ArticleNature communications2018
Reflection of near-infrared light confers thermal protection in birds.
Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Defect Chemistry in Rare-Earth High-Entropy Oxides for Solar-Driven COPrecision chemistry · 2026Article
- Color and Near-Infrared Reflectance Covary in Distinct Ways Across Taxa.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- The Genetic and Morphological Basis of Local Adaptation to Elevational Extremes in an Alpine Finch.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Population- and Species-Level Variation in Near- and Mid-infrared Radiation in Birds: A Preliminary Analysis.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Infrared camouflage in leaf-sitting frogs: a cautionary tale on adaptive convergence.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- The role of plumage and heat dissipation areas in thermoregulation in doves.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Hyperspectral imaging in animal coloration research: A user-friendly pipeline for image generation, analysis, and integration with 3D modeling.PLoS biology · 2024Article
- Polarization and reflectance are linked to climate, size and mechanistic constraints in a group of scarab beetles.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Birdlike broadband neuromorphic visual sensor arrays for fusion imaging.Nature communications · 2024Article
- The global importance and interplay of colour-based protective and thermoregulatory functions in frogs.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Adaptive and non-adaptive convergent evolution in feather reflectance of California Channel Islands songbirds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Plastic plumage colouration in response to experimental humidity supports Gloger's rule.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Article
- Exposure to thermal extremes favors higher solar reflectivity in intertidal gastropods.iScience · 2022Article
- Pretty Cool Beetles: Can Manipulation of Visible and Near-Infrared Sunlight Prevent Overheating?Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Methodology for the Automated Visual Detection of Bird and Bat Collision Fatalities at Onshore Wind Turbines.Journal of imaging · 2021Article
- Enhanced photothermal absorption in iridescent feathers.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2021Article
- Hollow Gold-Silver Nanoshells Coated with Ultrathin SiOMaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Exposure to UV radiance predicts repeated evolution of concealed black skin in birds.Nature communications · 2020Article
- Macroevolutionary bursts and constraints generate a rainbow in a clade of tropical birds.BMC evolutionary biology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Biologists have focused their attention on the optical functions of light reflected at ultraviolet and human-visible wavelengths. However, most radiant energy in sunlight occurs in 'unseen' near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. The capacity to reflect solar radiation at NIR wavelengths may enable animals to control heat gain and remain within their critical thermal limits. Here, using a continent-wide phylogenetic analysis of Australian birds, we show that species occupying hot, arid environments reflect more radiant energy in NIR wavelengths than species in thermally benign environments, even when controlling for variation in visible colour. Biophysical models confirm that smaller species gain a greater advantage from high NIR reflectivity in hot, arid environments, reducing water loss from compensatory evaporative cooling by up to 2% body mass per hour. These results highlight the importance of NIR reflectivity for thermal protection, which may become increasingly critical as the frequency of extreme climatic events increases.
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Registered trials
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