Record Details
Energetics of the belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Energetics of the belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) |
| Names |
Vessel, Richard Douglas
(creator) McDonald, Dennis L. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1977-08-09 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1978 |
| Abstract | A year-long caged study the belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) combined time-budget and food-balance techniques to obtain data on daily energy consumption (DEC) throughout an annual cycle. This study tested the hypothesis that seasonal variations in DEC could be predicted as a function of temperature, photoperiod, and timed-activity data. The DEC averaged 58 kilocalories per day for September to March and 60 kilocalories per day for March to September, both values for a 130-gram bird (average post-absorptive adult weight). DEC values for June to December and December to June averaged 61 and 55 kilocalories per day, again for a 130-gram bird. To account for the relative lack of seasonal variation in DEC, the original hypothesis was rejected in favor of an alternative that predicts that a bird will change its time and energy allocations throughout the year in such a way that its DEC remains relatively constant. When compared with DEC values calculated using the food-balance technique, the DEC values based on time-budget data underestimated empirical DEC values by as much as 14 percent during extreme temperature conditions. Laboratory measurements of nestling kingfishers, made to obtain data on the energy consumption needed for growth, found the bird's growth pattern characteristics to be similar to those of other holenesting birds. Dividing the caloric consumption of the nestlings by 7.85 kilocalories (the caloric value of a Coho salmon weighing 6 grams and measuring 8 centimeters) yielded an average daily consumption of 8.3 fish per bird during a 28-day nestling period. At peak growth during that interval, nestlings consumed a maximum of 11.2 fish daily. Similarly converted, the adult kingfisher's caloric consumption of fish averaged 9.2 Coho salmon fingerlings per day. In contrast, previous studies had estimated nestling and adult kingfisher consumption at approximately 40 and 20 fish per day, respectively. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Belted kingfisher |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/44162 |
