Behavioural responses to heat in an arid-zone bird vary with thermal, hygric and social factors.

J R D Whyte, A E McKechnie, J K Crossley, S J Cunningham

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Oecologia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

J R D WhyteFitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

A E McKechnieDSI-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. aemckechnie@zoology.up.ac.za.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1524-1021

J K CrossleyFitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

S J CunninghamFitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9934-2585

Funding

National Research Foundation 204221942

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The severity of fitness costs resulting from behavioural trade-offs between heat dissipation and activities such as foraging is increasing with advancing climate change. In terrestrial habitats, shade and water may buffer individuals from the negative effects of heat exposure, as may load-lightening in group-living species. We tested the hypothesis that thermal and hygric properties of home ranges (shade and water availability) and social factors (group size) influence the costs associated with hot weather, using a population of white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali) in the southern Kalahari Desert. Across all sparrow-weaver groups, heat avoidance (shade-seeking) and dissipation (panting) behaviours increased with increasing air temperature (T

Indexed as

Hot TemperatureAnimalsBehavior, AnimalClimate ChangeEcosystemSocial FactorsSparrowsClimate changeMicrohabitatPlocepasser mahaliThermoregulationWhite-browed sparrow-weaver

Identifiers

PMID41940883

DOI10.1007/s00442-026-05888-4

PMCPMC13053412

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.