User talk:Gavetern/sandbox

Five articles I plan to use as sources when editing the American kestrel page:

Fernie, K.J., G. Mayne, J.L. Shutt, C. Pekarik, K.A. Grasman, R.J. Letcher, and K. Drouillard. 2005. Environmental Pollution 138: 485-493. Fox, R., S.W. Lehmkuhle, and D.H. Westendorf. 1976. Falcon visual acuity. Science 192: 263-265 Strasser, E.H. and J.A. Heath. 2011. Effects of developmental conditions on nestling American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) corticosterone concentrations. General and Comparative Endocrinology 173: 164-170. Villarroel, M., D.M. Bird, and U. Kuhnlein. 1998. Copulatory behavior and paternity in the American kestrel: the adaptive significance of frequent copulations. Animal Behavior 56: 289-299. Wilson, G.R., S.J. Cooper, J.A. Gessaman. 2004. The effects of temperature and artificial rain on the metabolism of American kestrels (Falco sparverius). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 139: 389–394. Gavetern (talk) 01:56, 28 March 2016 (UTC)

Physiology
American kestrels are often useful in scientific studies, and are typically captured using the bal-chatri method or raised in nest boxes[1] American kestrels increase their metabolic rate beyond normal levels in response to rainfall, and at ambient temperatures below about 25⁰C.[2] Metabolic rate is measured as O2 consumption per unit time, using a sealed-off metabolic chamber [3] The stress response of American kestrels is measured as blood concentration of corticosterone (CORT,) a hormone produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that releases stored energy for essential body functions.[1] Extended periods of high blood CORT levels, however, direct metabolic energy away from growth and reproduction. [1]High levels of traffic disturbance and human development surrounding American kestrel nests are found to increase stress hormones leading to reproductive failure[4]. Among successful nests, however, nestlings do not typically experience a higher stress response to environmental human disturbance.[1]

Since American kestrels are carnivores, toxic chemical runoff ingested by their prey can concentrate at high levels in their blood. Wild kestrels are subject to immunomodulation, or an altered immune response, to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of industrial flame retardants. Accordingly, studies of American kestrels have shown how the immune system decreases in efficiency when chemical pollutants accumulate in body tissues.[5]

^ Jump up to: a b c d Strasser, E.H.; Heath, J.A. (2011). "Effects of developmental conditions on nestling American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) corticosterone concentrations.". General and Comparative Endocrinology 173: 164–170. Jump up ^ Wilson, G.R., S.J. Cooper, J.A. Gessaman. 2004. The effects of temperature and artificial rain on the metabolism of American kestrels (Falco sparverius). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 139: 389–394. Jump up ^ Willmer, P., G. Stone, and I. Johnston. 2009. "Metabolism and Energy Supply." Environmental Physiology of Animals. Jump up ^ Strasser, E.H.; Heath, J.A. (2013). "Reproductive failure of a human-tolerant species, the American kestrel, is associated with stress and human disturbance". Journal of Applied Ecology 50: 912–919. Jump up ^ Fernie, K.J., G. Mayne, J.L. Shutt, C. Pekarik, K.A. Grasman, R.J. Letcher, and K. Drouillard. 2005. Evidence of immunomodulation in nestling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) exposed to environmentally relevant PBDEs. Environmental Pollution 138: 485-493. Gavetern (talk) 22:05, 25 April 2016 (UTC)