RT24: Toward a better understanding of the role of the hindgut in water and sodium balance in birds

¹Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA, e-mail ejbraun@u.arizona.edu; ²University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Braun, E.J. & Hughes, M.R. 1999. Toward a better understanding of the role of the hindgut in water and sodium balance in birds. In: Adams, N.J. & Slotow, R.H. (eds) Proc. 22 Int. Ornithol. Congr., Durban: 3203. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa.

In our RTD there will be two presenters; one (Braun) to outline the possible hindgut (cloaca, rectum, and ceca) contribution to fluid and electrolyte balance in birds without salt glands and the other (Hughes) to do the same for birds with salt glands. These will be very brief (10 min) and will include questions that will direct the RTD and audience. Other participants will be David Goldstein (USA), Juliet Roberts (Australia), and Erik Skadhauge (Denmark). Questions will be directed toward evaluating the positive and negative aspects of current techniques used to study hindgut contribution to osmoregulation. We hope this RTD will better define the questions to be asked in future experiments and to suggest ways to improve the design of these experiments to gain better insights into the integrative roles of the kidneys, salt glands, and the hindgut in the regulation fluid and electrolyte balance in birds