How hornbills handle heat: sex-specific thermoregulation in the southern yellow-billed hornbill

At a global scale, thermal physiology is correlated with climatic variables such as temperature and aridity. There is also evidence that thermoregulatory traits vary with fine-scale microclimate, but this has received less attention in endotherms. Here, we test the hypothesis that avian thermoregulation varies with microclimate and behavioural constraints in a non-passerine bird. Male and female southern yellow-billed hombills (Tockus leucomelas) experience markedly different microclimates while breeding, with the female sealing herself into a tree cavity and moulting all her flight feathers during the breeding attempt, becoming entirely reliant on the male for provisioning. We examined interactions between resting metabolic rate (RMR), evaporative water loss (EWL) and core body temperature (T-b) at air temperatures (T-a) between 30 degrees C and 52 degrees C in male and female hornbills, and quantified evaporative cooling efficiencies and heat tolerance limits. At thermoneutral T-a, neither RMR, EWL nor T-b differed between sexes. At T-a >40 degrees C, however, RMR and EWL of females were significantly lower than those of males, by similar to 13% and similar to 17%, respectively, despite similar relationships between T-b and T-a, maximum ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production and heat tolerance limits (similar to 50 degrees C). These sex-specific differences in hornbill thermoregulation support the hypothesis that avian thermal physiology can vary within species in response to fine-scale microclimatic factors. In addition, Q(10) for RMR varied substantially, with Q(10) <= 2 in some individuals, supporting recent arguments that active metabolic suppression may be an underappreciated aspect of endotherm thermoregulation in the heat.

Automated summary

The study found sex-specific differences in thermal regulation in southern yellow-billed hornbills, with females exhibiting lower metabolic rates and evaporative losses in higher temperatures. This suggests that avian thermal physiology can vary within species in response to fine-scale microclimatic factors.