Title
High quality diet improves lipid metabolic profile and breeding performance in the blue-footed booby, a long-lived seabird
Author
ERICK GONZALEZ MEDINA
Contributor
José Alfredo Castillo Guerrero (Collaborator)
Sharon Zinah Herzka Llona (Collaborator)
Guillermo Fernandez (Collaborator)
Access level
Open Access
Publication reference
doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193136
Subjects
nitrogen 15, triacylglycerol, lipid, animal experiment, Article, breeding, carbon nitrogen ratio, clutch size, controlled study, courtship, diet, egg laying, female, food intake, hatching, lipid metabolism, muscle tissue, nonhuman, prey, reproduction - (SCOPUS) CIENCIAS FÍSICO MATEMÁTICAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA - (CTI) CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA Y DEL ESPACIO - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI) OCEANOGRAFÍA - (CTI)
Summary or description
Understanding the role of diet in the physiological condition of adults during reproduction and hence its effect on reproductive performance is fundamental to understand reproductive strategies in long-lived animals. In birds, little is known about the influence of the quality of food consumed at the beginning of the reproductive period and its short-term effects on reproductive performance. To assess the role of diet in the physiological condition of female blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii (BFBO), during reproduction we evaluated whether individual differences in diet (assessed by using δ13C and δ15N values of whole blood from female birds and muscle tissue of the principal prey species) prior to egg laying and during incubation influenced their lipid metabolic profile (measured as triglyceride levels and C:N ratio) and their reproductive performance (defined by laying date, clutch size and hatching success). Females with higher δ15N values in their blood during the courtship and incubation periods had a higher lipid metabolic profile, earlier laying date, greater clutch size (2–3 eggs) and higher hatching success. Females that laid earlier and more eggs (2–3 eggs) consumed more Pacific anchoveta (Cetengraulis mysticetus) and Pacific thread herring (Opisthonema libertate) than did other females. These two prey species also had high amounts of lipids (C:N ratio) and caloric content (Kcal/g fresh weight). The quality of food consumed by females at the beginning of reproduction affected their physiological condition, as well as their short-term reproductive performance. Our work emphasizes the importance of determining the influence of food quality during reproduction to understand the reproductive decisions and consequences in long-lived animals. © 2018 González-Medina et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Publisher
Antoni Margalida, University of Lleida, Spain
Publish date
2018
Publication type
Article
Publication version
Published Version
Information Resource
Format
application/pdf
Source
PLoS ONE, Vol.13, No.2, Pags. 1-17
Language
English
Citation suggestion
González-Medina E, Castillo-Guerrero JA, Herzka SZ, Fernández G (2018) High quality diet improves lipid metabolic profile and breeding performance in the blue-footed booby, a long-lived seabird. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0193136. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193136
Source repository
Repositorio Institucional CICESE
Downloads
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