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Diet and ambient temperature interact to shape plasma fatty acid composition, basal metabolic rate and oxidative stress in great tits

Andersson, Martin N. LU ; Nilsson, Johan LU ; Nilsson, Jan Åke LU and Isaksson, Caroline LU orcid (2018) In The Journal of experimental biology 221.
Abstract

Diet and ambient temperature affect animal physiology, survival and reproductive success. However, knowledge of how these environmental factors interact to shape physiological processes and life-history traits of birds and other animals is largely lacking. By exposing adult great tits (Parus major) to two contrasting diets (saturated or unsaturated fatty acids; SFAs and UFAs, respectively) and ambient temperatures (3°C versus 20°C) that the birds encounter in nature, we investigated the effects of these two factors on several physiological parameters. Our results show that diet and ambient temperature interact to affect the composition of plasma fatty acids, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and oxidative stress, which are thought to affect... (More)

Diet and ambient temperature affect animal physiology, survival and reproductive success. However, knowledge of how these environmental factors interact to shape physiological processes and life-history traits of birds and other animals is largely lacking. By exposing adult great tits (Parus major) to two contrasting diets (saturated or unsaturated fatty acids; SFAs and UFAs, respectively) and ambient temperatures (3°C versus 20°C) that the birds encounter in nature, we investigated the effects of these two factors on several physiological parameters. Our results show that diet and ambient temperature interact to affect the composition of plasma fatty acids, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and oxidative stress, which are thought to affect the life-history and survival of individuals. Specifically, birds provided the SFA-rich diet had higher mass-specific BMR and oxidative stress (levels of lipid peroxidation) after exposure to low compared with high ambient temperature, whereas the opposite pattern was evident for birds with a UFA-rich diet. Surprisingly, birds on the SFA diet had higher relative levels of monounsaturated fatty acids compared with the UFA-fed birds at low ambient temperature, whereas the opposite, and expected, pattern was found at the high temperature. Although the present study focuses on the physiological implications of the diet×temperature interaction, our results might also be important for the leading theories of ageing, which currently do not take interactions between environmental factors into account. In addition, the present results are important for wildlife management, especially with regards to anthropogenic feeding of wild animals across variable and changing climatic conditions.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Climate, Fatty acids, Lipid peroxidation, Metabolic rate, Oxidative stress, Parus major
in
The Journal of experimental biology
volume
221
article number
jeb186759
publisher
The Company of Biologists Ltd
external identifiers
  • pmid:30361459
  • scopus:85058607036
ISSN
1477-9145
DOI
10.1242/jeb.186759
project
Avian nutrition and metabolism
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7e201c7e-f7e9-408f-97e8-5af38ebe466d
date added to LUP
2019-01-03 12:10:37
date last changed
2024-04-01 18:52:55
@article{7e201c7e-f7e9-408f-97e8-5af38ebe466d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Diet and ambient temperature affect animal physiology, survival and reproductive success. However, knowledge of how these environmental factors interact to shape physiological processes and life-history traits of birds and other animals is largely lacking. By exposing adult great tits (Parus major) to two contrasting diets (saturated or unsaturated fatty acids; SFAs and UFAs, respectively) and ambient temperatures (3°C versus 20°C) that the birds encounter in nature, we investigated the effects of these two factors on several physiological parameters. Our results show that diet and ambient temperature interact to affect the composition of plasma fatty acids, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and oxidative stress, which are thought to affect the life-history and survival of individuals. Specifically, birds provided the SFA-rich diet had higher mass-specific BMR and oxidative stress (levels of lipid peroxidation) after exposure to low compared with high ambient temperature, whereas the opposite pattern was evident for birds with a UFA-rich diet. Surprisingly, birds on the SFA diet had higher relative levels of monounsaturated fatty acids compared with the UFA-fed birds at low ambient temperature, whereas the opposite, and expected, pattern was found at the high temperature. Although the present study focuses on the physiological implications of the diet×temperature interaction, our results might also be important for the leading theories of ageing, which currently do not take interactions between environmental factors into account. In addition, the present results are important for wildlife management, especially with regards to anthropogenic feeding of wild animals across variable and changing climatic conditions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Martin N. and Nilsson, Johan and Nilsson, Jan Åke and Isaksson, Caroline}},
  issn         = {{1477-9145}},
  keywords     = {{Climate; Fatty acids; Lipid peroxidation; Metabolic rate; Oxidative stress; Parus major}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  publisher    = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
  series       = {{The Journal of experimental biology}},
  title        = {{Diet and ambient temperature interact to shape plasma fatty acid composition, basal metabolic rate and oxidative stress in great tits}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.186759}},
  doi          = {{10.1242/jeb.186759}},
  volume       = {{221}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}