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Oxidative challenges of avian migration : A comparative field study on a partial migrant

Eikenaar, Cas ; Källstig, Emma LU ; Andersson, Martin N. LU ; Herrera-Dueñas, Amparo LU and Isaksson, Caroline LU orcid (2017) In Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 90(2). p.223-229
Abstract

Most avian migrants alternate flight bouts, characterized by high metabolic rates, with stopovers, periods of fuel replenishment through hyperphagia. High-energy metabolism and excessive calorie intake shift the balance between damaging prooxidants and antioxidants toward the former. Hence, migration likely affects the oxidative balance of birds. Migratory flight indeed appears to cause oxidative damage; however, whether migration affects the oxidative state of birds at stopover is unclear. Therefore, we compared total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX) and malondialdehyde concentration (MDA; a measure of lipid peroxi-dation) in the plasma of migrant and resident common blackbirds. We also determined plasmatic uric acid (UA) and... (More)

Most avian migrants alternate flight bouts, characterized by high metabolic rates, with stopovers, periods of fuel replenishment through hyperphagia. High-energy metabolism and excessive calorie intake shift the balance between damaging prooxidants and antioxidants toward the former. Hence, migration likely affects the oxidative balance of birds. Migratory flight indeed appears to cause oxidative damage; however, whether migration affects the oxidative state of birds at stopover is unclear. Therefore, we compared total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX) and malondialdehyde concentration (MDA; a measure of lipid peroxi-dation) in the plasma of migrant and resident common blackbirds. We also determined plasmatic uric acid (UA) and fatty acid (FA) concentrations and calculated a FA peroxidation index. Birds were sampled during autumn migration at a stopover site that also supports a sedentary blackbird population. Migrants had higher AOX than residents, also after correcting for UA concentration. Migrants tended to have higher FA peroxidation indexes than residents, indicating that the energy source of migrants contains higher concentrations of peroxidizable FAs. However, the two groups did not differ in MDA concentration, also not after correcting for peroxidation index. Peroxidation-corrected MDA concentration was negatively correlated with UA-corrected AOX. In other words, individuals with low nonenzymatic AOX suffered more from lipid peroxidation than individuals with high nonenzymatic AOX. These results together indicate that migrant blackbirds invest in antioxidant defenses to reduce oxidative damage to lipids, likely representing an adaptation to diminish the physiological costs of migration.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Antioxidant, Fatty acid, Malondialdehyde, Migrant, Resident, Stopover, Uric acid
in
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
volume
90
issue
2
pages
7 pages
publisher
University of Chicago Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:28277962
  • wos:000395771000009
  • scopus:85014968067
ISSN
1522-2152
DOI
10.1086/689191
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6aeb199b-3c90-44d5-9d53-99e8217c9a91
date added to LUP
2017-03-23 09:56:58
date last changed
2024-03-17 11:02:25
@article{6aeb199b-3c90-44d5-9d53-99e8217c9a91,
  abstract     = {{<p>Most avian migrants alternate flight bouts, characterized by high metabolic rates, with stopovers, periods of fuel replenishment through hyperphagia. High-energy metabolism and excessive calorie intake shift the balance between damaging prooxidants and antioxidants toward the former. Hence, migration likely affects the oxidative balance of birds. Migratory flight indeed appears to cause oxidative damage; however, whether migration affects the oxidative state of birds at stopover is unclear. Therefore, we compared total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX) and malondialdehyde concentration (MDA; a measure of lipid peroxi-dation) in the plasma of migrant and resident common blackbirds. We also determined plasmatic uric acid (UA) and fatty acid (FA) concentrations and calculated a FA peroxidation index. Birds were sampled during autumn migration at a stopover site that also supports a sedentary blackbird population. Migrants had higher AOX than residents, also after correcting for UA concentration. Migrants tended to have higher FA peroxidation indexes than residents, indicating that the energy source of migrants contains higher concentrations of peroxidizable FAs. However, the two groups did not differ in MDA concentration, also not after correcting for peroxidation index. Peroxidation-corrected MDA concentration was negatively correlated with UA-corrected AOX. In other words, individuals with low nonenzymatic AOX suffered more from lipid peroxidation than individuals with high nonenzymatic AOX. These results together indicate that migrant blackbirds invest in antioxidant defenses to reduce oxidative damage to lipids, likely representing an adaptation to diminish the physiological costs of migration.</p>}},
  author       = {{Eikenaar, Cas and Källstig, Emma and Andersson, Martin N. and Herrera-Dueñas, Amparo and Isaksson, Caroline}},
  issn         = {{1522-2152}},
  keywords     = {{Antioxidant; Fatty acid; Malondialdehyde; Migrant; Resident; Stopover; Uric acid}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{223--229}},
  publisher    = {{University of Chicago Press}},
  series       = {{Physiological and Biochemical Zoology}},
  title        = {{Oxidative challenges of avian migration : A comparative field study on a partial migrant}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/689191}},
  doi          = {{10.1086/689191}},
  volume       = {{90}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}