Examining mechanistic relationships between metabolic rates, wild bird welfare and impacts of selective logging on eastern Himalayan birds
Grantee: Akshay Bharadwaj
Institution: Indian Institute of Science, India
Grant amount: $37,500
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Understory insectivorous/frugivorous birds including the yellow-throated fulvetta, rusty-fronted barwing, and coral-billed scimitar babbler
Conservation status: n/a
Disciplines: Physiology, ornithology
Research locations: India
Project summary
Animals must balance energy spent with energy consumed, and can only persist in habitats that allow for this balance. All warm-blooded animals have a Basic Survival Cost (BSC) required for basal metabolism and thermoregulation. This project aims to understand how basic survival costs (BSC) affect wild bird welfare in the Eastern Himalayas. Using a combination of thermal imaging, respirometry, and ambient-temperature humidity data, we will estimate BSC in free-living birds across habitat gradients. Subsequently, the project will relate the BSC to multiple welfare indicators, allowing a triangulation of a bird's lived experience. By linking energy metabolism with welfare outcomes, this work will provide a novel, mechanistic perspective on wild animal welfare in an understudied tropical system.
Why we funded this project
This project builds on previous WAI-funded research and will provide insight into the relationship between welfare and energy expenditure, a commonly measured ecological parameter. Better understanding this relationship could prove useful in anticipating the welfare impacts of ecological changes, such as selective logging (the direct priority of this study).