Hummingbirds arrest their kidneys at night: diel variation in glomerular filtration rate in Selasphorus platycercus

© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004Small nectarivorous vertebrates face a quandary. When feeding, they must eliminate prodigious quantities of water; however, when they are not feeding, they are susceptible to dehydration. We examined the role of the kidney in the resolution of this osmoregulatory dilemma. Broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) displayed diurnal variation in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). During the morning, midday and evening, GFRs were 0.9±0.6, 1.8±0.4 and 2.3±0.5 ml h–1, respectively. At midday, GFR increased linearly with increased water intake. During the evening, hummingbirds decreased renal fractional water reabsorption linearly with increased water intake. Broad-tailed hummingbirds appeared to cease GFR at night (–0.1±0.2 ml h–1) and decreased GFR in response to short-term (~1.5 h) water deprivation. GFR seems to be very responsive to water deprivation in hummingbirds. Although hummingbirds and other nectarivorous birds can consume astounding amounts of water, a phylogenetically explicit allometric analysis revealed that their diurnal GFRs are not different from the expectation based on body mass.Bradley Hartman Bakken, Todd J. McWhorter, Ella Tsahar and Carlos Martínez del Ri

Parrots Eat Nutritious Foods despite Toxins

Generalist herbivores are challenged not only by the low nitrogen and high indigestibility of their plant foods, but also by physical and chemical defenses of plants. This study investigated the foods of wild parrots in the Peruvian Amazon and asked whether these foods contain dietary components that are limiting for generalist herbivores (protein, lipids, minerals) and in what quantity; whether parrots chose foods based on nutrient content; and whether parrots avoid plants that are chemically defended.We made 224 field observations of free-ranging parrots of 17 species in 8 genera foraging on 102 species of trees in an undisturbed tropical rainforest, in two dry seasons (July-August 1992-1993) and one wet season (January-February1994). We performed laboratory analyses of parts of plants eaten and not eaten by parrots and brine shrimp assays of toxicity as a proxy for vertebrates. Parrots ate seeds, fruits, flowers, leaves, bark, and insect larvae, but up to 70% of their diet comprised seeds of many species of tropical trees, in various stages of ripeness. Plant parts eaten by parrots were rich in protein, lipid, and essential minerals, as well as potentially toxic chemicals. Seeds were higher than other plant materials in protein and lipid and lower in fiber. Large macaws of three species ate foods higher in protein and lipids and lower in fiber compared to plant parts available but not eaten. Macaws ate foods that were lower in phenolic compounds than foods they avoided. Nevertheless, foods eaten by macaws contained measurable levels of toxicity. Macaws did not appear to make dietary selections based on mineral content.Parrots represent a remarkable example of a generalist herbivore that consumes seeds destructively despite plant chemical defenses. With the ability to eat toxic foods, rainforest-dwelling parrots exploited a diversity of nutritious foods, even in the dry season when food was scarce for other frugivores and granivores

Antioxidant status, flight performance and sexual signalling in wild-type parrots

During mate choice, individuals are predicted to assess traits that honestly signal the quality of potential partners. Locomotor capacity may be such a trait, potentially signalling condition and ability to resist oxidative damage. In this study, we experimentally manipulated nutritional status: Male wild-type budgerigars, imported from Australia, were provided with either an enhanced (EQ) or reduced quality (RQ) diet varying in vitamin (particularly retinol and a-tocopherol) and mineral levels. Then, we assessed whether this influenced locomotor capacity, i.e. escape flight performance, and sexual attractiveness in male budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus. Males in the EQ group showed significantly greater total antioxidant capacity and higher blood plasma concentrations of the dietary antioxidants retinol and a-tocopherol, but not carotenoids, than the RQ group. Over 8 weeks of flight training, males on the EQ diet showed significantly greater improvement on the most strenuous flight test than RQ males. In mate choice trials, females preferred EQ over RQ males. EQ males that were relatively fast in escape flight trials were more strongly preferred in the mate preference arena than their RQ competitors. Interestingly, males with high plasma carotenoid levels flew slower and were less attractive than males with low carotenoid levels. This might indicate that carotenoids are not effective antioxidants in birds. Overall, our results show that dietary-derived antioxidants can influence sexual attractiveness and other fitness-related traits through multiple pathways. Locomotor capacity appears to be an honest signal of male condition in birds

Addressing the Desert Kites Phenomenon and Its Global Range Through a Multi-proxy Approach

International audienceThis paper argues that the wide geographical distribution of desert kites, which are huge archaeological structures of stone visible from satellite images, must be more broadly acknowledged as a momentous factor in the study of their variability and function. This is important so that researchers can more accurately understand and interpret their impact on biodiversity, landscapes and subsistence patterns. The first results and perspectives of the Globalkites research project are discussed and presented. Often considered as hunting traps, the kites could have also been used for animal husbandry. In a broader archaeological context, where kites seem to have been operating from the Neolithic to recent historical times, we propose an interdisciplinary approach at the crossroads of anthropology (archaeology and ethnology), geomatics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geostatistics, mathematics and computerized data processing and geoarchaeological and bioarchaeological sciences (isotope studies, paleoclimatology, archaeozoology…). The principal aims of the project are to clearly articulate the variability of the structures and their relationship with the function and chronology of the kites. It is also crucial to discuss the wide distribution of these structures across the Middle East and Central Asia as a global phenomenon and the ideas that explain the dispersal and movements of people and/or traditions must be addressed