Thermoregulation in Newly Hatched Black-legged Kittiwakes
نویسندگان
چکیده
The development of gull chicks is typically considered semi-precocial, because the birds remain in or near the nest for some days after hatching and depend on parental care, but hatch with downy coverings and possess some thermoregulatory ability (Drent 1967; Palokangas and Hissa 1971; Dawson et al. 1972, 1976; Dunn 1976; Dawson and Bennett 1980. 1981). Newlv hatched chicks of several gull species in the genus La& have been studied with respect to thermoregulatory function. These studies suggest hat the heat transfer coefficient (conductance) is not correlated with climatic conditions in the breeding area, whereas the thermogenic ratio (maximum increase in metabolism during cold-exposure) seems to show some correlation with breeding distribution (Dawson and Bennett 1981). Thus, chicks of the Common Black-headed Gull (L. ridibundus) and the Ring-billed Gull (L. d&zwurensis) can double their metabolic rate above the basal rate (BMR) when exposed to cold (Palokangas and Hissa 197 1, Dawson et al. 1976), whereas those ofthe Laughing Gull (L. atricilh). which breed in warmer climates. are able to increase their metabolic rate by only 50% (Da&on et al. 1972). The Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissu triductyla) has a circumpolar holarctic distribution, breeding in tundra, boreal, and temperate climatic zones (Voous 1960). Since the kittiwake thus breeds farther north than most other gulls, one could hypothesize that the chicks have special thermoregulatory capabilities. To test this, we studied body temperature regulation in newly hatched chicks of kittiwakes breeding at 79”N latitude.
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