Longer Wing Bones in Warmer Climates Suggest a Role of Thermoregulation in Bird Wing Evolution

IF 6 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Global Ecology and Biogeography Pub Date : 2025-04-04 DOI:10.1111/geb.70033

Brian C. Weeks, Christina Harvey, Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, Zhizhuo Zhou, David F. Fouhey

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aim

The tendency for animals in warmer climates to be longer-limbed (Allen's Rule) is widely attributed to the demands of thermoregulation. The role of thermoregulation in structuring bird wings, however, has been overshadowed by the selective demands placed on wings by flight. We test whether occurrence in warmer climates is associated with longer wing bones.

Location

Global.

Time Period

Current.

Major Taxa Studied

Aves: Passeriformes.

Methods

Using computer vision, we measure wing-bone length from photographs of museum skeletal specimens for 1520 species of passerine birds. We then model the relationship between wing-bone length and temperature, accounting for allometry, the demands of flight efficiency and manoeuvrability, and a range of ecological and environmental variables.

Results

Wing bones are longer in warmer climates. Our models, largely as a result of allometric effects, explain nearly all the variation in wing-bone length in our data, with a marginal R² = 0.80 and a conditional R² > 0.99.

Main Conclusions

Across 1520 species of birds, higher temperatures are associated with longer wing bones, as predicted by Allen's Rule. The vascularised musculature along these bones is maximally uncovered when birds actively hold their wings away from their bodies to aid in cooling or during flight. Conversely, the musculature along the wing bones is insulated by feathering when at rest, such that wings play a minor role in heat exchange when individuals are less active and may need to retain heat. While our analyses do not directly establish the mechanistic basis underlying the pattern we recover, given the asymmetry in the role of wings in thermoregulation, we interpret the positive relationship between temperature and wing-bone length to reflect increased demand for heat dissipation in warmer climates. Our findings highlight the role of thermoregulation in shaping even the most critical features of vertebrate anatomy.

Abstract Image

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气候变暖时翼骨变长表明鸟类翅膀进化中体温调节的作用

目的动物在温暖气候中四肢较长的趋势（艾伦法则）被广泛归因于体温调节的需要。然而，温度调节在鸟类翅膀结构中的作用被飞行对翅膀的选择性要求所掩盖。我们测试了在温暖的气候中出现的情况是否与更长的翼骨有关。位置全球。时间周期当前。研究的主要分类群：过路虫。方法利用计算机视觉技术，从1520种雀形目鸟类的博物馆骨骼标本照片中测量翼骨长度。然后，我们建立了翼骨长度和温度之间的关系模型，考虑了异速生长、飞行效率和机动性的要求，以及一系列生态和环境变量。结果在温暖的气候条件下，翼骨更长。我们的模型，很大程度上是异速生长效应的结果，解释了我们数据中几乎所有翼骨长度的变化，边际R2 = 0.80，条件R2 >； 0.99。在1520种鸟类中，正如艾伦法则所预测的那样，温度越高，翼骨越长。当鸟类主动将翅膀从身体上拿开以帮助冷却或飞行时，沿着这些骨骼的血管化肌肉组织最大程度地暴露出来。相反，翅膀骨骼上的肌肉组织在休息时被羽毛隔离，这样，当个体不太活跃，可能需要保持热量时，翅膀在热交换中起的作用很小。虽然我们的分析没有直接建立机制基础，但考虑到翅膀在体温调节中的作用不对称，我们解释了温度和翼骨长度之间的正相关关系，以反映温暖气候下对散热的需求增加。我们的发现强调了体温调节在塑造甚至是脊椎动物解剖结构中最关键的特征中的作用。

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来源期刊

Global Ecology and Biogeography 环境科学-生态学

CiteScore

12.10

自引率

3.10%

发文量

170

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Global Ecology and Biogeography (GEB) welcomes papers that investigate broad-scale (in space, time and/or taxonomy), general patterns in the organization of ecological systems and assemblages, and the processes that underlie them. In particular, GEB welcomes studies that use macroecological methods, comparative analyses, meta-analyses, reviews, spatial analyses and modelling to arrive at general, conceptual conclusions. Studies in GEB need not be global in spatial extent, but the conclusions and implications of the study must be relevant to ecologists and biogeographers globally, rather than being limited to local areas, or specific taxa. Similarly, GEB is not limited to spatial studies; we are equally interested in the general patterns of nature through time, among taxa (e.g., body sizes, dispersal abilities), through the course of evolution, etc. Further, GEB welcomes papers that investigate general impacts of human activities on ecological systems in accordance with the above criteria.