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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field

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Published on: August 27, 2021

Energetics and longevity in birds.

L J Furness¹, J R Speakman

¹Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, Scotland, UK.

Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands)

|May 9, 2009

Summary

Energy expenditure and lifespan links vary by species. In birds, higher metabolism correlates with longer lives when body size and phylogeny are considered, aligning with mammal studies.

Area of Science:

Comparative physiology
Evolutionary biology
Gerontology

Background:

Metabolic rate and lifespan show complex relationships across different taxonomic levels.
Previous studies in mammals suggested lifespan is positively linked to total lifetime energy expenditure, but this was confounded by body size and phylogeny.
Earlier analyses in birds did not fully support these findings, possibly due to insufficient data.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between metabolic rate, energy expenditure, and lifespan in birds using an expanded dataset.
To determine if the patterns observed in mammals regarding energy expenditure and lifespan also apply to birds.
To clarify the influence of body mass and phylogenetic effects on these relationships.

Main Methods:

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Analysis of an enlarged dataset (>300 species) of birds, examining metabolic and longevity traits.

Statistical accounting for confounding factors including body mass and phylogenetic relatedness.

Comparison of resting and daily energy expenditure in relation to lifespan and body mass.

Main Results:

A strong negative relationship between longevity and mass-specific metabolism was observed in birds, similar to initial observations in mammals.
This negative association disappeared when body mass and phylogenetic effects were statistically controlled.
Across bird species, lifetime energy expenditure was positively related to metabolic intensity, mirroring findings in mammals.

Conclusions:

The relationship between metabolic rate and lifespan in birds is consistent with patterns found in mammals when confounding factors are addressed.
Higher lifetime energy expenditure, not just metabolic rate, is associated with longer lifespans across bird species.
These findings support a unified model where total energy expenditure, adjusted for body size and evolutionary history, predicts lifespan across diverse species.