Ambient temperatures impact on working capacity in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
(2025) BION02 20242Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- Endotherms are restricted in their activity by the amount of heat they can lose, as hyperthermia can be lethal. As we are expecting increasing ambient temperatures on earth it is crucial to investigate how different species are affected by heat. 28 male captive-bred zebra finches were forced to exercise in a hop-flutter wheel in different ambient temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 35 °C). Body temperature and evaporative water loss increased with temperature while maximum metabolic rate and time spent exercising decreased with temperature. The birds were limited in their working capacity in higher ambient temperatures as well as moderate temperatures below their thermoneutral zone. With increasing global temperatures, birds might experience... (More)
- Endotherms are restricted in their activity by the amount of heat they can lose, as hyperthermia can be lethal. As we are expecting increasing ambient temperatures on earth it is crucial to investigate how different species are affected by heat. 28 male captive-bred zebra finches were forced to exercise in a hop-flutter wheel in different ambient temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 35 °C). Body temperature and evaporative water loss increased with temperature while maximum metabolic rate and time spent exercising decreased with temperature. The birds were limited in their working capacity in higher ambient temperatures as well as moderate temperatures below their thermoneutral zone. With increasing global temperatures, birds might experience behavioral changes such as moving to colder areas or foraging at colder times during the day or a change in life history strategies. Additionally, morphological changes in the plumage or an extension of the brood patch might occur to lose more heat. A hotter world could influence species distributions and biodiversity. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Birds get tired from heat
Your body needs energy to function, this energy comes from food and your metabolism turns the food into energy. That energy is used for many things, for example, keeping your body temperature stable. Metabolism can be faster or slower, but it typically increases with exercise. You know when you go for a run on a hot day, and it feels much harder than on a cooler day? This is because your body temperature rises, and your body is trying to cool down and is giving you signs that it might be dangerous to keep running. As we know, our actions cause global warming. We expect more extreme weather, with heatwaves and cold storms. Just like when we are running on a hot day, birds might not be able to fly for as long in... (More) - Birds get tired from heat
Your body needs energy to function, this energy comes from food and your metabolism turns the food into energy. That energy is used for many things, for example, keeping your body temperature stable. Metabolism can be faster or slower, but it typically increases with exercise. You know when you go for a run on a hot day, and it feels much harder than on a cooler day? This is because your body temperature rises, and your body is trying to cool down and is giving you signs that it might be dangerous to keep running. As we know, our actions cause global warming. We expect more extreme weather, with heatwaves and cold storms. Just like when we are running on a hot day, birds might not be able to fly for as long in hotter temperatures. If a bird gets too hot it can get injured. They can even die from overheating.
Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are small birds from Australia where the climate is dry with hot summers and cold winters. We wanted to know if zebra finches can handle global warming. I let them exercise in a spinning wheel where they hopped and flapped, to see how they reacted to different temperatures. The birds became much hotter in warmer temperatures than in colder. They also lost more water from panting. Their metabolic rate was much faster in colder temperatures compared to hotter. They actually had to lower their metabolic rate to avoid overheating, and therefore, they had to stop exercising.
What will happen to birds when it gets hotter?
Birds need to fly to find food and escape from other animals that try to eat them. When it gets hotter, they might not succeed to get enough food or fly fast enough to escape danger. To cope with the heat, birds might change the time of day they search for food. If they feed earlier in the morning or later in the evening when it is colder, they avoid the hottest parts of the day. They might even move to colder places. The zebra finch male sings for hours to attract females, and this can be exhausting, especially in hotter temperatures. Birds might become overheated from taking care of many chicks when it gets hotter outside. Especially because it becomes very hot inside the nest. Therefore, they might have fewer chicks or only have chicks every other year. That way, they can feed the ones they have more, and make sure that they grow up to be big and healthy birds. There is also a chance that the birds may change the way they look. In the future, they might have fewer feathers to avoid overheating.
It is important to know how global warming affects birds, as well as other animals, since they are dependent on each other. If many animals of one species die or even go extinct, the ones that eat that species will starve and it becomes a cascade where no one will find food, including us. Therefore, we must continue to understand how our actions affect nature.
Master’s Degree Project in Biology 45 credits 2025
Department of Biology, Lund University
Advisors: Jan-Åke Nilsson & Elana Rae Engert
Evolutionary ecology and infection biology (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9192955
- author
- Nilsson, Ammeli
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BION02 20242
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9192955
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-04 14:51:56
- date last changed
- 2025-06-04 14:51:56
@misc{9192955, abstract = {{Endotherms are restricted in their activity by the amount of heat they can lose, as hyperthermia can be lethal. As we are expecting increasing ambient temperatures on earth it is crucial to investigate how different species are affected by heat. 28 male captive-bred zebra finches were forced to exercise in a hop-flutter wheel in different ambient temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 35 °C). Body temperature and evaporative water loss increased with temperature while maximum metabolic rate and time spent exercising decreased with temperature. The birds were limited in their working capacity in higher ambient temperatures as well as moderate temperatures below their thermoneutral zone. With increasing global temperatures, birds might experience behavioral changes such as moving to colder areas or foraging at colder times during the day or a change in life history strategies. Additionally, morphological changes in the plumage or an extension of the brood patch might occur to lose more heat. A hotter world could influence species distributions and biodiversity.}}, author = {{Nilsson, Ammeli}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Ambient temperatures impact on working capacity in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)}}, year = {{2025}}, }