The relationship between defecation and feeding in nestling birds: observational and experimental evidence
| 论文编号: | |||||||||
| 作者: | Quan RC | ||||||||
| 刊物名称: | Frontiers in Zoology | ||||||||
| 所属学科: | |||||||||
| 论文题目英文: | The relationship between defecation and feeding in nestling birds: observational and experimental evidence | ||||||||
| 年: | Sep 2015 | ||||||||
| 卷: | 12 | ||||||||
| 期: | |||||||||
| 页: | 21 | ||||||||
| 联系作者: | Quan RC; Goodale E | ||||||||
| 收录类别: | |||||||||
| 影响因子: | 3.051 | ||||||||
| 参与作者: | |||||||||
| 备注: | |||||||||
| 摘要: | BackgroundAdult birds clean the nest by consuming or transporting feces, which is thought to be important in order to lower the levels of parasites, pathogens and predation at the nest. If nestlings were to defecate when parents were absent, however, feces could accumulate in the nest. ResultsTo understand the mechanism by which nest sanitation is maintained, we studied the timing of defecation in nestling birds of common passerine species in southwest China. In 159 nests of 8 species at the nestling stage during 779 randomly timed observations, we never found fecal sacs present. Video recordings, totaling 455 h at five Pycnonotus jocosus nests in the field, showed almost all defecation after feedings, and only nestlings that were fed defecated. Six translocated P. jocosus nests were taken into captivity in order to manipulate the frequency of feeding. These nestlings defecated only after feeding, even when feeding intervals were extended to 60 and 120 min. The fecal sac weight also increased with extended feeding intervals, demonstrating a remarkable plasticity for nestlings to wait for feedings. ConclusionThe evidence allows two major conclusions: 1) defecation in the nest occurs at a time that ensures nest sanitation, stimulated by feeding, rather than there being a set time of gut processing between feeding and excretion; 2) the strong plasticity in the timing of defecation and the possibility of negative repercussions (if defecation occurs when parents are absent) are important mechanisms underlying the efficiency of the feeding-defecation system. | ||||||||
| 论文下载: | 下载地址 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
