Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Consequences Of Being Phenotypically Mismatched With The Environment: Rapid Muscle Ultrastructural Changes In Cold-Shocked Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile Atricapillus), François Vézina, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Erin S. O'Connor, Audrey Le Pogam, Lyette Régimbald, Oliver P. Love, Ana Gabriela Jimenez

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Phenotypic flexibility has received considerable attention in the last decade; however, whereas many studies have reported amplitude of variation in phenotypic traits, much less attention has focused on the rate at which traits can adjust in response to sudden changes in the environment. We investigated whole animal and muscle phenotypic changes occurring in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) acclimated to cold (-5°C) and warm (20°C) temperatures in the first 3 h following a 15°C temperature drop (over 3 h). Before the temperature change, cold-acclimated birds were consuming 95% more food, were carrying twice as much body fat, and had 23% larger …