Avian Biology Study Questions E

Flashcards covering a range of topics in avian biology, including metabolic rate, thermoregulation, feeding, digestion, and excretion.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The minimum rate of energy expenditure for an animal at rest.

Why is an animal's metabolic rate usually higher than BMR?

Animal's metabolic rate is usually higher than BMR because of activity, digestion, and maintaining body temperature

What is ATP?

Equation for ATP production inside body cells.

Where does oxygen enter the bird's body?

Lungs

Where does glucose (or other nutrients) enter the birds’ body?

Digestive System

Relationship between heart rate and activity level

Heart rate increases with activity level.

Relationship between heart rate and body size

Heart rate decreases with body size.

Relationship between metabolic rate and body size

Metabolic rate decreases with body size.

Why do swallows eat more food per gram of body weight than gulls do?

Swallows have higher metabolic rates due to their active flight and smaller size.

Endothermy

Generating their own body heat internally.

Ectothermy

Relying on external sources of heat.

Radiation

Absorption of heat from surroundings.

Conduction

Direct transfer of heat through contact.

Evaporation

Heat loss through liquid turning to gas.

Behaviors birds use to stay warm

Birds fluff feathers, shiver, and huddle.

Behaviors birds use to stay cool

Birds pant, bathe, and seek shade.

Where is body temperature controlled?

Hypothalamus

How do wood storks keep cool in hot weather?

They defecate on their legs.

Torpor

A state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by reduced body temperature and metabolic rate.

Why is torpor more common in small bird species than in large ones?

Smaller birds have a higher surface area to volume ratio, leading to faster heat loss.

How does the nervous system participate in food capture?

Using senses to locate food and motor skills to capture it.

Are different sensory or motor modes needed for different diets?

Different diets require different sensory and motor skills. Ex: sight for hunting, tactile for probing.

Examples of beak shapes as evolutionary adaptations for specialized diets

Long beaks for probing, hooked beaks for tearing meat, etc.

Advantage of shorebird species having a variety of beak lengths

Reduces competition for food resources.

Why do woodpeckers and hummingbirds have relatively long tongues?

To reach nectar in flowers and insects in tree bark.

Why do burrowing owls arrange mammalian feces on the ground near their burrows?

To attract prey and mask their scent.

Carnivore

Meat eater

Herbivore

Plant eater

Omnivore

Eats both

Main types of nutrient molecules in food

Carbohydrates, proteins, fats

Specific purpose of food

Provides energy and building blocks for the body.

Mechanical digestion

Physical breakdown of food into smaller pieces.

Chemical digestion

Chemical breakdown of food molecules by enzymes.

Esophagus

Pre crop-storage of food.

Crop

Food storage.

Proventriculus

Glandular proventriculus secretes acid and enzymes.

Gizzard

Mechanical digestion for grinding food.

Liver

Produces bile.

Pancreas

Releases digestive enzymes.

Small intestine

Nutrient absorption.

Large intestine

Water absorption and waste compaction.

Diet and digestive tract of the hoatzin

Hoatzin eats leaves and has a large crop for fermentation.

Why do animal bodies need to get rid of nitrogen waste?

Nitrogen waste is toxic to animal bodies.

Which organ eliminates nitrogen waste in birds?

Kidneys

Form of nitrogen waste excreted by birds and its advantages/disadvantages

Uric acid is excreted by birds, it saves water but requires more energy to produce.

Do birds have separate poop and pee?

No birds don't pee, the mix the waste together.