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Keeping Slim When Food Is Abundant: What Energy Mechanisms Could Be at Play?

Authors :
Halsey, Lewis G.
Source :
Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Oct2018, Vol. 33 Issue 10, p745-753. 9p.
Publication Year :
2018

Abstract

The obesity epidemic in humans is juxtaposed by observations of passerine birds exhibiting fine-scale body mass regulation. The ecology literature is replete with research into why these animals regulate body weight, citing tradeoffs between competing pressures such as emaciation and predation. Yet studies on the underlying mechanisms of mass regulation in these animals are scarce. Maintaining or decreasing weight could obviously be achieved by limiting food intake. However, there are numerous reasons why an animal may not control ingestion, at least precisely. This Opinion article investigates the plausibility of possible behavioural and physiological mechanisms to adaptively maintain or decrease body mass in birds and other animals. Candidate behavioural mechanisms include exercising and fidgeting, while physiological mechanisms could include reducing digestive efficiency or mitochondrial efficiency. Highlights Passerine birds exhibit fine-scale weight regulation. Why they do this has been widely studied, but little is known about how. Evidence for a plethora of possible behavioural and physiology mechanisms is reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
01695347
Volume :
33
Issue :
10
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
131884821
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.08.004