Development of thermoregulation in Hawaiian brown noddies (anous stolidus pileatus)

Abstract

-I. Oxygen consumption (V02) and body temperature (Tb) of Hawaiian brown noddies (Anous stolidus pileatus [Aves: LaridaeJ) during late incubation and in the first 24 h after hatching were measured at ambient temperatures (T.) between 28 and 38°C and between 15 and 43°C, respectively. Evaporative cooling by hatchings at T. of 36-43°C was also meas~red. .... 2. Throughout the late incubation stages studied, V02 and Tb both vaned directly with T. In an ectothermic pattern. 3. The hatchlings successfully regulated Tb at T. between ca. 29 and 43°C. 4. The functional basis of the abrupt increase in thermoregulatory capacity with hatching is discussed.