Hyperphagia (ecology)

For the medical symptom, see Hyperphagia.

In behavioral ecology, hyperphagia is a short-term increase in food intake and metabolization in response to changing environmental conditions. It is most prominent in a number of migratory bird species. Hyperphagia occurs when fat deposits need to be built up over the course of a few days or weeks, for example in wintering birds that are preparing to start on their spring migration, or when feeding habitat conditions improve for only a short duration.[1][2]

  1. ^ King, J. R.; Farner, D. S. (1965). "Studies of fat deposition in migratory birds". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 131 (1): 422–440. Bibcode:1965NYASA.131..422K. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1965.tb34808.x. PMID 5216979. S2CID 45371528.
  2. ^ Guillemette, M.; Richman, S. E.; Portugal, S. J.; Butler, P. J. (2012). "Behavioural compensation reduces energy expenditure during migration hyperphagia in a large bird". Functional Ecology. 26 (4): 876–883. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01993.x.