Limited heat tolerance in a cold-adapted seabird: implications of a warming Arctic.

ABSTRACT: The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate, with well-documented indirect effects on wildlife. However, few studies have examined the direct effects of warming temperatures on Arctic wildlife, leaving the importance of heat stress unclear. Here, we assessed the direct effects of increasing air temperatures on the physiology of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), an Arctic seabird with reported mortalities due to heat stress while nesting on sun-exposed cliffs. We used flow-through respirometry to measure the response of body temperature, resting metabolic rate, evaporative water loss and evaporative cooling efficiency (the ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production) in murres while experimentally increasing air temperature. Murres had limited heat toleranc

SUBMITTER: Choy ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8278010 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature