Energetics of Winter and Migratory Fattening

Biebach, Herbert

doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-0425-8_9

Cited by 79 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 158 publications

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“…The deposition of fat and the alteration of the fatty acid composition of fat stores of migratory birds are achieved through changes in both physiology and behavior (Bairlein, 2002;Berthold, 1993;Biebach, 1996;Newton, 2008). During the migratory phase, birds become hyperphagic, typically eating 20-40% more food than maintenance levels (Bairlein, 2002) and gaining mass at a rate of ∼1-7% of lean body mass per day (Alerstam and Lindström, 1990;Lindström, 1991).…”

Section: How Do Birds and Bats Get Fat?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many excellent reviews summarize aspects of fat storage and utilization in migratory birds (Bairlein, 2002;Berthold, 1993;Biebach, 1996;Blem, 1976Blem, , 1980Guglielmo, 2010;Jenni and Jenni-Eiermann, 1998;McWilliams et al, 2004;Newton, 2008;Pierce and McWilliams, 2014;Price, 2010;Ramenofsky, 1990;Weber, 2009), with occasional information on bats (Blem, 1980;Fleming and Eby, 2003;McGuire and Guglielmo, 2009). The purpose of this Review is to use recent findings to compare the role of fat as a fuel for migration of birds and bats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Guglielmo

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

129

112

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Migratory birds are physiologically specialized to accumulate massive fat stores (up to 50-60% of body mass), and to transport and oxidize fatty acids at very high rates to sustain flight for many hours or days. Target gene, protein and enzyme analyses and recent -omic studies of bird flight muscles confirm that high capacities for fatty acid uptake, cytosolic transport, and oxidation are consistent features that make fat-fueled migration possible. Augmented circulatory transport by lipoproteins is suggested by field data but has not been experimentally verified. Migratory bats have high aerobic capacity and fatty acid oxidation potential; however, endurance flight fueled by adipose-stored fat has not been demonstrated. Patterns of fattening and expression of muscle fatty acid transporters are inconsistent, and bats may partially fuel migratory flight with ingested nutrients. Changes in energy intake, digestive capacity, liver lipid metabolism and body temperature regulation may contribute to migratory fattening. Although control of appetite is similar in birds and mammals, neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating seasonal changes in fuel store set-points in migrants remain poorly understood. Triacylglycerol of birds and bats contains mostly 16 and 18 carbon fatty acids with variable amounts of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 depending on diet. Unsaturation of fat converges near 70% during migration, and unsaturated fatty acids are preferentially mobilized and oxidized, making them good fuel. Twenty and 22 carbon n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) may affect membrane function and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling. However, evidence for dietary PUFA as doping agents in migratory birds is equivocal and requires further study.

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Section: How Do Birds and Bats Get Fat?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Guglielmo

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

129

112

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“…At stopovers, birds return to diurnality (Berthold, 1996), and may maintain this activity rhythm for several days, until restored energy reserves are sufficient to resume flight (Biebach et al, 1986). Such changes in activity rhythms may occur several times during the migratory journey and are quantitatively related to a bird's fuel reserves (Biebach, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterothermy in small, migrating passerine birds during stopover: use of hypothermia at rest accelerates fuel accumulation

Wojciechowski

Pinshow

2009

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYFor small endothermic animals, heterothermy serves as an energy-saving mechanism for survival in challenging environments, but it may also accelerate fat accumulation in individuals preparing for fuel-demanding activities. This is the first study to demonstrate adaptive hypothermic responses in migrating passerines. While monitoring body temperature (T b ) of eight blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) by radiotelemetry, we found that during daytime T b =42.5±0.4°C (mean ± s.d.); at night T b decreased to a minimum between 33 and 40°C. We determined the lower limit for normothermy at 37. . Measurements of metabolic rate in birds subjected to a T a of 15°C showed that hypothermia of this magnitude can lead to a reduction of some 30% in energy expenditure compared with birds remaining normothermic. Our data suggest that by reducing the T b -T a gradient, blackcaps accelerate their rate of fuel accumulation at a stopover. When body energy reserves are low blackcaps may achieve this reduction by entering hypothermia. Since hypothermia, as seen in blackcaps, may lead to significant energy savings and facilitate body mass gain, we predict that it is common among small migrating passerines.

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“…Although the migratory mass gain is made up of a large proportion of fat used as fuel (e.g., 10,12,19), it is now acknowledged that a significant amount of lean tissue is also accumulated during this period (30,32,40,41,61). For example, in some shorebirds, the size of the nutritional organs increases significantly, growing early in the fattening period, to accommodate the elevated energy intake rate (7,35,52,56).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermogenic side effects to migratory predisposition in shorebirds

Vézina

Jalvingh²,

Dekinga³

et al. 2007

American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comp

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.-In the calidrine sandpiper red knot (Calidris canutus), the weeks preceding takeoff for long-distance migration are characterized by a rapid increase in body mass, largely made up of fat but also including a significant proportion of lean tissue. Before takeoff, the pectoral muscles are known to hypertrophy in preparation for endurance flight without any specific training. Because birds facing cold environments counterbalance heat loss through shivering thermogenesis, and since pectoral muscles represent a large proportion of avian body mass, we asked the question whether muscle hypertrophy in preparation for long-distance endurance flight would induce improvements in thermogenic capacity. We acclimated red knots to different controlled thermal environments: 26°C, 5°C, and variable conditions tracking outdoor temperatures. We then studied within-individual variations in body mass, pectoral muscle size (measured by ultrasound), and metabolic parameters [basal metabolic rate (BMR) and summit metabolic rate (M sum)] throughout a 3-mo period enclosing the migratory gain and loss of mass. The gain in body mass during the fattening period was associated with increases in pectoral muscle thickness and thermogenic capacity independent of thermal acclimation. Regardless of their thermal treatment, birds showing the largest increases in body mass also exhibited the largest increases in M sum. We conclude that migratory fattening is accompanied by thermoregulatory side effects. The gain of body mass and muscle hypertrophy improve thermogenic capacity independent of thermal acclimation in this species. Whether this represents an ecological advantage depends on the ambient temperature at the time of fattening. muscle mass; summit metabolic rate; basal metabolic rate; thermogenic capacity; phenotypic flexibility LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATION IN birds is an energy-demanding phenomenon that leads to remarkable physiological adjustments that are among the best-known examples of phenotypic flexibility in higher vertebrates (52,59). In birds preparing for long-distance flights, the period of migratory fattening often involves a reorganization of specific physiological systems, including metabolic changes ranging from the level of the cell (24,42,43,44,46,65,66) to that of the whole animal (6,33,39,79). In the weeks preceding takeoff, as well as during a refueling stopover, birds have to maximize energy input to accumulate the fat stores necessary to fuel their nonstop flight. To do so, they enter a hyperphagic phase with extreme energy assimilation rates (34,38,60

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Energetics of Winter and Migratory Fattening

Cited by 79 publications

References 158 publications

Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Obese super athletes: fat-fueled migration in birds and bats

Heterothermy in small, migrating passerine birds during stopover: use of hypothermia at rest accelerates fuel accumulation

Thermogenic side effects to migratory predisposition in shorebirds

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