Elsevier

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 57, Issue 4, April 1995, Pages 731-746
Physiology & Behavior

Article
Daily cycles in body temperature, metabolic rate, and substrate utilization in pigeons: influence of amount and timing of food consumption

https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(94)00315-7Get rights and content

Abstract

Pigeons lived in individual chambers where instantaneous metabolic rate (MR; indirect calorimetry), body temperature (Tb), and substrate utilization (RQ) were measured 24 times each hour throughout the 12h:12h light:dark cycle. The amount of food consumed influenced the amplitude of the MR and Tb cycles, primarily by affecting the dark-phase segment of the cycle: when food was consumed ad lib, low-amplitude daily cycles in MR and Tb occurred in which levels in the dark phase were lower than in the light; during reduced food intake in restricted feeding or in fasting, high-amplitude cycles occurred primarily because nocturnal hypometabolism and hypothermia developed; in restricted feeding, the level of MR and Tb during the dark-phase segment of the cycle was directly related to short-term variation in amount consumed. The timing of food consumption primarily affected the light-phase segment of the MR and Tb cycles: when feeding was restricted to a time late in the light phase, these measures became depressed early in the light phase, and then greatly elevated near the scheduled time of feeding. This distinctive light-phase pattern developed quickly after the restricted feeding schedule began and may reflect the influence of a circadian food-entrainable oscillator. RQ indicated carbohydrate utilization for most of the 24-h cycle during ad lib feeding and in restricted feeding. However, approximately 2 h before the first feeding bout of the day, the RQ cycle indicated a sizable shift towards lipid utilization, which terminated after the bout was completed. There was a smaller, more transient, decrease in RQ near the time of the light-dark transition, which may imply cessation of digestive activity in preparation for the nocturnal decrease in Tb. During fasting, RQ indicated lipid utilization throughout the entire cycle. Whole-day energy expenditure by pigeons in these laboratory circumstances was shown to be closely related to the changes in within-day cycles associated with variations in the amount and timing of food intake.

References (43)

  • F.K. Stephan et al.

    Entrainment of circadian rhythms by feeding schedules in rats with suprachiasmatic lesions

    Behav. Neural Biol.

    (1979)
  • Y. Sugano

    Heat balance of rats acclimated to diurnal 2-hour feeding

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1983)
  • H. Abe et al.

    Food-anticipatory response to restricted food access based on the pigeon's biological clock

    Anim. Learn. Behav.

    (1987)
  • J. Aschoff

    Circadian activity pattern with two peaks

    Ecology

    (1965)
  • J. Aschoff et al.

    Rhythmic variations in energy metabolism

  • G.A. Bartholomew et al.

    Instantaneous measurements of oxygen consumption during pre-flight warm up and post-flight cooling in sphinged and saturniid moths

    J. Exp. Biol.

    (1981)
  • K. Blaxter

    Energy metabolism in animals and man

    (1989)
  • L.A. Camplield et al.

    Systemic factors in the control of food intake

  • Y. Cherel et al.

    Physiology and biochemistry of long-term fasting in birds

    Can. J. Zool.

    (1988)
  • S. Daan et al.

    Circadian contributions to survival

  • R. Graf et al.

    Regulated nocturnal hypothermia induced in pigeons by food deprivation

    Am. J. Physiol.

    (1989)
  • Cited by (64)

    • Regulation of body temperature

      2022, Sturkie's Avian Physiology
    • Estimation of the core temperature control during ambient temperature changes and the influence of circadian rhythm and metabolic conditions in mice

      2015, Journal of Thermal Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Although physical activity is a passive influence, circadian core temperature change is thought to be regulated (Aschoff, 1983; Gander et al., 1986; Nagashima et al., 2005; Tokizawa et al., 2009). Fasting decreases core temperature in rats, mice and pigeons (Graf et al., 1989; Nagashima et al., 2003; Rashotte et al., 1995; Sakurada et al., 2000; Székely et al., 1997; Tokizawa et al., 2009; Yoda et al., 2000). Nagashima et al. (2003) showed that the reduction of core temperature occurs during the light phase of rats.

    • Stress-induced core temperature changes in pigeons (Columba livia)

      2015, Physiology and Behavior
      Citation Excerpt :

      The present data indicated that the transference of pigeons to a cage different from their “home cage” (the ExC with a consequent visual but not auditory separation from conspecifics) evokes a biphasic thermal response consisting of short-lived hyperthermia followed by a deep and long-lasting reduction in celomatic temperature. Nearly 2 h later, Tc returns to levels that are consistent with former reports of telemetrically recorded Tc in free-feeding pigeons during diurnal and nocturnal periods (e.g., [22,26–30]). The changes in Tc observed here appear to be unrelated to changes in room temperature or humidity, which were virtually the same as in their home cages.

    • Interleukin-18 null mutation increases weight and food intake and reduces energy expenditure and lipid substrate utilization in high-fat diet fed mice

      2014, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
      Citation Excerpt :

      Third, the amplitude of the circadian rhythm of energy expenditure was blunted in IL-18 KO mice, and the amplitude of this rhythm reflects non-maintenance metabolic processes (Berger and Phillips, 1988). An increased frequency or quantity of energy intake, as was observed here, has been associated with a blunted amplitude of energy expenditure rhythms (Rashotte et al., 1995). Thus, the present study revealed that IL-18 KO mice differ not only in basal metabolic rate, but also in phasic aspects of energy metabolism.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text