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McGrosky A, Pontzer H. The fire of evolution: energy expenditure and ecology in primates and other endotherms. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:297166. [PMID: 36916459 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
Total energy expenditure (TEE) represents the total energy allocated to growth, reproduction and body maintenance, as well as the energy expended on physical activity. Early experimental work in animal energetics focused on the costs of specific tasks (basal metabolic rate, locomotion, reproduction), while determination of TEE was limited to estimates from activity budgets or measurements of subjects confined to metabolic chambers. Advances in recent decades have enabled measures of TEE in free-living animals, challenging traditional additive approaches to understanding animal energy budgets. Variation in lifestyle and activity level can impact individuals' TEE on short time scales, but interspecific differences in TEE are largely shaped by evolution. Here, we review work on energy expenditure across the animal kingdom, with a particular focus on endotherms, and examine recent advances in primate energetics. Relative to other placental mammals, primates have low TEE, which may drive their slow pace of life and be an evolved response to the challenges presented by their ecologies and environments. TEE variation among hominoid primates appears to reflect adaptive shifts in energy throughput and allocation in response to ecological pressures. As the taxonomic breadth and depth of TEE data expand, we will be able to test additional hypotheses about how energy budgets are shaped by environmental pressures and explore the more proximal mechanisms that drive intra-specific variation in energy expenditure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda McGrosky
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.,Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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2
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Grunst AS, Grunst ML, Grémillet D, Kato A, Bustamante P, Albert C, Brisson-Curadeau É, Clairbaux M, Cruz-Flores M, Gentès S, Perret S, Ste-Marie E, Wojczulanis-Jakubas K, Fort J. Mercury Contamination Challenges the Behavioral Response of a Keystone Species to Arctic Climate Change. Environ Sci Technol 2023; 57:2054-2063. [PMID: 36652233 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Combined effects of multiple, climate change-associated stressors are of mounting concern, especially in Arctic ecosystems. Elevated mercury (Hg) exposure in Arctic animals could affect behavioral responses to changes in foraging landscapes caused by climate change, generating interactive effects on behavior and population resilience. We investigated this hypothesis in little auks (Alle alle), a keystone Arctic seabird. We compiled behavioral data for 44 birds across 5 years using accelerometers while also quantifying blood Hg and environmental conditions. Warm sea surface temperature (SST) and low sea ice coverage reshaped time activity budgets (TABs) and diving patterns, causing decreased resting, increased flight, and longer dives. Mercury contamination was not associated with TABs. However, highly contaminated birds lengthened interdive breaks when making long dives, suggesting Hg-induced physiological limitations. As dive durations increased with warm SST, subtle toxicological effects threaten to increasingly constrain diving and foraging efficiency as climate change progresses, with ecosystem-wide repercussions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S Grunst
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Melissa L Grunst
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - David Grémillet
- CEFE, UMR 5175, CNRS─Université de Montpellier─Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier─EPHE, Montpellier 34090, France
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7701, South Africa
| | - Akiko Kato
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, Paris 75005, France
| | - Céline Albert
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Émile Brisson-Curadeau
- McGill University─Macdonald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Dr, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Manon Clairbaux
- School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences, University College Cork, Cork T23 N73K, Ireland
- MaREI Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork P43 C573, Ireland
| | - Marta Cruz-Flores
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Sophie Gentès
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
| | - Samuel Perret
- CEFE, UMR 5175, CNRS─Université de Montpellier─Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier─EPHE, Montpellier 34090, France
| | - Eric Ste-Marie
- McGill University─Macdonald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Dr, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada
| | | | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, La Rochelle FR-17000, France
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3
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Patterson A, Gilchrist HG, Benjaminsen S, Bolton M, Bonnet-Lebrun AS, Davoren GK, Descamps S, Erikstad KE, Frederiksen M, Gaston AJ, Gulka J, Hentati-Sundberg J, Huffeldt NP, Johansen KL, Labansen AL, Linnebjerg JF, Love OP, Mallory ML, Merkel FR, Montevecchi WA, Mosbech A, Olsson O, Owen E, Ratcliffe N, Regular PM, Reiertsen TK, Ropert-Coudert Y, Strøm H, Thórarinsson TL, Elliott KH. Foraging range scales with colony size in high-latitude seabirds. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3800-3807.e3. [PMID: 35870447 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Density-dependent prey depletion around breeding colonies has long been considered an important factor controlling the population dynamics of colonial animals.1-4 Ashmole proposed that as seabird colony size increases, intraspecific competition leads to declines in reproductive success, as breeding adults must spend more time and energy to find prey farther from the colony.1 Seabird colony size often varies over several orders of magnitude within the same species and can include millions of individuals per colony.5,6 As such, colony size likely plays an important role in determining the individual behavior of its members and how the colony interacts with the surrounding environment.6 Using tracking data from murres (Uria spp.), the world's most densely breeding seabirds, we show that the distribution of foraging-trip distances scales to colony size0.33 during the chick-rearing stage, consistent with Ashmole's halo theory.1,2 This pattern occurred across colonies varying in size over three orders of magnitude and distributed throughout the North Atlantic region. The strong relationship between colony size and foraging range means that the foraging areas of some colonial species can be estimated from colony sizes, which is more practical to measure over a large geographic scale. Two-thirds of the North Atlantic murre population breed at the 16 largest colonies; by extrapolating the predicted foraging ranges to sites without tracking data, we show that only two of these large colonies have significant coverage as marine protected areas. Our results are an important example of how theoretical models, in this case, Ashmole's version of central-place-foraging theory, can be applied to inform conservation and management in colonial breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Boulevard, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada.
| | - H Grant Gilchrist
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Sigurd Benjaminsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Mark Bolton
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK
| | | | - Gail K Davoren
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Sébastien Descamps
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, PO Box 6606 Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Kjell Einar Erikstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, 9296 Tromsø, Norway; Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Morten Frederiksen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Anthony J Gaston
- Laskeek Bay Conservation Society, Queen Charlotte, PO Box 867, Queen Charlotte, BC V0T 1S0, Canada
| | - Julia Gulka
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - Jonas Hentati-Sundberg
- Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - Nicholas Per Huffeldt
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | | | - Aili Lage Labansen
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
| | | | - Oliver P Love
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Mark L Mallory
- Biology, Acadia University, 15 University Avenue, Wolfville, NS B4P 2R6, Canada
| | - Flemming Ravn Merkel
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark; Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lysekil, Sweden
| | - William A Montevecchi
- Psychology and Biology Departments, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Anders Mosbech
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Olof Olsson
- Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ellie Owen
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, UK
| | - Norman Ratcliffe
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Paul M Regular
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | | | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS - La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Hallvard Strøm
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, PO Box 6606 Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Boulevard, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
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Kahane-Rapport SR, Whelan S, Ammendolia J, Hatch SA, Elliott KH, Jacobs S. Food supply and individual quality influence seabird energy expenditure and reproductive success. Oecologia 2022; 199:367-376. [PMID: 35716234 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05191-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Breeding animals trade off maximizing energy output to increase their number of offspring with conserving energy to ensure their own survival, leading to an energetic ceiling influenced by external, environmental factors or by internal, physiological factors. We examined whether internal or external factors limited energy expenditure by supplementally feeding breeding black-legged kittiwakes varying in individual quality, based on earlier work that defined late breeders as low-quality and early breeders as high-quality individuals. We tested whether energy expenditure increased when food availability decreased in both low- and high-quality birds; we predicted this would only occur in high-quality individuals capable of sustaining high levels of energy expenditure. Here, we find that food-supplemented birds expended less energy than control birds because they spent more time at the colony. However, foraging trips of food-supplemented birds were only slightly shorter than control birds, implying that food-supplemented birds were limited by food availability at sea similarly to control birds. Late breeders expended less energy, suggesting that low-quality individuals may not intake the energy necessary for sustaining high-energy output. Food-supplemented birds had more offspring than control birds, but offspring number did not influence energy expenditure, supporting the idea that the birds reached an energy ceiling. Males and lighter birds expended more energy, possibly compensating for relatively higher energy intake. Chick-rearing birds were working near their maximum, with highest levels of expenditure for early-laying (high-quality) individuals foraging at sea. Due to fluctuating marine environments, kittiwakes may be forced to change their foraging behaviors to maintain the balance between reproduction and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirel R Kahane-Rapport
- College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, 92831, USA. .,Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
| | - Shannon Whelan
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Justine Ammendolia
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.,Faculty of Graduate Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Dalhousie University, 6299 South St, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Scott A Hatch
- Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation, Anchorage, AK, 95516, USA
| | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada
| | - Shoshanah Jacobs
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
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Rimbach R, Amireh A, Allen A, Hare B, Guarino E, Kaufman C, Salomons H, Pontzer H. Total energy expenditure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of different ages. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:271194. [PMID: 34350948 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Marine mammals are thought to have an energetically expensive lifestyle because endothermy is costly in marine environments. However, measurements of total energy expenditure (TEE; kcal day-1) are available only for a limited number of marine mammals, because large body size and inaccessible habitats make TEE measurements expensive and difficult to obtain for many taxa. We measured TEE in 10 adult common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) living in natural seawater lagoons at two facilities (Dolphin Research Center and Dolphin Quest) using the doubly labeled water method. We assessed the relative effects of body mass, age and physical activity on TEE. We also examined whether TEE of bottlenose dolphins, and more generally of marine mammals, differs from that expected for their body mass compared with other eutherian mammals, using phylogenetic least squares (PGLS) regressions. There were no differences in body mass or TEE (unadjusted TEE and TEE adjusted for fat-free mass) between dolphins from the two facilities. Our results show that adjusted TEE decreased and fat mass increased with age. Different measures of activity were not related to age, body fat or adjusted TEE. Both PGLS and the non-phylogenetic linear regression indicate that marine mammals have an elevated TEE compared with that of terrestrial mammals. However, bottlenose dolphins expended 17.1% less energy than other marine mammals of similar body mass. The two oldest dolphins (>40 years) showed a lower TEE, similar to the decline in TEE seen in older humans. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show an age-related metabolic decline in a large non-human mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rimbach
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.,School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Ahmad Amireh
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Austin Allen
- Duke University Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Brian Hare
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | | | - Chana Kaufman
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Hannah Salomons
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.,Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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6
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Young KG, Regnault TRH, Guglielmo CG. Extraordinarily rapid proliferation of cultured muscle satellite cells from migratory birds. Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210200. [PMID: 34403643 PMCID: PMC8370802 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory birds experience bouts of muscle growth and depletion as they prepare for, and undertake prolonged flight. Our studies of migratory bird muscle physiology in vitro led to the discovery that sanderling (Calidris alba) muscle satellite cells proliferate more rapidly than other normal cell lines. Here we determined the proliferation rate of muscle satellite cells isolated from five migratory species (sanderling; ruff, Calidris pugnax; western sandpiper, Calidris mauri; yellow-rumped warbler, Setophaga coronata; Swainson's thrush, Catharus ustulatus) from two families (shorebirds and songbirds) and with different migratory strategies. Ruff and sanderling satellite cells exhibited rapid proliferation, with population doubling times of 9.3 ± 1.3 and 11.4 ± 2 h, whereas the remaining species' cell doubling times were greater than or equal to 24 h. The results indicate that the rapid proliferation of satellite cells is not associated with total migration distance but may be related to flight bout duration and interact with lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G. Young
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Timothy R. H. Regnault
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
- Children's Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christopher G. Guglielmo
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract
Seabirds spend most of their lives at sea, except when visiting their breeding sites. Since the thermal conductivity of water is 25 times higher than that of air, seabirds resting on water lose heat and expend a considerable amount of energy for thermoregulation. For example, rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), a medium-sized (480620 g) alcid, spends most of its time floating on the sea. In order to estimate the cost of this behavior in terms of their daily energy expenditure (DEE), we studied rhinoceros auklets breeding on Teuri Island, Hokkaido Japan. We measured their resting metabolic rate (RMR) in air and on water by respirometry, and estimated their DEE by the doubly labeled water method. While RMR on water did not vary significantly between 10C and 15C, it was significantly higher at 5C. Air temperature (5.020.0C) had no effect on RMR. The DEE of free-ranging auklets averaged 1,005.5kJday1 (130.2, n=3). Our results indicate that RMRs are elevated for auklets resting on water, particularly below their lower critical temperature (LCT), compared with in air. Accordingly, spending time above their LCT on water at any time of year will provide enhanced benefits, particularly to seabirds such as rhinoceros auklets which rest a considerable amount of time on water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aika Umeyama
- Laboratory of Environmental Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yasuaki Niizuma
- Laboratory of Environmental Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
| | - Masaki Shirai
- Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Abiko, Chiba, Japan
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Kroeger CE, Crocker DE, Orben RA, Thompson DR, Torres LG, Sagar PM, Sztukowski LA, Andriese T, Costa DP, Shaffer SA. Similar foraging energetics of two sympatric albatrosses despite contrasting life histories and wind-mediated foraging strategies. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/23/jeb228585. [PMID: 33268565 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.228585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the environmental and behavioral factors that influence how organisms maintain energy balance can inform us about their potential resiliency to rapid environmental changes. Flexibility in maintaining energy balance is particularly important to long-lived, central-place foraging seabirds that are constrained when locating food for offspring in a dynamic ocean environment. To understand the role of environmental interactions, behavioral flexibility and morphological constraints on energy balance, we used doubly labeled water to measure the at-sea daily energy expenditure (DEE) of two sympatrically breeding seabirds, Campbell (Thalassarche impavida) and grey-headed (Thalassarche chrysostoma) albatrosses. We found that species and sexes had similar foraging costs, but DEE varied between years for both species and sexes during early chick rearing in two consecutive seasons. For both species, greater DEE was positively associated with larger proportional mass gain, lower mean wind speeds during water take-offs, greater proportions of strong tailwinds (>12 m s-1), and younger chick age. Greater proportional mass gains were marginally more costly in male albatrosses that already have higher wing loading. DEE was higher during flights with a greater proportion of strong headwinds for grey-headed albatrosses only. Poleward winds are forecasted to intensify over the next century, which may increase DEE for grey-headed albatrosses that heavily use this region during early chick rearing. Female Campbell albatrosses may be negatively affected by forecasted slackening winds at lower latitudes due to an expected greater reliance on less energy efficient sit-and-wait foraging strategies. Behavioral plasticity associated with environmental variation may influence future population responses to climate change of both species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E Kroeger
- Department of Ocean Sciences, 1156 High Street, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Daniel E Crocker
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, 1801 E Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA
| | - Rachael A Orben
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - David R Thompson
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), 301 Evans Bay Parade, Hataitai, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Leigh G Torres
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - Paul M Sagar
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA), 10 Kyle Street, Riccarton, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
| | - Lisa A Sztukowski
- Marine Biology & Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.,Department Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, PO Box 10007, Saipan, MP 96950
| | - Timothy Andriese
- Department of Biological Sciences, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
| | - Daniel P Costa
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95062, USA
| | - Scott A Shaffer
- Department of Biological Sciences, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
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Chimienti M, Desforges J, Beumer LT, Nabe-nielsen J, van Beest FM, Schmidt NM. Energetics as common currency for integrating high resolution activity patterns into dynamic energy budget-individual based models. Ecol Modell 2020; 434:109250. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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10
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Gillies N, Fayet AL, Padget O, Syposz M, Wynn J, Bond S, Evry J, Kirk H, Shoji A, Dean B, Freeman R, Guilford T. Short-term behavioural impact contrasts with long-term fitness consequences of biologging in a long-lived seabird. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15056. [PMID: 32929167 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72199-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Biologging has emerged as one of the most powerful and widely used technologies in ethology and ecology, providing unprecedented insight into animal behaviour. However, attaching loggers to animals may alter their behaviour, leading to the collection of data that fails to represent natural activity accurately. This is of particular concern in free-ranging animals, where tagged individuals can rarely be monitored directly. One of the most commonly reported measures of impact is breeding success, but this ignores potential short-term alterations to individual behaviour. When collecting ecological or behavioural data, such changes can have important consequences for the inference of results. Here, we take a multifaceted approach to investigate whether tagging leads to short-term behavioural changes, and whether these are later reflected in breeding performance, in a pelagic seabird. We analyse a long-term dataset of tracking data from Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus), comparing the effects of carrying no device, small geolocator (GLS) devices (0.6% body mass), large Global Positioning System (GPS) devices (4.2% body mass) and a combination of the two (4.8% body mass). Despite exhibiting normal breeding success in both the year of tagging and the following year, incubating birds carrying GPS devices altered their foraging behaviour compared to untagged birds. During their foraging trips, GPS-tagged birds doubled their time away from the nest, experienced reduced foraging gains (64% reduction in mass gained per day) and reduced flight time by 14%. These findings demonstrate that the perceived impacts of device deployment depends on the scale over which they are sought: long-term measures, such as breeding success, can obscure finer-scale behavioural change, potentially limiting the validity of using GPS to infer at-sea behaviour when answering behavioural or ecological questions.
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Birnie-Gauvin K, Lennox RJ, Guglielmo CG, Teffer AK, Crossin GT, Norris DR, Aarestrup K, Cooke SJ. The Value of Experimental Approaches in Migration Biology. Physiol Biochem Zool 2020; 93:210-226. [DOI: 10.1086/708455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Dunn RE, Wanless S, Daunt F, Harris MP, Green JA. A year in the life of a North Atlantic seabird: behavioural and energetic adjustments during the annual cycle. Sci Rep 2020; 10:5993. [PMID: 32265524 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62842-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
During their annual cycles, animals face a series of energetic challenges as they prioritise different life history events by engaging in temporally and potentially spatially segregated reproductive and non-breeding periods. Investigating behaviour and energy use across these periods is fundamental to understanding how animals survive the changing conditions associated with annual cycles. We estimated year-round activity budgets, energy expenditure, location, colony attendance and foraging behaviour for surviving individuals from a population of common guillemots Uria aalge. Despite the potential constraints of reduced day lengths and sea surface temperatures in winter, guillemots managed their energy expenditure throughout the year. Values were high prior to and during the breeding season, driven by a combination of high thermoregulatory costs, diving activity, colony attendance and associated flight. Guillemots also exhibited partial colony attendance outside the breeding season, likely supported by local resources. Additionally, there was a mismatch in the timing of peaks in dive effort and a peak in nocturnal foraging activity, indicating that guillemots adapted their foraging behaviour to the availability of prey rather than daylight. Our study identifies adaptations in foraging behaviour and flexibility in activity budgets as mechanisms that enable guillemots to manage their energy expenditure and survive the annual cycle.
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Wagner GF, Mourocq E, Griesser M. Distribution of Experimentally Increased Costs of Parental Care Among Family Members Depends on Duration of Offspring Care in Biparental Birds. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Jimenez AG, O'Connor ES, Elliott KH. Muscle myonuclear domain, but not oxidative stress, decreases with age in a long-lived seabird with high activity costs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.211185. [PMID: 31488626 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.211185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In birds, many physiological parameters appear to remain constant with increasing age, showing no deterioration until 'catastrophic' mortality sets in. Given their high whole-organism metabolic rate and the importance of flight in foraging and predator avoidance, flight muscle deterioration and accumulated oxidative stress and tissue deterioration may be an important contributor to physiological senescence in wild birds. As a by-product of aerobic respiration, reactive oxygen species are produced and can cause structural damage within cells. The anti-oxidant system deters oxidative damage to macromolecules. We examined oxidative stress and muscle ultrastructure in thick-billed murres aged 8 to 37 years (N=50) in pectoralis muscle biopsies. When considered in general linear models with body mass, body size and sex, no oxidative stress parameter varied with age. In contrast, there was a decrease in myonuclear domain similar to that seen in human muscle aging. We conclude that for wild birds with very high flight activity levels, muscle ultrastructural changes may be an important contributor to demographic senescence. Such gradual, linear declines in muscle morphology may eventually contribute to 'catastrophic' failure in foraging or predator avoidance abilities, leading to demographic senescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Gabriela Jimenez
- Colgate University, Department of Biology, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA
| | - Erin S O'Connor
- Colgate University, Department of Biology, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, USA
| | - Kyle H Elliott
- McGill University, Department of Natural Resources Sciences, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada, H9X 3L9
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15
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Affiliation(s)
- Anusha Shankar
- Stony Brook University Stony Brook NY USA
- WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland
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16
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Hicks O, Burthe SJ, Daunt F, Newell M, Butler A, Ito M, Sato K, Green JA. The energetic cost of parasitism in a wild population. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2018.0489. [PMID: 29848646 PMCID: PMC5998108 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites have profound fitness effects on their hosts, yet these are often sub-lethal, making them difficult to understand and quantify. A principal sub-lethal mechanism that reduces fitness is parasite-induced increase in energetic costs of specific behaviours, potentially resulting in changes to time and energy budgets. However, quantifying the influence of parasites on these costs has not been undertaken in free-living animals. We used accelerometers to estimate energy expenditure on flying, diving and resting, in relation to a natural gradient of endo-parasite loads in a wild population of European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis. We found that flight costs were 10% higher in adult females with higher parasite loads and these individuals spent 44% less time flying than females with lower parasite loads. There was no evidence for an effect of parasite load on daily energy expenditure, suggesting the existence of an energy ceiling, with the increase in cost of flight compensated for by a reduction in flight duration. These behaviour specific costs of parasitism will have knock-on effects on reproductive success, if constraints on foraging behaviour detrimentally affect provisioning of young. The findings emphasize the importance of natural parasite loads in shaping the ecology and life-history of their hosts, which can have significant population level consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Hicks
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
| | - Sarah J Burthe
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Francis Daunt
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Mark Newell
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Adam Butler
- Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, James Clerk Maxwell Building, The King's Buildings, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
| | - Motohiro Ito
- Department of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tokyo University, 1-1-1 Izumino, Itakura-machi, Ora-gun, Gunma 374-0193, Japan
| | - Katsufumi Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, 277-8564, Japan
| | - Jonathan A Green
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
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Patterson A, Gilchrist HG, Chivers L, Hatch S, Elliott K. A comparison of techniques for classifying behavior from accelerometers for two species of seabird. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:3030-3045. [PMID: 30962879 PMCID: PMC6434605 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The behavior of many wild animals remains a mystery, as it is difficult to quantify behavior of species that cannot be easily followed throughout their daily or seasonal movements. Accelerometers can solve some of these mysteries, as they collect activity data at a high temporal resolution (<1 s), can be relatively small (<1 g) so they minimally disrupt behavior, and are increasingly capable of recording data for long periods. Nonetheless, there is a need for increased validation of methods to classify animal behavior from accelerometers to promote widespread adoption of this technology in ecology. We assessed the accuracy of six different behavioral assignment methods for two species of seabird, thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). We identified three behaviors using tri-axial accelerometers: standing, swimming, and flying, after classifying diving using a pressure sensor for murres. We evaluated six classification methods relative to independent classifications from concurrent GPS tracking data. We used four variables for classification: depth, wing beat frequency, pitch, and dynamic acceleration. Average accuracy for all methods was >98% for murres, and 89% and 93% for kittiwakes during incubation and chick rearing, respectively. Variable selection showed that classification accuracy did not improve with more than two (kittiwakes) or three (murres) variables. We conclude that simple methods of behavioral classification can be as accurate for classifying basic behaviors as more complex approaches, and that identifying suitable accelerometer metrics is more important than using a particular classification method when the objective is to develop a daily activity or energy budget. Highly accurate daily activity budgets can be generated from accelerometer data using multiple methods and a small number of accelerometer metrics; therefore, identifying a suitable behavioral classification method should not be a barrier to using accelerometers in studies of seabird behavior and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecCanada
| | - Hugh Grant Gilchrist
- Environment and Climate Change CanadaNational Wildlife Research CentreOttawaOntarioCanada
| | | | - Scott Hatch
- Institute for Seabird Research and ConservationAnchorageAlaska
| | - Kyle Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource SciencesMcGill UniversitySte Anne‐de‐BellevueQuebecCanada
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Halsey LG, Green JA, Twiss SD, Arnold W, Burthe SJ, Butler PJ, Cooke SJ, Grémillet D, Ruf T, Hicks O, Minta KJ, Prystay TS, Wascher CAF, Careau V. Flexibility, variability and constraint in energy management patterns across vertebrate taxa revealed by long‐term heart rate measurements. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lewis G. Halsey
- Department of Life SciencesUniversity of Roehampton London UK
| | - Jonathan A. Green
- School of Environmental SciencesUniversity of Liverpool Liverpool UK
| | - Sean D. Twiss
- Department of BiosciencesDurham University Durham UK
| | - Walter Arnold
- Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife EcologyUniversity of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria
| | - Sarah J. Burthe
- Centre for Ecology & HydrologyBush Estate Penicuik Midlothian UK
| | | | | | - David Grémillet
- CEFE UMR 5175CNRS – Université de Montpellier – Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier – EPHE Montpellier France
| | - Thomas Ruf
- Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife EcologyUniversity of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Austria
| | - Olivia Hicks
- School of Environmental SciencesUniversity of Liverpool Liverpool UK
| | | | | | | | - Vincent Careau
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Ottawa Ottawa ON Canada
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19
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Hicks O, Burthe SJ, Daunt F, Newell M, Chastel O, Parenteau C, Green JA. The role of parasitism in the energy management of a free-ranging bird. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.190066. [PMID: 30397174 PMCID: PMC6307876 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.190066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Parasites often prompt sub-lethal costs to their hosts by eliciting immune responses. These costs can be hard to quantify but are crucial to our understanding of the host's ecology. Energy is a fundamental currency to quantify these costs, as energetic trade-offs often exist between key fitness-related processes. Daily energy expenditure (DEE) comprises of resting metabolic rate (RMR) and energy available for activity, which are linked via the energy management strategy of an organism. Parasitism may play a role in the balance between self-maintenance and activity, as immune costs can be expressed in elevated RMR. Therefore, understanding energy use in the presence of parasitism enables mechanistic elucidation of potential parasite costs. Using a gradient of natural parasite load and proxies for RMR and DEE in a wild population of breeding European shags (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), we tested the effect of parasitism on maintenance costs as well as the relationship between proxies for RMR and DEE. We found a positive relationship between parasite load and our RMR proxy in females but not males, and no relationship between proxies for RMR and DEE. This provides evidence for increased maintenance costs in individuals with higher parasite loads and suggests the use of an allocation energy management strategy, whereby an increase to RMR creates restrictions on energy allocation to other activities. This is likely to have fitness consequences as energy allocated to immunity is traded off against reproduction. Our findings demonstrate that understanding energy management strategies alongside fitness drivers is central to understanding the mechanisms by which these drivers influence individual fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Hicks
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
| | - Sarah J Burthe
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Francis Daunt
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Mark Newell
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 - CNRS & Université de La Rochelle, FR-79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Charline Parenteau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 - CNRS & Université de La Rochelle, FR-79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Jonathan A Green
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK
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20
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Fowler MA, Paquet M, Legault V, Cohen AA, Williams TD. Physiological predictors of reproductive performance in the European Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris). Front Zool 2018; 15:45. [PMID: 30479645 PMCID: PMC6249724 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-018-0288-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Background It is widely assumed that variation in fitness components has a physiological basis that might underlie selection on trade-offs, but the mechanisms driving decreased survival and future fecundity remain elusive. Here, we assessed whether physiological variables are related to workload ability or immediate fitness consequences and if they mediate future survival or reproductive success. We used data on 13 physiological variables measured in 93 female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) at two breeding stages (incubation, chick-rearing), for first-and second-broods over two years (152 observations). Results There was little co-variation among the physiological variables, either in incubating or chick-rearing birds, but some systematic physiological differences between the two stages. Chick-rearing birds had lower hematocrit and plasma creatine kinase but higher hemoglobin, triglyceride and uric acid levels. Only plasma corticosterone was repeatable between incubation and chick-rearing. We assessed relationships between incubation or chick-rearing physiology and measures of workload, current productivity, future fecundity or survival in a univariate manner, and found very few significant relationships. Thus, we next explored the utility of multivariate analysis (principal components analysis, Mahalanobis distance) to account for potentially complex physiological integration, but still found no clear associations. Conclusions This implies either that a) birds maintained physiological variables within a homeostatic range that did not affect their performance, b) there are relatively few links between physiology and performance, or, more likely, c) that the complexity of these relationships exceeds our ability to measure it. Variability in ecological context may complicate the relationship between physiology and behavior. We thus urge caution regarding the over-interpretation of isolated significant findings, based on single traits in single years, in the literature. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12983-018-0288-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda A Fowler
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada.,Present address: Springfield College Biology, 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109-3797 USA
| | - Mélissa Paquet
- 3Groupe de recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4 Canada
| | - Véronique Legault
- 3Groupe de recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4 Canada
| | - Alan A Cohen
- 3Groupe de recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4 Canada
| | - Tony D Williams
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada
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21
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Jakubas D, Iliszko LM, Strøm H, Helgason HH, Stempniewicz L. Flexibility of foraging strategies of the great skua Stercorarius skua breeding in the largest colony in the Barents Sea region. Front Zool 2018; 15:9. [PMID: 29588648 PMCID: PMC5865383 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-018-0257-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Foraging strategies of seabird species often vary considerably between and within individuals. This variability is influenced by a multitude of factors including age, sex, stage of annual life cycle, reproductive status, individual specialization and environmental conditions. Results Using GPS-loggers, we investigated factors affecting foraging flight characteristics (total duration, maximal range, total distance covered) of great skuas Stercorarius skua of known sex breeding on Bjørnøya, Svalbard, the largest colony in the Barents Sea region. We examined influence of sex (females are larger than males), phase of breeding (incubation, chick-rearing), reproductive status (breeders, failed breeders) and bird ID (they are known for individual foraging specialization). Our analyses revealed that only bird ID affected foraging flight characteristics significantly, indicating a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized three main groups of individuals: 1) those preying mainly on other seabirds in the breeding colonies (6%), 2) those foraging at sea (76%) and kleptoparasiting other seabirds and/or foraging on fish and/or offal discarded by fishing vessels, and 3) those alternating between preying on other seabirds in breeding colonies and foraging at sea (18%). Despite marked size sexual dimorphism, we found no apparent sex differences in flight characteristics. Birds after egg- or chick-loss and thus not constrained as central foragers did not modify their foraging flights. Conclusions Great skuas breeding on Bjørnøya displayed a high degree of plasticity regardless of sex, reproductive status or phase of breeding. We recognized groups of individuals regularly preying in the seabird colonies, foraging at sea, and alternating between both strategies. This suggests foraging specialization of some individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dariusz Jakubas
- 1Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, PL Poland
| | - Lech M Iliszko
- 1Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, PL Poland
| | - Hallvard Strøm
- 2Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Postboks 6606, Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Halfdan H Helgason
- 2Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Postboks 6606, Langnes, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Lech Stempniewicz
- 1Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, PL Poland
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22
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Grémillet D, Lescroël A, Ballard G, Dugger KM, Massaro M, Porzig EL, Ainley DG. Energetic fitness: Field metabolic rates assessed via 3D accelerometry complement conventional fitness metrics. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Grémillet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Université de Montpellier ‐ Université Paul‐Valéry Montpellier ‐ EPHE Montpellier France
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute and DST/NRF Excellence Centre at the University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
| | - Amélie Lescroël
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Université de Montpellier ‐ Université Paul‐Valéry Montpellier ‐ EPHE Montpellier France
- Point Blue Conservation Science Petaluma CA USA
| | | | - Katie M. Dugger
- U.S. Geological Survey Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University Corvallis OR USA
| | - Melanie Massaro
- School of Environmental Sciences Institute of Land, Water and Society Charles Sturt University Albury Australia
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Guindre-Parker S, Rubenstein DR. No short-term physiological costs of offspring care in a cooperatively breeding bird. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb.186569. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.186569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The cost of reproduction results in a life-history trade-off where investment in current reproduction via costly parental care decreases subsequent fitness. Although this trade-off is thought to occur ubiquitously across animals, there is equivocal evidence that parental care behaviours are costly. A major challenge of studying the cost of parental care has been a lack of consensus over which physiological mechanisms underlie this trade-off. Here we compare four traits believed to mediate the cost of parental care by examining whether glucocorticoids, oxidative stress, immune function, or body condition represent a cost of performing offspring care and shape subsequent fitness. We use a 4-year dataset collected in free-living cooperatively breeding superb starlings (Lamprotornis superbus), a species in which parental and alloparental care effort varies widely among individuals and across years. Our results showed that within-individual change in physiology was unrelated to investment in offspring care, and physiological state during chick-rearing did not predict the likelihood that an individual would breeding in subsequent seasons. Instead, individuals that had elevated baseline corticosterone during incubation performed more nest guarding, suggesting that this hormone may play a preparatory role for investing in offspring care. Together, our results indicate that superb starlings modify their investment in offspring care according to their physiological state during incubation, despite no evidence of a short-term physiological cost of parental or alloparental care. Thus, breeding cooperatively appears to provide individuals with the flexibility to adjust their investment in offspring care and overcome any potential costs of reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Guindre-Parker
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi
| | - Dustin R. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi
- Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Johns DW, Marchant TA, Fairhurst GD, Speakman JR, Clark RG. Biomarker of burden: Feather corticosterone reflects energetic expenditure and allostatic overload in captive waterfowl. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David W. Johns
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Canada
| | | | - Graham D. Fairhurst
- Department of Veterinary PathologyUniversity of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Canada
| | - John R. Speakman
- Institute of Biochemical and Environmental SciencesUniversity of Aberdeen Aberdeen UK
- Institute of Genetics and Developmental BiologyChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Robert G. Clark
- Department of BiologyUniversity of Saskatchewan Saskatoon Canada
- Prairie and Northern Wildlife Research CentreEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaSaskatoonCanada
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25
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Abstract
Costs of reproduction are an integral and long-standing component of life-history theory, but we still know relatively little about the specific physiological mechanisms underlying these trade-offs. We experimentally manipulated workload during parental care in female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) using attachment of radios and/or wing clipping and assessed measures of workload, current breeding productivity, future fecundity, and survival (local return rate) in relation to treatment. Females with wing clipping and radio attachment paid a clear cost of reproduction compared with all other treatment groups: they had lower future fecundity and lower return rates despite having lower current breeding productivity. We then measured 13 physiological traits, including measures of aerobic/metabolic capacity, oxidative stress and muscle damage, intermediary metabolism and energy supply, and immune function. Our results show that the cost of reproduction in females with wing clipping and radio attachment was associated with lower oxygen-carrying capacity (lower hematocrit and hemoglobin levels), lower energy reserves (plasma nonesterified fatty acid and triglyceride levels), decreased immune function (lower haptoglobin levels), and elevated levels of oxidative stress (higher levels of dROMs [reactive oxygen metabolites] and lower levels of the endogenous antioxidant uric acid). Our study provides evidence that costs of reproduction involve a widespread decline in physiological function across multiple physiological systems consistent with long-standing ideas of cumulative "wear and tear" and allostatic load.
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Maggini I, Kennedy LV, Macmillan A, Elliott KH, Dean K, Guglielmo CG. Light oiling of feathers increases flight energy expenditure in a migratory shorebird. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:2372-2379. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.158220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Flying birds depend on their feathers to undertake most activities, and maintain them in peak condition through periodic molt and frequent preening. Even small exposures to crude oil reduce the integrity of feathers, and could impair flight performance. We trained wild western sandpipers (Calidris mauri) to perform endurance flights in a wind tunnel, and used magnetic resonance body composition analysis to measure energy expenditure after birds were exposed to weathered MC252 crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The cost of transport was 0.26±0.04 kJ km−1 in controls, and increased by 22% when the trailing edges of the wing and tail were oiled (<20% of body surface; considered light oiling). Additional crude oil on breast and back feathers (∼30% total surface; moderate oiling) increased the cost of transport by 45% above controls. Oiling tended to decrease flight control, and only half of moderately oiled birds completed the flight test. We then flew birds at a range of speeds to estimate basic kinematic parameters. At low speeds, light and moderately oiled birds had larger wingbeat amplitudes than controls, while moderately oiled birds showed greater wingbeat frequencies across all speeds, and a shift in optimal flight speed towards higher wind speeds. We suggest these changes reflect poorer lift production and increased drag on the wings and body. Oiling will increase the difficulty and energy costs of locomotion for daily and seasonal activities such as foraging, predator evasion, territory defense, courtship, chick provisioning, commuting and long-distance migration. These sub-lethal effects must be considered in oil spill impact assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Maggini
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G9
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa V. Kennedy
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G9
| | - Alexander Macmillan
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G9
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G9
| | - Karen Dean
- Abt Associates, 1881 Ninth Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - Christopher G. Guglielmo
- Department of Biology, Advanced Facility for Avian Research, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G9
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Elliott KH, Linnebjerg JF, Burke C, Gaston AJ, Mosbech A, Frederiksen M, Merkel F. Variation in Growth Drives the Duration of Parental Care: A Test of Ydenberg's Model. Am Nat 2017; 189:526-538. [PMID: 28410026 DOI: 10.1086/691097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The duration of parental care in animals varies widely, from none to lifelong. Such variation is typically thought to represent a trade-off between growth and safety. Seabirds show wide variation in the age at which offspring leave the nest, making them ideal to test the idea that a trade-off between high energy gain at sea and high safety at the nest drives variation in departure age (Ydenberg's model). To directly test the model assumptions, we attached time-depth recorders to murre parents (fathers [which do all parental care at sea] and mothers; [Formula: see text] of each). Except for the initial mortality experienced by chicks departing from the colony, the mortality rate at sea was similar to the mortality rate at the colony. However, energy gained by the chick per day was ∼2.1 times as high at sea compared with at the colony because the father spent more time foraging, since he no longer needed to spend time commuting to and from the colony. Compared with the mother, the father spent ∼2.6 times as much time diving per day and dived in lower-quality foraging patches. We provide a simple model for optimal departure date based on only (1) the difference in growth rate at sea relative to the colony and (2) the assumption that transition mortality from one life-history stage to the other is size dependent. Apparently, large variation in the duration of parental care can arise simply as a result of variation in energy gain without any trade-off with safety.
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Gallagher AJ, Skubel RA, Pethybridge HR, Hammerschlag N. Energy metabolism in mobile, wild-sampled sharks inferred by plasma lipids. Conserv Physiol 2017; 5:cox002. [PMID: 28852506 PMCID: PMC5570055 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Revised: 12/28/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Evaluating how predators metabolize energy is increasingly useful for conservation physiology, as it can provide information on their current nutritional condition. However, obtaining metabolic information from mobile marine predators is inherently challenging owing to their relative rarity, cryptic nature and often wide-ranging underwater movements. Here, we investigate aspects of energy metabolism in four free-ranging shark species (n = 281; blacktip, bull, nurse, and tiger) by measuring three metabolic parameters [plasma triglycerides (TAG), free fatty acids (FFA) and cholesterol (CHOL)] via non-lethal biopsy sampling. Plasma TAG, FFA and total CHOL concentrations (in millimoles per litre) varied inter-specifically and with season, year, and shark length varied within a species. The TAG were highest in the plasma of less active species (nurse and tiger sharks), whereas FFA were highest among species with relatively high energetic demands (blacktip and bull sharks), and CHOL concentrations were highest in bull sharks. Although temporal patterns in all metabolites were varied among species, there appeared to be peaks in the spring and summer, with ratios of TAG/CHOL (a proxy for condition) in all species displaying a notable peak in summer. These results provide baseline information of energy metabolism in large sharks and are an important step in understanding how the metabolic parameters can be assessed through non-lethal sampling in the future. In particular, this study emphasizes the importance of accounting for intra-specific and temporal variability in sampling designs seeking to monitor the nutritional condition and metabolic responses of shark populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin J. Gallagher
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Beneath the Waves, Inc., Miami, FL, USA
| | - Rachel A. Skubel
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | | | - Neil Hammerschlag
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
- Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
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Meitern R, Lind MA, Karu U, Hõrak P. Simple and noninvasive method for assessment of digestive efficiency: Validation of fecal steatocrit in greenfinch coccidiosis model. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8756-8763. [PMID: 28035266 PMCID: PMC5192951 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Revised: 10/04/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals’ capability to absorb energy and nutrients from food poses a major internal constraint that affects the amount of resources available for allocation to maintenance, growth, signaling, and reproduction. Intestinal surface is the largest area of contact between immune system and microbial antigens; gut thus appears the main arena where trade‐offs between immune function and other components of fitness arise. Assessment of the integrity of digestive machinery should therefore be of high priority in ecophysiological research. Traditional methods of digestive physiology, however, appear unsuitable for most ecological applications due to lethality or complexity of the procedure. Here, we test the reliability of a simple, cheap, and noninvasive procedure, an acid steatocrit that assesses fat content in feces. It is based on centrifugation of a fecal sample, diluted in acid medium, in hematocrit capillary tube and quantifying the percentage of fat in fecal matter. The method has been previously validated in humans and mice; here, we apply it for the first time in birds. When applied to captive wild‐caught greenfinches, the method showed reasonable internal consistency (rs = 0.71 for steatocrit values, sampled from the same fecal aliquot in duplicate but processed separately). Individual steatocrit values were significantly repeatable in time in different intervals from eight to at least 20 days (rs = 0.32–0.49). The relationship between intestinal health and steatocrit values was tested by experimental manipulations. Medication against coccidiosis (a naturally pervasive intestinal infection) reduced, and experimental infection with heterologous coccidian strains increased steatocrit. Individual changes in steatocrit correlated negatively with changes of two markers of nutritional state—plasma triglyceride levels and body mass. Findings of this study suggest that steatocrit has a wide application potential as a marker of intestinal health in ecophysiological research. In particular, we see the perspective of this method for increasingly popular immunoecological research, conservation medicine, and studies of animal coloration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mari-Ann Lind
- Department of Biology II Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich Planegg-Martinsried Germany
| | - Ulvi Karu
- Department of Zoology Tartu University Tartu Estonia
| | - Peeter Hõrak
- Department of Zoology Tartu University Tartu Estonia
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Urvik J, Meitern R, Rattiste K, Saks L, Hõrak P, Sepp T. Variation in the Markers of Nutritional and Oxidative State in a Long-Lived Seabird: Associations with Age and Longevity. Physiol Biochem Zool 2016; 89:417-40. [PMID: 27617362 DOI: 10.1086/688180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Age-related declines in life-history traits have been widely observed in free-living animals. Several theories link senescence to oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to measure several widely used markers of oxidative and nutritional state in a long-lived seabird, the common gull (Larus canus), in order to assess the suitability of these markers for describing deterioration in physiological condition associated with chronological age and survival. Associations with longevity and individual consistency of these parameters over the years (repeatability) were also assessed. Senescence in fitness parameters was observed during the study period: in females, laying date and clutch mass were related to bird age in a curvilinear manner, with middle-aged birds breeding earlier and laying heavier eggs. The only parameter associated with aging processes was glutathione concentration in erythrocytes, which was lower in female birds with longer life spans. Of indexes of nutritional state, plasma triglyceride concentration showed a between-individual increase with age, suggesting selective mortality of birds with low levels. Additionally, total plasma protein levels of individual males increased with age. The mostly negative results of this study hint that the commonly used parameters of physiological condition and oxidative state used in this study do not adequately reflect an individual's long-term health condition. Alternatively, it is possible that in common gulls, senescence occurs in reproductive mechanisms but not in mechanisms responsible for maintaining an organism's redox balance, consistent with the idea that different aspects of an organism's physiological condition age at different rates. Significant interannual repeatability was detected in three plasma constituents-carotenoids, uric acid, and total protein-all of which can possibly be linked to variation in dietary habits.
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Collins PM, Halsey LG, Arnould JPY, Shaw PJA, Dodd S, Green JA. Energetic consequences of time‐activity budgets for a breeding seabird. J Zool (1987) 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- P. M. Collins
- School of Life Sciences University of Roehampton London UK
| | - L. G. Halsey
- School of Life Sciences University of Roehampton London UK
| | - J. P. Y. Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - P. J. A. Shaw
- School of Life Sciences University of Roehampton London UK
| | - S. Dodd
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds North Wales Office Bangor UK
| | - J. A. Green
- School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
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Elliott KH. Measurement of flying and diving metabolic rate in wild animals: Review and recommendations. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2016; 202:63-77. [PMID: 27264988 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Revised: 05/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Animals' abilities to fly long distances and dive to profound depths fascinate earthbound researchers. Due to the difficulty of making direct measurements during flying and diving, many researchers resort to modeling so as to estimate metabolic rate during each of those activities in the wild, but those models can be inaccurate. Fortunately, the miniaturization, customization and commercialization of biologgers has allowed researchers to increasingly follow animals on their journeys, unravel some of their mysteries and test the accuracy of biomechanical models. I provide a review of the measurement of flying and diving metabolic rate in the wild, paying particular attention to mass loss, doubly-labelled water, heart rate and accelerometry. Biologgers can impact animal behavior and influence the very measurements they are designed to make, and I provide seven guidelines for the ethical use of biologgers. If biologgers are properly applied, quantification of metabolic rate across a range of species could produce robust allometric relationships that could then be generally applied. As measuring flying and diving metabolic rate in captivity is difficult, and often not directly translatable to field conditions, I suggest that applying multiple techniques in the field to reinforce one another may be a viable alternative. The coupling of multi-sensor biologgers with biomechanical modeling promises to improve precision in the measurement of flying and diving metabolic rate in wild animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
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Shoji A, Aris-Brosou S, Owen E, Bolton M, Boyle D, Fayet A, Dean B, Kirk H, Freeman R, Perrins C, Guilford T. Foraging flexibility and search patterns are unlinked during breeding in a free-ranging seabird. Mar Biol 2016; 163:72. [PMID: 27069278 PMCID: PMC4791460 DOI: 10.1007/s00227-016-2826-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Accepted: 01/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In order to maximize foraging efficiency in a varying environment, predators are expected to optimize their search strategy. Environmental conditions are one important factor affecting these movement patterns, but variations in breeding constraints (self-feeding vs. feeding young and self-feeding) during different breeding stages (incubation vs. chick-rearing) are often overlooked, so that the mechanisms responsible for such behavioral shifts are still unknown. Here, to test how search patterns are affected at different breeding stages and to explore the proximate causes of these variations, we deployed data loggers to record both position (global positioning system) and dive activity (time-depth recorders) of a colonial breeding seabird, the razorbill Alca torda. Over a period of 3 years, our recordings of 56 foraging trips from 18 breeders show that while there is no evidence for individual route fidelity, razorbills exhibit higher foraging flexibility during incubation than during chick rearing, when foraging becomes more focused on an area of high primary productivity. We further show that this behavioral shift is not due to a shift in search patterns, as reorientations during foraging are independent of breeding stage. Our results suggest that foraging flexibility and search patterns are unlinked, perhaps because birds can read cues from their environment, including conspecifics, to optimize their foraging efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Shoji
- />Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Stéphane Aris-Brosou
- />Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 Canada
| | - Ellie Owen
- />The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL UK
| | - Mark Bolton
- />The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL UK
| | - Dave Boyle
- />Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Annette Fayet
- />Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Ben Dean
- />Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Holly Kirk
- />Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Robin Freeman
- />Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY UK
| | - Chris Perrins
- />Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
| | - Tim Guilford
- />Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire UK
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Garrido M, Adler VH, Pnini M, Abramsky Z, Krasnov BR, Gutman R, Kronfeld-Schor N, Hawlena H. Time budget, oxygen consumption and body mass responses to parasites in juvenile and adult wild rodents. Parasit Vectors 2016; 9:120. [PMID: 26932152 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1407-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The study of changes in a host’s energy allocation in response to parasites is crucial for understanding parasite impact on both individual- and population-level processes. Experimental studies have explored such responses mainly in a single subsample of hosts per study, primarily adult males, and have only assessed either the overall energy acquisition or expenditure, rather than their different components simultaneously, or the behavioral responses. Accordingly, two fundamental questions arise: why have multiple host strategies evolved to cope with increased energy expenditure? and, which factors determine this variation (e.g. host species, identity, age)? This study provides an important step towards addressing both questions by experimentally disentangling the short-term physiological and behavioral responses of juvenile and non-reproductive adult rodents to natural levels of flea infestation. These two cohorts represent extreme cases of the energy demand continuum, as the former, in contrast to the latter, is involved in growth - a highly energy-demanding process - and may not be able to operate far below its upper limit of energy expenditure, and thus should reduce its energy expenses upon the occurrence of extra demands (e.g. due to parasitic pressure). Accordingly, we hypothesized that the response to fleas is age-dependent and varies according to the age-specific energy requirements and constraints. Methods We monitored the behavior and physiology of juvenile and non-reproductive adult rodents before and after experimental flea infestation. First, we used a model selection approach to search for the factors that best explained the variability in the time budget, oxygen consumption, and body mass change in response to fleas. Then, using a path analysis approach, we quantified the different pathways connecting the important associations revealed at stage 1. Results Compared to their flea-free counterparts, flea-infested adults groomed longer and had a higher oxygen consumption rate, but did not lose body mass. Infested juveniles also groomed longer but grew slower and had a similar rate of oxygen consumption. Conclusions Results suggest that both juvenile and adult rodents suffer from natural flea infestation levels. However, the comparison between the responses of juveniles and adults to experimental infestation, also suggests that juveniles may reallocate their energy expenditure from growth to maintenance, while non-reproductive adults increase their energy acquisition. Such age-dependent responses suggest that juveniles may be constrained by their higher need to rest for full functioning or by an upper limit in energy expenditure. Taken together, our study provides experimental evidence that hosts can compensate for the costs incurred by parasitism through physiological and behavioral plasticity, depending on their age, which probably determines their requirements and constraints. These compensatory responses may have important implications for the population dynamics of hosts and their parasites.
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Shirai M, Niizuma Y, Yamamoto M, Oda E, Ebine N, Oka N, Yoda K. High levels of isotope elimination improve precision and allow individual-based measurements of metabolic rates in animals using the doubly labeled water method. Physiol Rep 2015; 3:3/11/e12552. [PMID: 26611463 PMCID: PMC4673621 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.12552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Doubly labeled water (DLW) can be used to measure energy expenditure in free-ranging animals, but questions have been raised about its accuracy in different species or contexts. We investigated whether differences in the extent of isotope elimination affects the precision and accuracy of the DLW method, which can vary according to the experimental design or metabolic rate of the species. Estimated total energy expenditure by the DLW method (TEEdlw) was compared with actual total energy expenditure simultaneously measured via respirometry (TEEresp) in streaked shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas, a pelagic seabird. Subjects were divided into three groups with different experimental conditions: at rest on the ground for 24 h (Group A) or for 48 h (Group B), and at rest on the water for 24 h (Group C). TEEdlw in Group A matched TEEresp, whereas there was an overestimation of TEEdlw in both Groups B and C compared with TEEresp. However, compared with Group A, TEEdlw in Groups B and C had reduced the isotopic analytical variability and thus higher precision. The best regression model (TEEdlw = 1.37 TEEresp - 14.12) showed a high correlation (R(2) = 0.82) between TEEdlw and TEEresp and allows a correction factor for field metabolic rates in streaked shearwaters. Our results demonstrate that the commonly made assumption that the DLW method is not appropriate for individual-based estimates may be incorrect in certain circumstances. Although a correction factor may be necessary when using the DLW method to estimate metabolic rate, greater levels of isotope eliminations provides DLW estimates with high precision, which can adequately represent relative individual estimates. Nevertheless, the DLW method, should be used with caution when characterizing interspecies difference of energy expenditures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaki Shirai
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Yasuaki Niizuma
- Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University, Tenpaku-ku Nagoya, Japan
| | - Maki Yamamoto
- Department of Bioengineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka Niigata, Japan
| | - Emiko Oda
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Naoyuki Ebine
- Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nariko Oka
- Division of Natural History, Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, Abiko Chiba, Japan
| | - Ken Yoda
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
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Speakman JR, Blount JD, Bronikowski AM, Buffenstein R, Isaksson C, Kirkwood TBL, Monaghan P, Ozanne SE, Beaulieu M, Briga M, Carr SK, Christensen LL, Cochemé HM, Cram DL, Dantzer B, Harper JM, Jurk D, King A, Noguera JC, Salin K, Sild E, Simons MJP, Smith S, Stier A, Tobler M, Vitikainen E, Peaker M, Selman C. Oxidative stress and life histories: unresolved issues and current needs. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:5745-57. [PMID: 26811750 PMCID: PMC4717350 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Life‐history theory concerns the trade‐offs that mold the patterns of investment by animals between reproduction, growth, and survival. It is widely recognized that physiology plays a role in the mediation of life‐history trade‐offs, but the details remain obscure. As life‐history theory concerns aspects of investment in the soma that influence survival, understanding the physiological basis of life histories is related, but not identical, to understanding the process of aging. One idea from the field of aging that has gained considerable traction in the area of life histories is that life‐history trade‐offs may be mediated by free radical production and oxidative stress. We outline here developments in this field and summarize a number of important unresolved issues that may guide future research efforts. The issues are as follows. First, different tissues and macromolecular targets of oxidative stress respond differently during reproduction. The functional significance of these changes, however, remains uncertain. Consequently there is a need for studies that link oxidative stress measurements to functional outcomes, such as survival. Second, measurements of oxidative stress are often highly invasive or terminal. Terminal studies of oxidative stress in wild animals, where detailed life‐history information is available, cannot generally be performed without compromising the aims of the studies that generated the life‐history data. There is a need therefore for novel non‐invasive measurements of multi‐tissue oxidative stress. Third, laboratory studies provide unrivaled opportunities for experimental manipulation but may fail to expose the physiology underpinning life‐history effects, because of the benign laboratory environment. Fourth, the idea that oxidative stress might underlie life‐history trade‐offs does not make specific enough predictions that are amenable to testing. Moreover, there is a paucity of good alternative theoretical models on which contrasting predictions might be based. Fifth, there is an enormous diversity of life‐history variation to test the idea that oxidative stress may be a key mediator. So far we have only scratched the surface. Broadening the scope may reveal new strategies linked to the processes of oxidative damage and repair. Finally, understanding the trade‐offs in life histories and understanding the process of aging are related but not identical questions. Scientists inhabiting these two spheres of activity seldom collide, yet they have much to learn from each other.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Aberdeen Tillydrone Avenue Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Jonathan D Blount
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Cornwall TR10 9FE UK
| | - Anne M Bronikowski
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Iowa State University 251 Bessey Hall Ames Iowa 50011
| | - Rochelle Buffenstein
- Physiology, Barshop Institute for Aging and Longevity Research UTHSCSA 15355 Lambda Drive San Antonio Texas 78245
| | - Caroline Isaksson
- Department of Biology Lund University Solvegatan 37 Lund 223 62 Sweden
| | - Tom B L Kirkwood
- The Newcastle University Institute for Ageing Institute for Cell & Molecular Biosciences Campus for Ageing and Vitality Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL UK
| | - Pat Monaghan
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Graham Kerr Building Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Susan E Ozanne
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Level 4 Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge CB2 0QQ UK
| | - Michaël Beaulieu
- Zoological Institute and Museum University of Greifswald Johann-Sebastian Bach Str. 11/12 Greifswald 17489 Germany
| | - Michael Briga
- Behavioral Biology University of Groningen Nijenborgh 7 Groningen 9747 AG The Netherlands
| | - Sarah K Carr
- University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Level 4 Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge CB2 0QQ UK
| | - Louise L Christensen
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Aberdeen Tillydrone Avenue Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK
| | - Helena M Cochemé
- MRC Clinical Sciences Centre Imperial College London Hammersmith Hospital Campus Du Cane Road London W12 0NN UK
| | - Dominic L Cram
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK
| | - Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109
| | - Jim M Harper
- Department of Biological Sciences Sam Houston State University 1900 Avenue I LDB 100B Huntsville Texas 77341
| | - Diana Jurk
- The Newcastle University Institute for Ageing Institute for Cell & Molecular Biosciences Campus for Ageing and Vitality Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL UK
| | - Annette King
- The Newcastle University Institute for Ageing Institute for Cell & Molecular Biosciences Campus for Ageing and Vitality Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL UK
| | - Jose C Noguera
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Graham Kerr Building Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Karine Salin
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Graham Kerr Building Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Elin Sild
- Department of Biology Lund University Solvegatan 37 Lund 223 62 Sweden
| | - Mirre J P Simons
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank Sheffield S10 2TN UK
| | - Shona Smith
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Graham Kerr Building Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
| | - Antoine Stier
- Department Ecology, Physiology et Ethology University of Strasbourg - IPHC (UMR7178) 23, rue Becquerel Strasbourg 67087 France
| | - Michael Tobler
- Department of Biology Lund University Solvegatan 37 Lund 223 62 Sweden
| | - Emma Vitikainen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Cornwall TR10 9FE UK
| | | | - Colin Selman
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine University of Glasgow Graham Kerr Building Glasgow G12 8QQ UK
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Wojczulanis-jakubas K, Jakubas D, Chastel O, Kulaszewicz I. A big storm in a small body: seasonal changes in body mass, hormone concentrations and leukocyte profile in the little auk (Alle alle). Polar Biol 2015; 38:1203-12. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-015-1687-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Wegmann M, Voegeli B, Richner H. Physiological responses to increased brood size and ectoparasite infestation: Adult great tits favour self-maintenance. Physiol Behav 2015; 141:127-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2014] [Revised: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Regular PM, Hedd A, Montevecchi WA, Robertson GJ, Storey AE, Walsh CJ. Why timing is everything: Energetic costs and reproductive consequences of resource mismatch for a chick-rearing seabird. Ecosphere 2014. [DOI: 10.1890/es14-00182.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Elliott KH, O'Reilly KM, Hatch SA, Gaston AJ, Hare JF, Anderson WG. The prudent parent meets old age: a high stress response in very old seabirds supports the terminal restraint hypothesis. Horm Behav 2014; 66:828-37. [PMID: 25448533 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2014] [Revised: 09/26/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The reproductive success of wild animals usually increases with age before declining at the end of life, but the proximate mechanisms underlying those patterns remain elusive. Young animals are expected to invest less in current reproduction due to high prospects for future reproduction (the "restraint" hypothesis). The oldest animals may also show restraint when conditions are sub-optimal where even a small increase in reproductive investment may lead to death ("terminal restraint"). Alternatively, reproduction may be constrained by lack of experience and senescence (the "constraint" hypothesis). In two species of breeding seabirds, behavioural (time to return the offspring, calmness during restraint) and physiological (metabolism, glucose and corticosterone) parameters responded similarly to stress with advancing age, implying a generalized stress response. Across those parameters, birds were "shy" (high stress response) when young or old, and "bold" (low stress response) when middle-aged. Specifically, free corticosterone, the principal avian glucocorticoid responsible for directing energy away from reproduction and towards immediate survival following stress, was highest in both young and very old stressed birds. All age groups had a similar adrenal capacity to produce corticosterone, implying that middle-aged birds were showing restraint. Because the stress response, was highest at ages when the probability of current reproduction was lowest rather than at ages when the probability of future reproduction was highest we concluded that birds restrained reproductive investment based on current conditions rather than potential future opportunities. In particular, old birds showed terminal restraint when stressed. Hormonal cues promoted investment in adult survival over reproductive output at both the start and end of life consistent with the restraint hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
| | | | - Scott A Hatch
- U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
| | - Anthony J Gaston
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment Canada, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada
| | - James F Hare
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
| | - W Gary Anderson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada
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Elliott KH, Chivers LS, Bessey L, Gaston AJ, Hatch SA, Kato A, Osborne O, Ropert-Coudert Y, Speakman JR, Hare JF. Windscapes shape seabird instantaneous energy costs but adult behavior buffers impact on offspring. Mov Ecol 2014; 2:17. [PMID: 26019870 PMCID: PMC4445632 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-014-0017-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Windscapes affect energy costs for flying animals, but animals can adjust their behavior to accommodate wind-induced energy costs. Theory predicts that flying animals should decrease air speed to compensate for increased tailwind speed and increase air speed to compensate for increased crosswind speed. In addition, animals are expected to vary their foraging effort in time and space to maximize energy efficiency across variable windscapes. RESULTS We examined the influence of wind on seabird (thick-billed murre Uria lomvia and black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla) foraging behavior. Airspeed and mechanical flight costs (dynamic body acceleration and wing beat frequency) increased with headwind speed during commuting flights. As predicted, birds adjusted their airspeed to compensate for crosswinds and to reduce the effect of a headwind, but they could not completely compensate for the latter. As we were able to account for the effect of sampling frequency and wind speed, we accurately estimated commuting flight speed with no wind as 16.6 ms(?1) (murres) and 10.6 ms(?1) (kittiwakes). High winds decreased delivery rates of schooling fish (murres), energy (murres) and food (kittiwakes) but did not impact daily energy expenditure or chick growth rates. During high winds, murres switched from feeding their offspring with schooling fish, which required substantial above-water searching, to amphipods, which required less above-water searching. CONCLUSIONS Adults buffered the adverse effect of high winds on chick growth rates by switching to other food sources during windy days or increasing food delivery rates when weather improved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Hamish Elliott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2N2, Manitoba, Canada
| | | | - Lauren Bessey
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2N2, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Anthony J Gaston
- Environment Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa K1A 0H3, Ontario, Canada
| | - Scott A Hatch
- Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Akiko Kato
- Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel, Strasbourg 67087, France
- CNRS, UMR7178, Strasbourg 67087, France
| | - Orla Osborne
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel, Strasbourg 67087, France
- CNRS, UMR7178, Strasbourg 67087, France
| | - John R Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 West Beichen Road, Chaoyang, Beijing, CN-100101, PR China
| | - James F Hare
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg R3T 2N2, Manitoba, Canada
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Welcker J, Speakman JR, Elliott KH, Hatch SA, Kitaysky AS. Resting and daily energy expenditures during reproduction are adjusted in opposite directions in free‐living birds. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jorg Welcker
- Norwegian Polar Institute Fram Centre N‐9296 Tromsø Norway
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Irving 311Fairbanks Alaska 99775 USA
| | - John R. Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of AberdeenTillydrone Avenue Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences 1 West Beichen RoadChaoyang Beijing China
| | - Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg ManitobaR3T 2N2 Canada
| | - Scott A. Hatch
- Alaska Science Center U.S. Geological Survey 4210 University Drive Anchorage Alaska99508 USA
| | - Alexander S. Kitaysky
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Irving 311Fairbanks Alaska 99775 USA
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Elliott KH, Hare JF, Le Vaillant M, Gaston AJ, Ropert‐Coudert Y, Anderson WG. Ageing gracefully: physiology but not behaviour declines with age in a diving seabird. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle H. Elliott
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba R3T 2N2 Canada
| | - James F. Hare
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba R3T 2N2 Canada
| | - Maryline Le Vaillant
- IPHC Université de Strasbourg 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifiques UMR7178 67037 Strasbourg France
| | - Anthony J. Gaston
- National Wildlife Research Centre Environment Canada Carleton University Ottawa OntarioK1A 0H3 Canada
| | - Yan Ropert‐Coudert
- IPHC Université de Strasbourg 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifiques UMR7178 67037 Strasbourg France
| | - W. Gary Anderson
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Manitoba Winnipeg Manitoba R3T 2N2 Canada
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Shoji A, Elliott KH, O'Reilly KM, Gaston AJ. High corticosterone, not high energy cost, correlates with reproductive success in the burrow-nesting ancient murrelet. PLoS One 2013; 8:e84280. [PMID: 24391929 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2012] [Accepted: 11/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory and observations suggest that offspring abandonment in animals may occur when the costs to future reproductive output of current reproductive effort outweigh the fitness benefits of rearing the current brood. While hormonal cues (i.e. corticosterone) or energy reserves are believed to be involved, few studies have directly focused on the proximate cues influencing behaviours directly related to reproductive success. To address this information gap, we determined the incubation metabolic rates and corticosterone (CORT) levels of naturally fasting and freely incubating ancient murrelets (Synthliboramphus antiquus). Respiratory quotient (RQ) increased with date, suggesting that incubating ancient murrelets shifted from strictly lipid-based metabolism towards more protein-based metabolism as incubation progressed. Birds that hatched only one nestling had higher levels of circulating CORT than those which hatched two, suggesting that birds which laid only a single egg found incubation more stressful than those which laid two. However, CORT levels and incubation shift lengths were not correlated, suggesting that birds that undertook prolonged incubation shifts did so only when their energy stores were not jeopardized.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R. Speakman
- Key State Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing China
- Institute of Biological and Environmental sciences; University of Aberdeen; Aberdeen Scotland UK
| | - Michael Garratt
- Evolution and Ecology Research Group and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of New South Wales; Sydney NSW Australia
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