Meeting Abstract

P2-122   -   Migration distance co-varies with hematological traits in birds Rhodes, ER*; Yap, KN; Hill, GE; Hood, WR; Auburn University, Auburn, AL; Auburn University, Auburn, AL; Auburn University, Auburn, AL; Auburn University, Auburn, AL emmarhodes09@gmail.com

Migration demands a specialized physiology that maintains high oxygen delivery to skeletal muscle and other vital organs over an extended period. Here, we extended an analysis from a previous study to test the hypothesis that specific hematological traits and metabolic rate co-vary among species with the mean distance traveled from breeding to non-breeding ranges. We predicted a positive relationship between migratory distance and both hematocrit and hemoglobin. Additionally, we hypothesized that metabolic rate would be positively correlated with distance. Data on basal metabolic rate (BMR), field metabolic rate (FMR), and activity energy expenditure (AEE=FMR-BMR) were included in our analysis. We estimated mean migratory distance using eBird species maps for 53 species (non-migratory species distance was set to zero). We used ImageJ to estimate distance traveled for each species. The mean migratory distance for each species was quantified from the point of highest frequency during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons. For our analyses, we used a PGLS model in R to correct for relatedness. We found a significant, positive correlation between both hematocrit and hemoglobin and migratory distance. However, we found no significant relationship between migratory distance and any of the measures of metabolic rate. We present our results in a phylogenetic context and explore future directions.