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Measuring body temperature in birds – the effects of sensor type and placement on estimated temperature and metabolic rate

Andreasson, Fredrik LU ; Rostedt, Elin and Nord, Andreas LU (2023) In Journal of Experimental Biology 226(24).
Abstract

Several methods are routinely used to measure avian body temperature, but different methods vary in invasiveness. This may cause stress-induced increases in temperature and/or metabolic rate and, hence, overestimation of both parameters. Choosing an adequate temperature measurement method is therefore key to accurately characterizing an animal’s thermal and metabolic phenotype. Using great tits (Parus major) and four common methods with different levels of invasiveness (intraperitoneal, cloacal, subcutaneous, cutaneous), we evaluated the preciseness of body temperature measurements and effects on resting metabolic rate (RMR) over a 40°C range of ambient temperatures. None of the methods caused overestimation or underestimation of RMR... (More)

Several methods are routinely used to measure avian body temperature, but different methods vary in invasiveness. This may cause stress-induced increases in temperature and/or metabolic rate and, hence, overestimation of both parameters. Choosing an adequate temperature measurement method is therefore key to accurately characterizing an animal’s thermal and metabolic phenotype. Using great tits (Parus major) and four common methods with different levels of invasiveness (intraperitoneal, cloacal, subcutaneous, cutaneous), we evaluated the preciseness of body temperature measurements and effects on resting metabolic rate (RMR) over a 40°C range of ambient temperatures. None of the methods caused overestimation or underestimation of RMR compared with un-instrumented birds, and body or skin temperature estimates did not differ between methods in thermoneutrality. However, skin temperature was lower compared with all other methods below thermoneutrality. These results provide empirical guidance for future research that aims to measure body temperature and metabolic rate in small bird models.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Endotherm, Heterothermy, Parus major, PIT tag, RFID, Thermoregulation
in
Journal of Experimental Biology
volume
226
issue
24
article number
jeb246321
pages
8 pages
publisher
The Company of Biologists Ltd
external identifiers
  • pmid:37969087
  • scopus:85181055249
ISSN
0022-0949
DOI
10.1242/jeb.246321
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
16315d30-b144-412e-87e8-1fb0edc36bf1
date added to LUP
2024-02-05 09:13:57
date last changed
2024-04-23 16:01:51
@article{16315d30-b144-412e-87e8-1fb0edc36bf1,
  abstract     = {{<p>Several methods are routinely used to measure avian body temperature, but different methods vary in invasiveness. This may cause stress-induced increases in temperature and/or metabolic rate and, hence, overestimation of both parameters. Choosing an adequate temperature measurement method is therefore key to accurately characterizing an animal’s thermal and metabolic phenotype. Using great tits (Parus major) and four common methods with different levels of invasiveness (intraperitoneal, cloacal, subcutaneous, cutaneous), we evaluated the preciseness of body temperature measurements and effects on resting metabolic rate (RMR) over a 40°C range of ambient temperatures. None of the methods caused overestimation or underestimation of RMR compared with un-instrumented birds, and body or skin temperature estimates did not differ between methods in thermoneutrality. However, skin temperature was lower compared with all other methods below thermoneutrality. These results provide empirical guidance for future research that aims to measure body temperature and metabolic rate in small bird models.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andreasson, Fredrik and Rostedt, Elin and Nord, Andreas}},
  issn         = {{0022-0949}},
  keywords     = {{Endotherm; Heterothermy; Parus major; PIT tag; RFID; Thermoregulation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{24}},
  publisher    = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
  series       = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
  title        = {{Measuring body temperature in birds – the effects of sensor type and placement on estimated temperature and metabolic rate}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246321}},
  doi          = {{10.1242/jeb.246321}},
  volume       = {{226}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}