Metabolic thermogenesis and evaporative water loss in the Hwamei Garrulax canorus

• The Hwamei is an endemic Asian species inhabiting mesic, warm-temperate climates.
• The Hwamei has a relatively low basal metabolic rate and a narrow thermal neutral zone.
• Evaporative water loss exceeded metabolic water production at temperatures above 14 °C, suggesting minimal tolerance of water restriction.
• These physiological traits are consistent with expectations for bird species from warm, mesic environments.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is thought to be a major hub in the network of physiological mechanisms connecting life history traits. Evaporative water loss (EWL) is a physiological indicator that is widely used to measure water relations in inter- or intraspecific studies of birds in different environments. In this study, we examined the physiological responses of summer-acclimatized Hwamei Garrulax canorus to temperature by measuring their body temperature (Tb), metabolic rate (MR) and EWL at ambient temperatures (Ta) between 5 and 40 °C. Overall, we found that mean body temperature was 42.4 °C and average minimum thermal conductance (C) was 0.15 ml O2 g−1 h−1 °C−1 measured between 5 and 20 °C. The thermal neutral zone (TNZ) was 31.8–35.3 °C and BMR was 181.83 ml O2 h−1. Below the lower critical temperature, MR increased linearly with decreasing Ta according to the relationship: MR (ml O2 h−1)=266.59–2.66 Ta. At Tas above the upper critical temperature, MR increased with Ta according to the relationship: MR (ml O2 h−1)=−271.26+12.85 Ta. EWL increased with Ta according to the relationship: EWL (mg H2O h−1)=−19.16+12.64 Ta and exceeded metabolic water production at Ta>14.0 °C. The high Tb and thermal conductance, low BMR, narrow TNZ, and high evaporative water production/metabolic water production (EWP/MWP) ratio in the Hwamei are consistent with the idea that this species is adapted to warm, mesic climates, where metabolic thermogenesis and water conservation are not strong selective pressures.