Arduino allows development of a low-cost, high-resolution metabolic and behavioral phenotyping system for birds

Area of Science:

• Animal physiology
• Bioengineering
• Ecology

Background:

• Flow-through respirometry is crucial for metabolic phenotyping but lacks live-in systems for birds.
• Existing systems are often costly and not adapted for continuous avian monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a low-cost, DIY live-in respirometry system for small birds.
• To enable simultaneous monitoring of metabolic rate, body weight, food, and water intake.
• To facilitate high-throughput metabolic phenotyping in avian species.

Main Methods:

• Developed live-in respirometry chambers using the Arduino open-source electronics platform.
• Integrated sensors for continuous monitoring of bird body weight, food intake, and water intake.
• Collected metabolic data in sync with physiological measurements over a 10-day cold acclimation period.

Main Results:

• Successfully monitored hourly energy expenditure and food/water intake during acute cold acclimation (25°C to 5°C).
• Demonstrated the system's capability for continuous, synchronized data collection.
• Provided open-source plans and code for the chambers and Arduino biomonitoring system.

Conclusions:

• The developed system offers a cost-effective, DIY alternative for avian metabolic phenotyping.
• Enables standard respirometry equipment to be used for continuous live-in bird studies.
• Facilitates advanced research in avian physiology and environmental adaptation.