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High air temperatures induce temporal, spatial and social changes in the foraging behaviour of wild zebra finches

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posted on 2023-06-09, 17:35 authored by Caterina Funghi, Luke S C McCowan, Wiebke SchuettWiebke Schuett, Simon C Griffith
Understanding how heatwaves affect organisms is becoming an important issue in animal behaviour, given the changing climate. Exposure to high air temperatures can lead to lethal hyperthermia, when individuals are no longer able to maintain body temperature within their optimal physiological range. Animals will rapidly adjust their behaviour, prioritizing heat dissipation through activities such as drinking and sitting in shade to maintain their body temperature over other activities, such as foraging. Here, we used an automated logging system to consider both the spatial and temporal foraging patterns under a range of different air temperatures at an individual level, in a strictly granivorous species in the wild. We continuously monitored individual foraging activity of wild zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, a species well adapted to arid conditions, in an Australian arid area across two heatwave events. High air temperatures significantly reduced foraging activity, with the extent of this effect depending on the time of day. They also led to a significant decrease in the number of birds foraging together and to birds spending a higher proportion of their foraging activity close to a water supply. As temperatures exceeded 35 °C we saw a significant escalation of heat dissipation behaviour. Our results indicate that extreme air temperatures significantly affected temporal, social and spatial characteristics of zebra finch foraging behaviour and these are likely to adversely reduce an individual's capacity to forage efficiently, and consequently its food intake in the short term, while also potentially having implications for both reproduction and survival in the long term.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Animal Behaviour

ISSN

0003-3472

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

149

Page range

33-43

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-04-15

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-02-08

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-04-16

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