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Science 23 June 1972:
Vol. 176. no. 4041, pp. 1351 - 1352
DOI: 10.1126/science.176.4041.1351
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Articles

Energetics of Foraging: Rate and Efficiency of Nectar Extraction by Hummingbirds

Larry L. Wolf 1, F. Reed Hainsworth 1, and F. Gary Stiles 2

1 Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13210
2 American Museum of Natural History, New York 10024

The efficiency with which several species of hummingbirds extract nectar was estimated by converting the rate of extraction of nectar volumes to the energy expended and the energy obtained from the nectar. The extraction rates depend on corolla and bill morphologies, and the extraction efficiencies depend, in addition, on the bird weight and nectar concentration. Differential extraction efficiencies can be exploited by plants to increase pollinator specificity.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Evidence for Ecological Causation of Sexual Dimorphism in a Hummingbird.
E. J. Temeles, I. L. Pan, J. L. Brennan, and J. N. Horwitt (2000)
Science 289, 441-443
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Coadapted Competitors: The Flowering Seasons of Hummingbird-Pollinated Plants in a Tropical Forest.
F. G. STILES (1977)
Science 198, 1177-1178
   Abstract »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)