Catabolic capacity of the muscles of shorebird chicks:Maturation of function in relation to body size

Newly hatched precocial chicks of arctic shorebirds are able to walk and regulate their body temperatures to a limited extent. Yet, they must also grow rapidly to achieve independence before the end of the short arctic growing season. A rapid growth rate may conflict with development of mature function, and because of the allometric scaling of thermal relationships, this trade-off might be resolved differently in large and small species. We assessed growth (mass) and functional maturity (catabolic enzyme activity) in leg and pectoral muscles of chicks aged 1-16 d and adults of two scolopacid shorebirds, the smaller dunlin (Calidris alpina: neonate mass 8 g, adult mass 50 g) and larger whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus; neonate mass 34 g, adult mass 380 g). Enzyme activity indicates maximum catabolic capacity, which is one aspect of the development of functional maturity of muscle. The growth rate-maturity hypothesis predicts that the development of catabolic capacity should be delayed in faster-growing muscle masses. Leg muscles of both species were a larger proportion of adult size at hatching and grew faster than pectoral muscles. Pectoral muscles grew more rapidly in the dunlin than in the whimbrel, whereas leg muscles grew more rapidly in the whimbrel. In both species and in both leg and pectoral muscles, enzyme activities generally increased with age, suggesting increasing functional maturity. Levels of citrate synthase activity were similar to those reported for other species, but L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase (PK) activities were comparatively high. Catabolic capacities of leg muscles were initially high compared to those of pectoral muscles, but with the exception of glycolytic (PK) capacities, these subsequently increased only modestly or even decreased as chicks grew. The earlier functional maturity of the more rapidly growing leg muscles, as well as the generally higher functional maturity in muscles of the more rapidly growing dunlin chicks, contradicts the growth rate-maturity function trade-off and suggests that birds have considerable latitude to modify this relationship. Whimbrel chicks, apparently, can rely on allometric scaling of power requirements for locomotion and the thermal inertia of their larger mass to reduce demands on their muscles, whereas dunlin chicks require muscles with higher metabolic capacity from an earlier age. Thus, larger and smaller species may adopt different strategies of growth and tissue maturation

Bird radar validation in the field by time-referencing line-transect surveys

Track-while-scan bird radars are widely used in ornithological studies, but often the precise detection capabilities of these systems are unknown. Quantification of radar performance is essential to avoid observational biases, which requires practical methods for validating a radar’s detection capability in specific field settings. In this study a method to quantify the detection capability of a bird radar is presented, as well a demonstration of this method in a case study. By time-referencing line-transect surveys, visually identified birds were automatically linked to individual tracks using their transect crossing time. Detection probabilities were determined as the fraction of the total set of visual observations that could be linked to radar tracks. To avoid ambiguities in assigning radar tracks to visual observations, the observer’s accuracy in determining a bird’s transect crossing time was taken into account. The accuracy was determined by examining the effect of a time lag applied to the visual observations on the number of matches found with radar tracks. Effects of flight altitude, distance, surface substrate and species size on the detection probability by the radar were quantified in a marine intertidal study area. Detection probability varied strongly with all these factors, as well as species-specific flight behaviour. The effective detection range for single birds flying at low altitude for an X-band marine radar based system was estimated at ∼1.5 km. Within this range the fraction of individual flying birds that were detected by the radar was 0.50±0.06 with a detection bias towards higher flight altitudes, larger birds and high tide situations. Besides radar validation, which we consider essential when quantification of bird numbers is important, our method of linking radar tracks to ground-truthed field observations can facilitate species-specific studies using surveillance radars. The methodology may prove equally useful for optimising tracking algorithms

Bird Radar Validation in the Field by Time-Referencing Line-Transect Surveys

Track-while-scan bird radars are widely used in ornithological studies, but often the precise detection capabilities of these systems are unknown. Quantification of radar performance is essential to avoid observational biases, which requires practical methods for validating a radar’s detection capability in specific field settings. In this study a method to quantify the detection capability of a bird radar is presented, as well a demonstration of this method in a case study. By time-referencing line-transect surveys, visually identified birds were automatically linked to individual tracks using their transect crossing time. Detection probabilities were determined as the fraction of the total set of visual observations that could be linked to radar tracks. To avoid ambiguities in assigning radar tracks to visual observations, the observer’s accuracy in determining a bird’s transect crossing time was taken into account. The accuracy was determined by examining the effect of a time lag applied to the visual observations on the number of matches found with radar tracks. Effects of flight altitude, distance, surface substrate and species size on the detection probability by the radar were quantified in a marine intertidal study area. Detection probability varied strongly with all these factors, as well as species-specific flight behaviour. The effective detection range for single birds flying at low altitude for an X-band marine radar based system was estimated at ~1.5 km. Within this range the fraction of individual flying birds that were detected by the radar was 0.50±0.06 with a detection bias towards higher flight altitudes, larger birds and high tide situations. Besides radar validation, which we consider essential when quantification of bird numbers is important, our method of linking radar tracks to ground-truthed field observations can facilitate species-specific studies using surveillance radars. The methodology may prove equally useful for optimising tracking algorithms

Cumulative energetic costs of military aircraft, recreational and natural disturbance in roosting shorebirds

Knowing the consequences of disturbance for multiple species and all disturbance sources is crucial to mitigate disturbance impacts in densely populated areas. However, studies that observe the complete disturbance landscape to estimate cumulative costs of disturbance are scarce. Therefore, we quantified responses, frequencies and energetic costs of disturbance of four shorebird species on five high tide roosts in the Wadden Sea. Roosts were located either in a military air force training area or were predominantly affected by recreational disturbance. In the military training area, infrequent transport airplanes and bombing jets elicited the strongest responses, whereas regular, predictable activities of jet fighters and small civil airplanes elicited far smaller responses. Disturbance occurred more frequently at roosts near recreational than near military activities, as recreation was prohibited in the military area during operation days. On average, birds took flight due to military, recreational or natural disturbance (e.g. raptors) 0.20–1.27 times per hour. High tide disturbance increased daily energy expenditure by 0.1%–1.4%, of which 51% was due to anthropogenic disturbance in contrast to natural disturbance. Costs were low for curlews Numenius arquata, oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus and gulls Larus spp, but higher – and potentially critical – for bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica as they were most susceptible to aircraft and raptors. Given that bar-tailed godwits have previously been found to be least susceptible to walker disturbances, our results suggest that interspecific differences in susceptibility depend on disturbance source type. In our study area, aircraft disturbance impacts can be reduced by avoiding jet fighter activities during periods when high water levels force birds closer to military targets and by limiting bombing and transport airplane exercises

Foraging behavior and physiological changes in precocial quail chicks in response to low temperatures

We examined whether low ambient temperatures influence foraging behavior of precocial Japanese quail chicks and alter the balance between investment in growth and thermogenic function. To test this, one group of chicks was exposed to 7 °C and one group to 24 °C during foraging throughout the developmental stage. Chicks adapted well to the temperatures through a high flexibility in behavior and physiological development. In response to cold, chicks shortened foraging bout lengths two- to sixfold, and increased cycle lengths (i.e. length of a brooding bout plus subsequent foraging bout), resulting in a decrease in total foraging time. Body temperature during foraging was lower in cold-exposed chicks but did not drop below 37.8 °C, suggesting that the direct cause to end a foraging bout was not body temperature. The metabolic rate of cold-exposed chicks was reduced by 48% to 60% when switching from foraging to brooding, which may be an important factor in determining foraging behavior of precocial chicks. Mass-specific food intake of the cold-exposed chicks exceeded that of warm chicks by 15%. Cold-exposed chicks doubled foraging efficiency to reach this intake during their reduced foraging time. Metabolic rates initially were similar in both groups, but increased rapidly and were elevated in cold-exposed chicks from 15 days of age onward. Growth rate initially was reduced in cold-exposed chicks, and exceeded growth of warm chicks only after 21 days of age. These results suggest that in response to cold, a shift occurs in the balance between growth rate and thermoregulatory function in favor of thermoregulatory function.

Collision risk of birds with modern large wind turbines

We studied collision rate of birds with modern, large 1.65 MW wind turbines in three wind farms in The Netherlands during three months in autumn and winter. Collision rate, after correction for retrieval and disappearance rate, was 0.08 birds per turbine per day on average (range 0.05-0.19). Collision risk, i.e. the number of victims relative to the flight intensity of birds at the wind farms, was 0.14% on average. For nocturnal migrants, risk was as low as 0.01%, while the risk was 0.16% for local birds flying at night. In absolute numbers, the overall collision risk was similar to the 0.06-0.28% found for earlier-generation lower turbines that have a smaller rotor surface. However, given the comparatively large rotor surface and altitude range of the modern turbines, the risk was c. threefold lower than for smaller turbines. A large fraction of collision victims were diurnally active and local birds that were foraging in the area, rather than nocturnal migrants. Flight intensities of this group should be taken into account as well as that of nocturnal migrants, when calculating collision rate