title: Digestive adaptations of aerial lifestyles.
abstract: Flying vertebrates (birds and bats) are under selective pressure to reduce the size of the gut and the mass of the digesta it carries. Compared with similar-sized nonflying mammals, birds and bats have smaller intestines and shorter retention times. We review evidence that birds and bats have lower spare digestive capacity and partially compensate for smaller intestines with increased paracellular nutrient absorption.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; edwin.price@unt.edu.
authors.forename: Edwin R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología Integrativa, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, San Luis, Argentina; and.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología Integrativa, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Biológicas de San Luis, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, San Luis, Argentina; and Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas y Laboratorio de Biología "Professor E. Caviedes Codelia," Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caviedes-Vidal
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin;
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Karasov
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D002685:Chiroptera; D006801:Humans; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology*; D008019:Life Style; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology*