of nocturnal shivering thermogenesis in pigeons. In fasting experiments, in which DRT was minimal, variations in pectoral shivering were closely related to the kinetics of nocturnal Tb when the ambient temperature (Ta) was moderate (21 degrees C). In that case, shivering was low while Tb fell at the beginning of the night, moderate during the nocturnal plateau in Tb, and strong during the prelight increase in Tb. Similar kinetics of nocturnal Tb occurred when Ta = 28 degrees C, but shivering was negligible throughout the dark phase. In restricted feeding experiments, nocturnal DRT was varied by providing different amounts of food late in the light phase. When Ta = 21 degrees C, 11 degrees C, and 1 degrees C, nocturnal Tb and O2 consumption were directly related to the amount of food ingested. However, nocturnal shivering tended to decrease as the food load increased and was significantly reduced at the higher loads. Because nocturnal shivering did not become more efficient in producing heat as the size of the food load increased, we conclude that nocturnal DRT decreased the need for shivering thermogenesis.

Nocturnal digestion, cloacal excretion, and digestion-related thermogenesis in pigeons (Columba livia)

Two indicators of nocturnal digestive activity were identified in pigeons. Experiment 1 showed that a sizable amount of food empties from the crop while pigeons are inactive during the night. Experiment 2 showed that the number and volume of cloacal droppings during the night were directly related to the volume of food consumed during the day. The temporal pattern of cloacal droppings in the night was systematically related to features of the nocturnal body temperature (Tb) curves, suggesting that excretory activity is thermogenic in its own right and/or that it is a marker for a thermogenic process in the upper digestive tract. Questions about the relationship between digestion-related thermogenesis and shivering thermogenesis during the night in birds are highlighted by these findings.

Daily cycles in body temperature, metabolic rate, and substrate utilization in pigeons: influence of amount and timing of food consumption

Pigeons lived in individual chambers where instantaneous metabolic rate (MR; indirect calorimetry), body temperature (Tb), and substrate utilization (RQ) were measured 24 times each hour throughout the 12h:12h light:dark cycle. The amount of food consumed influenced the amplitude of the MR and Tb cycles, primarily by affecting the dark-phase segment of the cycle: when food was consumed ad lib, low-amplitude daily cycles in MR and Tb occurred in which levels in the dark phase were lower than in the light; during reduced food intake in restricted feeding or in fasting, high-amplitude cycles occurred primarily because nocturnal hypometabolism and hypothermia developed; in restricted feeding, the level of MR and Tb during the dark-phase segment of the cycle was directly related to short-term variation in amount consumed. The timing of food consumption primarily affected the light-phase segment of the MR and Tb cycles: when feeding was restricted to a time late in the light phase, these measures became depressed early in the light phase, and then greatly elevated near the scheduled time of feeding. This distinctive light-phase pattern developed quickly after the restricted feeding schedule began and may reflect the influence of a circadian food-entrainable oscillator. RQ indicated carbohydrate utilization for most of the 24-h cycle during ad lib feeding and in restricted feeding. However, approximately 2 h before the first feeding bout of the day, the RQ cycle indicated a sizable shift towards lipid utilization, which terminated after the bout was completed. There was a smaller, more transient, decrease in RQ near the time of the light-dark transition, which may imply cessation of digestive activity in preparation for the nocturnal decrease in Tb. During fasting, RQ indicated lipid utilization throughout the entire cycle. Whole-day energy expenditure by pigeons in these laboratory circumstances was shown to be closely related to the changes in within-day cycles associated with variations in the amount and timing of food intake.

Acidosis and metabolic rate in golden mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis)

In this study, three series of experiments were conducted on euthermic, anesthetized, artificially ventilated golden mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis), each of which altered pHa in a different fashion. In Series I, animals were randomly hypo- or hyper-ventilated. On average, pHa changed from 7.13 to 7.59, PaCO2 from 59.2 to 23.6 Torr, and PaO2 from 45.8 to 57.2 Torr between the two conditions, respectively. VO2 showed a significant positive correlation with pHa (r = +0.84) as well as PaO2 (r = + 0.60). In Series II, respiratory acidosis was produced by pump-ventilating animals with up to 10% inspired CO2 to reduce pHa to within the range 7.40 to 7.20. On average, pHa was reduced to 7.30, PaO2 to 50.1 Torr and PaCO2 was increased to 56.7 Torr. As in Series I, there was a significant positive correlation between VO2 and pHa (r = +0.78) and between VO2 and PaO2 (r = +0.71). In Series III, metabolic acidosis was produced by infusing lactic or acetic acid intravenously for 20 to 30 min. This reduced pHa from 7.56 to 7.32, PaO2 from 70.2 to 58.9 Torr, and elevated PaCO2 from 26.9 to 37.9 Torr (P < 0.05 in all cases). Contrary to Series I and II, VO2 increased with a decline in pHa (r = -0.65, P < 0.05) and PaO2 (r = -0.55, P < 0.05). Thus, despite a significant decline in pHa and PaO2 and an elevation of PaCO2 during all three series, VO2 changed in opposite directions during respiratory and metabolic acidosis. We conclude that whatever the mechanism involved, hypoventilation during the early stages of entrance into hibernation can contribute to the fall in metabolic rate.

Comparison of acid/base status in conscious and anaesthetized rats during acute hypothermia

Acute hypothermia was surface-induced in unrestrained conscious rats at two different levels, moderate (30 degrees C TB) and severe (20 degrees C TB). Data reflecting the acid/base status were determined. The values obtained for moderate hypothermia were compared with the acid/base pattern observed during hypothermia induced by two different anaesthetics, sodium pentobarbital and urethane, at room temperature. Conscious, hypothermic animals developed an apparent respiratory alkalosis, with an increase in pHa (from 7.476 to 7.546 in moderate hypothermia and from 7.484 to 7.563 in severe hypothermia) correlated with a decrease in arterial bicarbonate levels (from 22.9 to 16.8 mmol l-1 and from 20.7 to 14.9 mmol l-1 respectively). Lactate increased slightly in conscious, severely hypothermic rats (1.02 mmol l-1). This acid/base pattern was clearly different from that seen in sodium pentobarbital (mild respiratory acidosis) and urethane-induced hypothermia (metabolic acidosis). These results suggest that conscious rats follow a pattern closer to that underlying the relative alkalinity shown by many poikilotherms than to that underlying the constant pH shown in hibernating mammals. This latter pattern, nevertheless, approaches that observed during moderate pentobarbital hypothermia and the acid/base pattern during shallow hypothermia in birds. Anaesthesia may interfere with the development of the processes that lead to the acid/base pattern observed in conscious animals.