Seasonal phenotypic flexibility of body mass, organ masses, and tissue oxidative capacity and their relationship to resting metabolic rate in Chinese bulbuls.

Abstract excerpt

Survival of small birds in fluctuating environments is facilitated by seasonal metabolic and morphological flexibility. Chinese bulbuls Pycnonotus sinensis show winter increases in resting metabolic rate (RMR), nutritional organ masses, and liver and muscle cellular aerobic capacity relative to summer. In this study, we build on these findings from previous studies by measuring seasonal adjustments in body mass...

Topics

• Animals
• Basal Metabolism
• Body Weight
• China
• Liver
• Mitochondrial Proteins
• Muscle, Skeletal
• Organ Size
• Oxygen
• Oxygen Consumption
• Passeriformes