Natures wonders: hummingbird torpor (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, February 02, 2022, 19:15 (813 days ago) @ David Turell

Every night:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220202111806.htm

"At night, hummingbirds lower their body temperature and metabolism drastically by dropping into an energy-saving state of inactivity called torpor. Scientists from multiple universities now find there's more than one level of torpor: shallow and deep, plus the transition stage between levels of torpor and the normal sleep state.

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"They measured the temperature emitted from the skin around the eyes of the birds. The differences in heat generation at various stages are stark.

"The normal daytime body temperature of a hummingbird is more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, even in colder weather. During shallow torpor, their body temperature drops by about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. In deep torpor, the bird maintains a body temperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit below its normal daytime temperature. If human body temperature were to drop a mere 3 degrees from the standard 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, we'd be in a state of hypothermia and, unlike hummingbirds, would need outside help to get warm again. Size also matters.

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"Shallow torpor may have developed to balance energy-saving with the costs of deep torpor. In deep torpor a hummingbird is probably more vulnerable to disease because its immune system shuts down, plus it is vulnerable to predation and sleep deprivation. This ability to use torpor at varying depths indicates that at least some birds are capable of fine-tuning how cold they get in torpor, and how they manage saving energy with the potential costs of dropping way down into deep torpor.

"Torpor is not the same as sleep. Sleep uses much more energy and serves many restorative functions. Daily torpor also differs from hibernation. Hibernating animals enter a low-energy state for weeks or months at time while hummingbirds can enter torpor every night.

"Many questions remain about what is taking place in the brain during torpor, how levels of body fat may trigger torpor, and how the hummingbirds can generate the heat to warm up again -- a process that can take up to 30 minutes.

"'At least 42 bird species use torpor," said Shankar, "But only hummingbirds, nightjars, and one species of mousebird go into deep torpor. Studying the range of torpor could help us understand the evolution of thermoregulation in birds.'"

Comment: Why this occurs has obvious purpose, to replenish wing muscle energy sources for the
day's activities with wings moving at enormous speeds per second. Hummingbirds use high sugar nectar as food source and from human studies sugars digest very easily with only 10% energy use to do it. But, how did this evolve. It all obviously goes together purposefully, and like all irreducible complex systems it must be designed.