Field Metabolism and Water Influx of Communal Roosting Green Woodhoopoes Phoeniculus purpureus

[摘要] GreenWoodhoopoes(Phoeniculidae:Phoeniculuspurpureus)arecooperativebreedingbirdsthatlivethroughouttheyearingroupsof2to16individuals.Individualsroostingroupsincavitiesatnight.Theenergysavingsassociatedwithcommunalcavityroostinghasbeenimplicatedasanimportantdeterminantofsurvivalinwoodhoopoes.Wemeasuredfieldmetabolicrate(FMR)andwaterinfluxoffree-rangingadultwoodhoopoeslivingindifferentgroupsizesinSouthAfrica.WetestedthehypothesesthatwoodhoopoeshavealowFMRrelativetootherspeciesofsimilarbodymass,andthatwoodhoopoesroostinginsmallgroupshaveahigherFMRthandoindividualsspendingthenightwithlargegroups.Foramaleandfemaleswoodhoopoes,FMRdifferedfromallometricpredictionsby-44.5%and-44.2%,respectively,supportingtheideathatwoodhoopoeshaveamarkedlyreducedFMR.OurdataalsoindicatedthatfemalesinsmallgroupstendedtohaveanelevatedFMRcomparedwithfemalesinlargergroups,butnosuchtrendswereidentifiedformales.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] Cooperative Breeding