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dc.creatorWOLF,BLAIR
dc.date2000-09-01
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-10T12:39:29Z
dc.date.available2019-09-10T12:39:29Z
dc.identifierhttps://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-078X2000000300003
dc.identifier.urihttps://revistaschilenas.uchile.cl/handle/2250/105233
dc.descriptionAvian adjustments to desert environments are characterized by an integration of behavior and physiology. These responses serve to maintain homeostasis and conserve vital resources such as water. The small size of birds confers a close coupling to the thermal environment and demands rapid adjustments to environmental challenges. Physiological responses to heat stress include hyperthermia, and increased evaporative cooling as environmental temperatures approach body temperature. Behaviorally, desert birds respond to heat stress by drastically reducing activity during the hottest parts of the day and selecting cool shaded microsites. This characteristic behavioral response presents a potential problem in the face of global warming. If birds totally forgo foraging during extremely hot periods, increased evaporative water loss rates due to higher environmental temperatures could lead to significant episodes of direct mortality for birds in these regions. A simple model is presented which integrates behavior and physiology to predict survival times based on dehydration tolerance, microsite selection and environmental temperature.
dc.formattext/html
dc.languageen
dc.publisherSociedad de Biología de Chile
dc.relation10.4067/S0716-078X2000000300003
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.sourceRevista chilena de historia natural v.73 n.3 2000
dc.subjectglobal warming
dc.subjecthot deserts
dc.subjectbirds
dc.subjectwater balance
dc.subjectevaporative water loss
dc.subjectavian distribution
dc.titleGlobal warming and avian occupancy of hot deserts: a physiological and behavioral perspective


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