Maximum feeding rates
Investigating compensatory feeding in seventeen hummingbird species across North and South America
Hummingbirds are known to process water through their kidneys, which could limit increased nectar consumption in times of extreme energetic expenditure(McWhorter and Martinez del Rio, 1999). Variance in every consumption can also be impacted by variance in floral nectar concentration, volume and have seasonality. Therefore we ask the question: what are the limitations on feeding and are they ecologically relevant given current floral resources available to these famously adapted and nectar-dependent birds? I have investigated this question in the Chiricahua Mountains of SW Arizona, the Andean highlands and cloud forests of Ecuador and now in the lab in Seattle, Washington. I am currently quantifying responses of 17 hummingbird species and preparing a manuscript to summarize this work.
PI: Alejandro Rico-Guevara & Donald R. Powers
Affiliation: University of Washington & George Fox University
