I am recruting a #postdoc for a project investigating the evolution of avian heat tolerance in @erc.europa.eu project #HotLife. Fieldwork over broad latitudinal gradients, common-garden experiments, and more. Read more and apply👇
shorturl.at/WA1Qa

Would appreciate a re-post!

@evoldir.bsky.social

It was great returning to avian incubation after not having worked on the problem for far too long. Only possible thanks to serious display of grit across 100s of 🐣 experiments by @elisathrl.bsky.social @mariaagc.bsky.social 🌟💪 @biologylu.bsky.social @uniofjyvaskyla.bsky.social @univ-larochelle.fr

Below some data relating resting metabolic rate to endogenous respiration of blood cell mitochondria in heat- (red) and cold- (blue) acclimated Japanese quail 👇

Using observed shifts in body size, we modelled effects on heat gain and loss, as well on metabolic plasticity. By and large, shrinking body size does not provide meaningful thermoregulatory value, especially when compared against that accrued by physiological regulation.

Since shapeshifting largely recapitulates long-standing biogeographic rules, smaller-trunked or longer-limbed animals are expected to be better heat dissipators. However, observed morphological shifts are small, leading to minuscule within-generation effects.

This story was confirmed looking at how variable the different methods were. Avoid attaching thermocouples to the skin of small birds if you want low variation!

Nor were there, to some surprise, few differences in body temp in our small bird model, with the obvious exception of the cutaneous thermocouples (but only below thermoneutrality). Obviously, we need to follow up with measuring all temps at the same time in a single individual.

There were no differences in metabolic rate regardless of how body temp was measured - be it intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, with a cloacal thermocouple, or with a supracutaneous thermocouple

So we used @sablesys.bsky.social instruments and temperature-sensitive PIT tags to record metabolic rate and temperature in a couple of different ways that we scored from not-so-much to quite stressful.

Chuffed to have received funding from FORMAS to study variation and evolvability in heat tolerance in wild #bee #pollinators. 🐝 In due course, I will recruit a #postdoc interested in insect thermal physiology to join us in Lund

shorturl.at/owUX2

Glad to see this paper led by Amanda Pettersen out in Functional Ecology. How do fluctuating temperatures alter the amount of energy required to complete development? Another study made possible by our friends @sablesys.bsky.social Details --> shorturl.at/kHLOR #openaccess