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Oxygen consumption rates of adults and chicks during brooding in king quail (Coturnix chinensis)
1Zoology Department, University of Adelaide, Australia.
Insights
Parent quail expend more energy when brooding chicks, with higher oxygen consumption rates as brood size increases and ambient temperatures decrease. This parental effort is crucial for chick thermoregulation.
Area of Science:
- Avian physiology
- Thermoregulation
- Metabolic studies
Background:
- Parental care significantly impacts offspring survival, particularly in altricial species.
- Understanding the energetic costs of brooding is crucial for avian reproductive success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the oxygen consumption rates of quail chicks and adults under various conditions.
- To determine the energetic demands of brooding on parent quail.
- To investigate the relationship between brooding effort, ambient temperature, and brood size.
Main Methods:
- Oxygen consumption was measured in quail chicks (0-17 days) and adults (brooding and non-brooding).
- Experiments were conducted across a range of ambient temperatures (10-35°C).
- Brooding behavior, brood number, and parental physiological responses were monitored.
Main Results:
- Brooded chicks maintained stable oxygen consumption, while unbrooded chicks showed increased rates below 30°C.
- Breeding adults exhibited elevated mass-specific oxygen consumption within their thermoneutral zone.
- Brooding parent quail had higher oxygen consumption, increasing with brood number and decreasing with ambient temperature.
Conclusions:
- Brooding represents a significant energetic burden for parent quail.
- The energetic cost of brooding is influenced by brood size and ambient temperature.
- Parental heat contribution to chicks involves increased thermal conductance, primarily from apteria, not solely the broodpatch.
Abstract:
Oxygen consumption rates were measured in chicks (0-17 days of age), and in non-brooding and brooding adults. Brooded chicks maintained a constant oxygen consumption rate at a chamber ambient temperature of 10-35 degrees C (0-5 days of age: 2.95 ml O2.g-1.h-1 and 6-17 days of age: 5.80 ml O2.g-1.h-1) while unbrooded chicks increased oxygen consumption rate at ambient temperature below 30 degrees C to double the brooded oxygen consumption rate at 25 and 15 degrees C for chicks < 5 days of age and > 5 days of age, respectively. The mass-specific oxygen consumption rate of breeding male and females (non-brooding) were significantly elevated within the thermoneutral zone thermal neutral zone (28-35 degrees C) in comparison to non-breeding adults. Below the thermal neutral zone, oxygen consumption rate was not significantly different. The elevation in oxygen consumption rate of breeding quail was not correlated with the presence of broodpatches, which developed only in females, but is a seasonal adjustment in metabolism. Male and females that actively brooded one to five chicks had significantly higher oxygen consumption rate than nonbrooding quil at ambient temperature below 30 degrees C. Brooding oxygen consumption rate was constant during day and night, indicating a temporary suppression of the circadian rhythm of metabolism. Brooding oxygen consumption rate increased significantly with brood number, but neither adult body mass nor adult sex were significant factors in the relationship between brooding oxygen consumption rate and ambient temperature. The proportion of daylight hours that chicks were brooded by parents was negatively correlated with ambient temperature. After chicks were 5 days old brooding time was reduced but brooding oxygen consumption rate was unchanged. Heat from the brooding parent appeared to originate mainly from the apteria under the wings and legs rather than the broodpatch. The parental heat contribution to chick temperature regulation below the chicks' thermal neutral zone is achieved by increasing parental thermal conductance by a feedback control similar to that suggested for the control of egg temperature via the broodpatch. It is concluded that the brooding period is an energetic burden to parent quail, and the magnitude of the cost increases directly with brood number and inversely with ambient temperature during this period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
