Demographic Responses to Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)
نویسندگان
چکیده
One of the major challenges in ecological research is the elucidation of physiological mechanisms that underlie the demographic traits of wild animals. We have assessed whether a marker of plasma oxidative stress (TBARS) and plasma haptoglobin (protein of the acute inflammatory phase response) measured at time t predict five demographic parameters (survival rate, return rate to the breeding colony, breeding probability, hatching and fledging success) in sexually mature wandering albatrosses over the next four years (Diomedea exulans) using a five-year individual-based dataset. Non-breeder males, but not females, having higher TBARS at time t had reduced future breeding probabilities; haptoglobin was not related to breeding probability. Neither TBARS nor haptoglobin predicted future hatching or fledging success. Haptoglobin had a marginally positive effect on female survival rate, while TBARS had a marginally negative effect on return rate. Our findings do not support the role for oxidative stress as a constraint of future reproductive success in the albatross. However, our data point to a potential mechanism underlying some aspects of reproductive senescence and survival. Our results also highlight that the study of the consequences of oxidative stress should consider the life-cycle stage of an individual and its reproductive history.
منابع مشابه
Global population structure and taxonomy of the wandering albatross species complex.
A recent taxonomic revision of wandering albatross elevated each of the four subspecies to species. We used mitochondrial DNA and nine microsatellite markers to study the phylogenetic relationships of three species (Diomedea antipodensis, D. exulans and D. gibsoni) in the wandering albatross complex. A small number of samples from a fourth species, D. dabbenena, were analysed using mitochondria...
متن کاملCourtship Behaviour of the Wandering Albatross Diomedea Exulans at Bird Island , South Georgia
متن کامل
Demographic consequences of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants in a vulnerable long-lived bird, the wandering albatross.
Seabirds are top predators of the marine environment that accumulate contaminants over a long life-span. Chronic exposure to pollutants is thought to compromise survival rate and long-term reproductive outputs in these long-lived organisms, thus inducing population decline. However, the demographic consequences of contaminant exposure are largely theoretical because of the dearth of long-term d...
متن کاملPostnatal dispersal of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans: implications for the conservation of the species
Many large marine vertebrates are today threatened by human activities and it is therefore crucial to obtain information on their distribution and behaviour at sea. In particular little is known about the time necessary for juveniles to acquire the foraging skills of adults. We tracked 13 juvenile wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans by satellite telemetry during their first year at sea. They...
متن کاملExtra-pair paternity in the strongly monogamous Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans has no apparent benefits for females
PIERRE JOUVENTIN, 1 * ANNE CHARMANTIER, 2 MARIE-PIERRE DUBOIS, 1 PHILIPPE JARNE 1 & JOËL BRIED 3 1 Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5175, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France 2 Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK 3 Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Centro do IMAR da Universidade dos...
متن کامل