Abstract
Gas samples were taken from the nest chambers of bank swallows (Riparia riparia) and analyzed for CO₂ and O₂ content. The mean CO₂ content was 2.62% with a maximum value of 5.58%, and the mean O₂ content was 17.83% with a minimum value of 14.61%. There was a positive and significant correlation of increasing CO₂ content with both increasing nestling age and increasing total metabolizing mass (adults plus young). With increasing metabolizing mass there is a linear increase in CO₂ content, which suggests no active regulation of gas concentrations. Burrow depth also affected CO₂, particularly in burrows with older nestlings. The effect of depth is most likely due to the relative importance of convective exchange rather than to diffusion. The increase in CO₂ was proportional to the decrease in O₂ with a ratio of CO₂:O₂ equal to 0.86.
Keywords
birds, nestlings, bank swallows, Riparia riparia, burrows
Subject Categories
Bank swallows
Disciplines
Poultry or Avian Science
Publisher
University of Chicago
Publication Date
1-1981
Rights Information
Copyright 1981
Rights Holder
University of Chicago
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Wickler, Steven J. and Marsh, Richard L., "Effects on nestling age and burrow depth on CO₂ and O₂ concentrations in the burrows of bank swallows (Riparia riparia)" (1981). Biology Faculty Publications. Paper 5. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000613
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Notes
Originally published in Physiological Zoology, 54:132–136, January 1981. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/636920