Food restriction decreases BMR, body and organ mass, and cellular energetics, in the Chinese Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis)

Background Food is an important environmental factor that affects animals’ energy metabolism and food shortage has significant effects on animals’ behavior, physiology and biochemistry. However, to date few studies have focused on the thermogenesis and its effects on the body condition of birds. In this study, we examined the effects of food restriction on the body mass, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body composition, and several physiological, biochemical and molecular markers potentially related to thermogenesis, in the Chinese Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis).