The Biology of Moult in Birds

Zusatztext Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler present the most comprehensive review of all aspects of molt . Fascinating and inspiring, equally for learning about existing knowledge and for perceiving areas that need major attention within ornithology . it distills an incredible amount of information relevant to both newcomers and old-timers working on molt. It not only creates a hunger for the subject, but it . tasks us to give molt its proper place: a central theme in ornithology. Informationen zum Autor Lukas Jenni & Raffael Winkler Klappentext The first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines. Feathers are amazing structures. All birds need to renew their feathers periodically, in a process called moult. Because feathers can only be renewed as a whole, all functions of the plumage are impaired during moult, and so this process has a crucial impact on most aspects of a bird's life. Therefore the period of moult is one of the most important recurring annual events in the life of a bird, together with reproduction and, for many, migration. Given the major impacts of this process on birds, moult remains a sorely neglected field of ornithological research. This book, written by the internationally renowned ornithologists Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler, seeks to redress this. Early chapters provide an overview of the functions of plumage. Later, it moves on to subjects such as plumage maintenance and feather wear, the two main functions of moult; feather-growth, the physiology, energetics and control of moult; and how moult affects plumage quality, structural quality and coloration, and the consequences of this for the bird. The book concludes with a review of the various solutions developed by birds to fit moult into their annual cycle. Complementary to the magnificent Moult and Ageing in European Passerines by the same authors and packed with color photography throughout, The Biology of Moult in Birds is the first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines. Zusammenfassung The first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines. Feathers are amazing structures unique to birds and, for a variety of reasons, they need to be renewed periodically as a whole in a process called moult. During this process, all of the functions of plumage are impaired and most aspects of a bird's life are affected. Every moult determines a bird's appearance anew, and restores plumage efficacy for flight and insulation. Moult profoundly affects physiology and the organization of the annual cycle, and it constrains reproduction and migration. Given these major impacts, which are equal to the other annual challenges of reproduction and migration, it is surprising that research on moult has largely been so neglected a subject. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have brought together the widely scattered results of studies on the processes and consequences of moult in birds. This book opens with an overview of the functions of plumage, and of feather maintenance and feather wear, and then introduces the two functions of moult: replacement of worn feathers and adjustment of plumage characteristics and appearance. The body of the book then examines feather-growth and the physiology, energetics and control of moult, and how various other physiological processes interact with moult and may compensate for its costs. Significantly, the authors explain how variations in moult and feather quality affect a bird's overall plumage quality, and they highlight the resulting consequences in terms of physical performance, appearance and signalling. F...

Vorwort
The first comprehensive review of all aspects of the biology of moult, drawing information from across the literature and in all birds, from penguins to passerines.

Autorentext

Lukas Jenni was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1955 and became interested in birds as a boy. While studying biology at Basel University he became a volunteer at the Swiss Ornithological Institute and a ringer at the Col de Bretolet ringing station, where his interest in moult and ageing began while working with Raffael Winkler. His graduation study dealt with the morphology and ecology of the Great and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers. In 1979, he became head of the Swiss ringing scheme at the Swiss Ornithological Institute and gained his PhD in zoology with a study of the mass concentrations of Bramblings in winter in 1984. He became a lecturer at the University of Zurich in 1997 and a professor in 2013, and was appointed scientific director of the Swiss Ornithological Institute in 2000. His research focuses on bird migration and its ecophysiology, the ecophysiology of stress, and the moult of birds. He is also involved in many other projects at the Institute, and supervises studies in avian ecology and conservation.

Inhalt

Preface Chapter 1: Functions of the plumage Chapter 2: Plumage maintenance and the need for plumage renewal Chapter 3: The process of moult: feather growth, physiology, energetics and control of moult Chapter 4: The effects of environmental conditions during moult on plumage quality and their consequences Chapter 5: Fitting moult into the annual cycle: moult strategies References Index