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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 …
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 …