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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Fruit Quality And Consumption By Songbirds During Autumn Migration, Susan B. Smith, Kathleen H. Mcpherson, Jeffrey M. Backer, Barbara J. Pierce, David W. Podlesak, Scott R. Mcwilliams
Fruit Quality And Consumption By Songbirds During Autumn Migration, Susan B. Smith, Kathleen H. Mcpherson, Jeffrey M. Backer, Barbara J. Pierce, David W. Podlesak, Scott R. Mcwilliams
Biology Faculty Publications
Seasonal fruits are an important food resource for small songbirds during autumn migration in southern New England. Therefore, conservation and management of important stopover sites used by migrating birds requires knowledge about nutritional requirements of songbirds and nutritional composition of commonly consumed fruits. We measured nutrient composition and energy density of nine common fruits on Block Island, Rhode Island, and conducted a field experiment to estimate consumption rates of three of these fruits by birds during autumn migration. Most common fruits on Block Island contained primarily carbohydrates (41.3–91.2% dry weight), and little protein (2.6–8.6%) and fat (0.9–3.7%), although three contained …
Effect Of Dietary Fatty Acid Composition On Depot Fat And Exercise Performance In A Migrating Songbird, The Red-Eyed Vireo, Barbara J. Pierce, Scott R. Mcwilliams, Timothy P. O'Connor, Allen R. Place, Christopher G. Guglielmo
Effect Of Dietary Fatty Acid Composition On Depot Fat And Exercise Performance In A Migrating Songbird, The Red-Eyed Vireo, Barbara J. Pierce, Scott R. Mcwilliams, Timothy P. O'Connor, Allen R. Place, Christopher G. Guglielmo
Biology Faculty Publications
Most migrating birds accumulate lipid stores as their primary source of energy for fueling long distance flights. Lipid stores of birds during migration are composed of mostly unsaturated fatty acids; whether such a fatty acid composition enhances exercise performance of birds is unknown. We tested this hypothesis by measuring metabolic rate at rest and during intense exercise in two groups of red-eyed vireos, a long-distance migratory passerine, fed either a diet containing 82% unsaturated fat (82%U), or one containing 58% unsaturated fat (58%U). Vireos fed the 82%U diet had fat stores containing (77%) unsaturated fatty acids, whereas vireos fed the …
Diet Quality And Food Limitation Affect The Dynamics Of Body Composition And Digestive Organs In A Migratory Songbird (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Barbara J. Pierce, Scott R. Mcwilliams
Diet Quality And Food Limitation Affect The Dynamics Of Body Composition And Digestive Organs In A Migratory Songbird (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Barbara J. Pierce, Scott R. Mcwilliams
Biology Faculty Publications
Migrating songbirds interrupt their feeding to fly between stopover sites that may vary appreciably in diet quality. We studied the effects of fasting and food restriction on body composition and digestive organs in a migratory songbird and how these effects interacted with diet quality to influence the rate of recovery of nutrient reserves. Food limitation caused whitethroated sparrows to reduce both lean and fat reserves, with about 20% of the decline in lean mass represented by a decline in stomach, small intestine, and liver. During refeeding on diets similar in nutrient composition to either grain or fruit, foodlimited grain-fed birds …
Reproduction And Seasonal Activity Of Silver-Haired Bats In Western Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Jeremy A. White, Michael A. Bogen
Reproduction And Seasonal Activity Of Silver-Haired Bats In Western Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Jeremy A. White, Michael A. Bogen
Biology Faculty Publications
Silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) were thought only to migrate through Nebraska; however, recent surveys in eastern Nebraska report summer records of females and their young. Our study in western Nebraska also shows that silver-haired bats are summer residents. We discovered the 1st reproductively active L. noctivagans in this part of the state. We caught lactating females and volant young in riparian forests along the North Platte River and in forested areas of the Pine Ridge. Previously, adult males were not known from Nebraska in summer, and only 4 records of L. noctivagans were known from western Nebraska during …
Effect Of Changes In Regional Forest Abundance On The Decline And Recovery Of A Forest Bird Community, Robert A. Askins, Margarett J. Philbrick
Effect Of Changes In Regional Forest Abundance On The Decline And Recovery Of A Forest Bird Community, Robert A. Askins, Margarett J. Philbrick
Biology Faculty Publications
Bird populations were monitored for 32 years in a 23-ha tract of hemlock-hardwood forest. Between 1953 and 1976 the total abundance of long-distance migrants declined significantly and four species disappeared, but after 1976 both the total abundance and the number of species increased. Multiple regression analysis shows that the abundance of long-distance migrants was negatively related to abundance of bird species characteristic of suburban habitats and positively related to the amount of forest within 2 km of the study area. The decline in long-distance migrants before 1976 occurred when suburban species were increasing and nearby forest was destroyed. The increase …