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Seabird Energetics pp 183–201Cite as

Thermoregulation in Adult Seabirds

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Abstract

In simple terms, an animal is fit in an evolutionary sense, if it can reproduce, obtain food, and avoid becoming someone else’s food. Those animals leaving the most viable offspring at the least possible cost can be considered the most fit. In birds, a major portion of the cost of survival is spent in maintaining a relatively high (38–42°C) body temperature (homeothermy). The maintenance of a relatively constant body temperature is based on a balance between heat production (metabolism), heat transfer from the environment, and heat transfer to the environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, USA

    Sheldon Lustick

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  1. Sheldon Lustick
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, John A. Burns Schools of Medicine, and P.B.R.C. Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    G. Causey Whittow

  2. Department of Physiology, Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, USA

    Hermann Rahn

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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York

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Lustick, S. (1984). Thermoregulation in Adult Seabirds. In: Whittow, G.C., Rahn, H. (eds) Seabird Energetics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4859-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4859-7_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4861-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4859-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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