The influence of diet on nestling body condition of an apex predator: a multi-biomarker approach
- PDF / 794,969 Bytes
- 20 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 45 Downloads / 179 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
The influence of diet on nestling body condition of an apex predator: a multi‑biomarker approach Jaime Resano‑Mayor1,2 · Antonio Hernández‑Matías1 · Joan Real1 · Francesc Parés1 · Marcos Moleón3,4 · Rafael Mateo5 · Manuel E. Ortiz‑Santaliestra5,6
Received: 30 October 2015 / Revised: 22 January 2016 / Accepted: 25 January 2016 / Published online: 8 February 2016 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016
Abstract Animal body condition refers to the health and physiological state of individuals, and multiple parameters have been proposed to quantify this key concept. Food intake is one of the main determinants of individual body condition and much debate has been generated on how diet relates to body condition. We investigated this relationship in free-living Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) nestlings sampled at two geographically distant populations in Spain. Nestlings’ main prey consumption was estimated by isotopic analyses. A multi-biomarker approach, including morphometric and blood biochemical measures (i.e. hematocrit, plasma biochemistry and oxidative stress biomarkers), enabled us to integrate all the body condition measures taken. A greater consumption of a preferred prey [i.e. the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)] improved nestling body condition, as indicated by lower levels of cholesterol in plasma, greater activity of enzymes mediating in protein catabolism, higher levels of tocopherol and Communicated by G. Heldmaier. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00360-016-0967-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Jaime Resano‑Mayor [email protected]
glutathione, and less glutathione peroxidase activity, which also suggested lower degree of oxidative stress. On the other hand, increased diet diversity was positively correlated with higher levels of oxidized glutathione, which suggests that these nestlings had poorer body condition than those with a higher frequency of preferred prey consumption. Several factors other than diet [i.e. altitude of nesting areas, nestling sex and age, sampling time (before or after midday) and recent food ingestion] had an effect on certain body condition measures. Our study reveals a measurable effect of diet on a predator’s body condition and demonstrates the importance of considering the potential influence of multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors when assessing animal body condition. Keywords Blood biochemistry · Body condition · Optimal foraging theory · Oxidative stress · Raptors · Stable isotope analysis Abbreviations SIA Stable isotope analyses AO Antioxidant OS Oxidative stress 4
Present Address: Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, C/Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
1
Equip de Biologia de la Conservació, Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
5
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC) CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Rda To
Data Loading...
