Destacados
- La Fundación Jaime González-Gordon ofrece cuatro becas para el desarrollo de Trabajos de Fin de Máster sobre Doñana
- Cinco contratos para desarrollar la tesis doctoral en la Estación Biológica de Doñana - CSIC
- Actividades de la Estación Biológica de Doñana en la Noche Europea de los Investigadores
- La ICTS-RBD se prepara para la 30ª Campaña de Anillamiento de Paseriformes Migratorios en Doñana
- Inicio procedimiento nueva dirección EBD-CSIC
Noticias
The bare head of the Northern bald ibis fulfills a thermoregulatory function
Dark pigments provide animals with several adaptive benefits such as protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation and mechanical abrasion, but may also impose several constraints like a high absorbance of solar radiation. Endotherms, with relatively constant and high body temperatures, may be especially prone to thermoregulatory limitations if dark coloured and inhabiting hot environments. It is therefore expected that adaptations have specifically evolved because of these limitations. Bare, highly vascularised head skin may have evolved in birds with dark plumage from hot geographical regions because of favouring heat dissipation. Using the Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) as a model species, authors measured the surface temperature (Tsurf) of the head, the bill and the black feathered body of 11 birds along ambient temperatures (Ta) ranging from 21 to 42.5 °C employing thermal imaging. While Tsurf of the bill and the feathered body was only slightly above Ta, head Tsurf was considerably higher, by up to 12 °C. Estimated values of heat loss followed similar variations. The red colour intensity of the head of ibises increased with head Tsurf, suggesting that birds are capable of controlling blood flow and the thermoregulatory function of the head. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that bare skin has evolved in dark pigmented birds inhabiting hot environments because of their ability to dissipate heat. informacion[at]ebd.csic.es: Galván et al (2017) The bare head of the Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) fulfills a thermoregulatory function. Front Zool DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0201-5
https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12983-017-0201-5- Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular
- Laboratorio SIG y Teledetección (LAST)
- Laboratorio de Ecología Química
- Laboratorio de Ecología Acuática
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología
- Laboratorio de Isótopos Estables
- Unidad de Experimentación Animal
- Visita virtual
- Unidad de Seguimiento
- Laboratorio de Camaras climaticas