Hummingbirds have evolved certain behavioural and physical traits which allows for them to be more energetically efficient, such as specialized storage and digestion adaptations, feeding and flying adaptations and breathing adaptation. Hummingbirds are extremely small and their muscles for flight are highly oxygen-dependent and require large amounts of energy. Hummingbirds are one of the smallest endotherms and any energetic output can be metabolically stressful. The hummingbirds’ small body size means that they have very little room for energy storage and therefore often endure energetic and metabolic stresses. They are the one of the oldest aves, dating back to some 33 million years ago and have evolved certain energy efficient adaptations that have allowed for them to live so long. These adaptations allow Hummingbirds to efficiently meet their energetic needs which in turn, allows for them to not only survive but also continue to evolve and expand their specific niches.
Feeding
Hummingbirds rely on plant nectar to supply the necessary energy for their highly energetically and expensive flying and feeding behaviors. Hummingbirds obtain energy from the nectar of flowers using their tongue and it is thought that up to half of the tongue is made up of cartilage making it easier to direct and control and in turn more efficiently eat. (Tamm, Gass 1986). Hummingbirds have the ability to drink their own weight in nectar only in a matter of hours (Tamm, Gass 1986) and in order to meet their daily energetic needs they must visit several thousand flowers a day (Tamm, Gass 1986). As useful as their tongue is for collecting nectar it is useless in capturing insects hidden inside flowers, even though insects do provide most of the protein...
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.... Experientia 48: 544–550.
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..., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, Available from Journal of Insect Physiology. (46 (2000) 655–661)Retrieved from http://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/publications/documents/IrwinLee00.pdf
In 1927, Charles Elton took niche theory a step further and included food. He defined the niche of an animal as its place in the biotic environment and its relations to food and enemies (Elton, 1927). Grinnell also wondered if food was a limiting factor to the California Thrasher’s niche, but since the bird is omnivorous, it could find food in other habitats such as a forest floor or a meadow. There had to be other factors that restricted the bird to the chaparral bushes (Grinnel, 1917). Elton believes that the niche of an animal can be defined by its size and its food habits. It is important to study niches because it enables ecologists to see how different animal communities may resemble each other in the essentials of organization (Elton, 1927). For example, in a forest there could be a niche of owls that feeds on small animals such as rats. This same carnivore niche is filled with kestrels in the open grasslands. This carnivore niche is then dependent on the small animals in the herbivore niche (Elton, 1927). Hutchinson also discusses niche theory in his “Concluding Remarks” paper. His theory seems to combine some of the ideas
The life cycle of a monarch revolves around the Butterfly weed plant. First the monarch lays its egg on the leaf of the plant. Once the Caterpillar is born it eats the leaf for nutrition. The Monarch caterpillar is striped black and yellow. As it grows and becomes ready to become a chrysalis by forming a cocoon it uses the plant again. The caterpillar forms its cocoon on the Butterfly Weed. By the time the caterpillar is ready to become a chrysalis it has grown to be about 45 millimeters in length. The chrysalis is pale green and spotted with gold. It becomes more transparent as the butterfly gets ready to break free. The adult Monarch has a wingspan of about 4 inches. The m...
...ee. Those numbers match ours more closely. However, Schmid-Hempel et al. found that honeybees maximize energy efficiency rather than number of food items per run. Repeating our experiment with a factor other then number of M & Ms to maximize may yield more interesting data about the ways in which the student sample would forage.
In Song of the Hummingbird by Gracie Limon, It’s clear by chapter three that Father Benito and Hummingbird are starting to reach an impasse. He could no longer hold his tongue “This woman who had a way of prying out thoughts and feeling of which he was not aware”. With her story of transgression, incest and murder her sin was to be forgiven in eyes of the lord, but she wanted Father Benito words. His thoughts conflicted, so he was surprised that the words he spoke were forgiveness. At this point, Hummingbird feels ready to start the next level of her story. I liked in the dialog that it express every insecurity Father Benito went through when saying he forgives her. To me, he seems that he can no longer stand to hear more like he wants to sing
30, line 15-19), but their hearts are often fragile too. Hummingbirds need food about two times their body weight, equivalent to a human eating a refrigerator full of food. The calories makes them powerful, despite their size. But at the same time, it makes hummingbirds vulnerable. When they are almost dying, they go into torpor. Torpor is a state of deep sleep that can cause a hummingbird’s metabolic rate almost to the condition of death. However, a hummingbird in torpor consumes up to 50 times less energy and keeps a generally cool body temperature. If they do not find something to help them survive, they might not live through the night. Their fragile hearts will cease to
Hummingbirds are birds that an ordinary person encounters once or twice, it is a weird topic for an essay; Hummingbirds are just a symbol from the author. In paragraph 3, the author states, “The price of their ambition is a life closer to death; they suffer more heart attacks and aneurysms and ruptures than any other living creature” (Doyle). Doyle uses facts to show that hummingbirds live an intense and problematic life. Hummingbirds, like humans, face obstacles on a regular basis; both have to be tenacious. The hummingbird or human can not give up, it will lead to regret later.
McNab, Brian K. "Energy Conservation and the Evolution of Flightlessness in Birds." The American Naturalist (1994): 628-642. Web.
...ically demanding. Their metabolic rate increases as their pitch increases. They increase the pitch by increasing the frequency at which their forewings move. They also increase the pitch when the temperature rises. The metabolic rate increases as their pitch increases. This is similar to the physical stress that we applied to the cockroach by shaking it.
The Song of the Hummingbird, written by Graciela Limon, is a novel telling the story of Huitzitzilin an Aztec survivor whose kingdom fell to ruin by her nation's blind reliance on God. The book features Huitzitzilin as the narrator of the story and Father Benito as a naive journalist of sorts. As the story begins, Father Benito meets Huitzitzilin while he’s taking confessions in the church. Through this transaction; Benito is told by the head of the church to take note of the history Huitzitzilin has to tell, while absolving her of her sins. As Benito begins to hear her story, his irritation and discomfort with hearing it becomes clear. He fidgets, buries his head in his hands, and at times even threatens to leave. The reasons for this comes from what Benito knows from history books and the teaching of his faith, Huitzitzilin begins to pick up on things as she tells her story. She uses this to mess with him at times and to distance him from the mindset that he’s just a tool for his god’s word. When the story draws to a conclusion, Benito sees Huitzitzilin story for what it is, he and his people are no different than hers, yet they treated them as savages.
Thomas, Pat. "Give Bees a Chance." Ecologist (London, England) Vol. 37, No. 5. June 2007: 30-35. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Marzluff, J., Angell, T. & Elliot, B. (2013, May. - Jun.). Birds: Brains over brawn. Audubon, 115(3), 40-41.
The results of natural selection in Darwin 's finches and British Columbian sparrows change my view of species because every living animal changes to survive conditions that get in the way of normal life.
Pollinators are very important to the environment because many plant species rely on reproduction to be carried out by pollination1. Bees are dependent on plants for pollen and nectar and in return, are the most common pollinator of plant species and around 90 percent of plants require pollination by an animal7. Bees are used in farming, both for pollinating crops and for producing honey, and the estimated value of bees to the United Kingdom is £400 million per year9. Plants are the primary producers in many food webs and, as so many are dependent on pollination in order to reproduce, a decline in pollinators would have a detrimental effect on whole ecosystems. Therefore, the declining numbers of pollinators, particularly bees, are a cause of concern because of the environmental knock-on effects.
The Venus Fly Trap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant native to the bogs and swamplands of North and South Carolina. It is an interesting plant and this research paper will be covering the adaptive significance in the insectivtory of the Venus Flytrap and how this evolved into an adaptation for obtaining nutrients in their nutrient poor habitat. How their prey is captured, digestion, lifespan, and vulnerabilities will also be discussed. Including what happens if something other than a bug used for nutrients triggers their traps, and what the actions that take place are when this happens. There is also a reason to believe that this species is at risk for extinction due to fire suppression and poaching.