Visual Evaluation of Tibiotarsus and Femur Marrows as a Method of Estimating Nutritive Conditions of Short-tailed Shearwaters

Abstract

Dry weights of the tibiotarsus and femur marrows expressed as percentages of their fresh weights were found to be good indices of the physical condition of shorttailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris). Although the marrow values of tibiotarsus and femur were almost equal and did not differ by more than 10% of dry weight, the tibiotarsus may be more suited for nutritive evaluation, because it contains more marrow than the femur. The visual examination of marrow taken from the tibiotarsus and femur was reliable for discerning starved or nonstarved condition of the birds.