Stopovers Serve Physiological Recovery in Migratory Songbirds
Eikenaar, Cas ; Ostolani, Alessia ; Hessler, Sven ; Ye, Ellen Y. ; Karwinkel, Thiemo and Isaksson, Caroline LU
(2023)
In Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
96(5).
p.378-389
- Abstract
Migrating birds perform extreme endurance exercise when fly-ing. This shifts the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the antioxidant defense system toward the former, potentially generating oxidative damages. In between migratory flights, birds make stopovers, where besides accumulat-ing fuel (mainly fats), they are assumed to rest and recover from the strenuous flight. We performed a series of studies on both temporarily caged (northern wheatears) and free-flying (northern wheatears and European robins) migrants to investigate whether migrants recover during stopover by decreasing the amount of oxidative lipid damage (malondialdehyde [MDA]) and/or increasing the total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX).... (More)
Migrating birds perform extreme endurance exercise when fly-ing. This shifts the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the antioxidant defense system toward the former, potentially generating oxidative damages. In between migratory flights, birds make stopovers, where besides accumulat-ing fuel (mainly fats), they are assumed to rest and recover from the strenuous flight. We performed a series of studies on both temporarily caged (northern wheatears) and free-flying (northern wheatears and European robins) migrants to investigate whether migrants recover during stopover by decreasing the amount of oxidative lipid damage (malondialdehyde [MDA]) and/or increasing the total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX). In caged wheatears, MDA decreased within a single day. These birds were able to simultaneously accumulate considerable amounts of fuel. Also, in the free-flying wheatears, there was a decrease in MDA during stopover; however, this process seemed incompatible with refueling. The reason for this difference could relate to constraints in the wild that are absent in caged birds, such as food limitation/ composition and locomotor activity. In the robins, there was a near significant decrease in MDA concentration in relation to how long the birds were already at stopover, suggesting that this species also physiologically recovers during stopover. AOX did not change during stopover in either of the wheatear studies. For the robins, however, uric acid–corrected AOX declined during stopover. Our results show that during stopover, migrating birds rapidly reduce oxidative lipid damage, thereby likely recovering their physiological state. In addition to the commonly accepted function of refueling, stopovers thus probably serve physiological recovery.
(Less)
- author
- Eikenaar, Cas
; Ostolani, Alessia
; Hessler, Sven
; Ye, Ellen Y.
; Karwinkel, Thiemo
and Isaksson, Caroline
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-09-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- medium distance, migration, oxidative stress, rest, trans-Sahara
- in
- Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
- volume
- 96
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37713714
- scopus:85171406364
- ISSN
- 1522-2152
- DOI
- 10.1086/726788
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- acf54ac6-23b3-45e2-8a2f-d228a27e376f
- date added to LUP
- 2023-12-18 09:53:36
- date last changed
- 2024-04-16 22:05:04
@article{acf54ac6-23b3-45e2-8a2f-d228a27e376f,
abstract = {{<p>Migrating birds perform extreme endurance exercise when fly-ing. This shifts the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and the antioxidant defense system toward the former, potentially generating oxidative damages. In between migratory flights, birds make stopovers, where besides accumulat-ing fuel (mainly fats), they are assumed to rest and recover from the strenuous flight. We performed a series of studies on both temporarily caged (northern wheatears) and free-flying (northern wheatears and European robins) migrants to investigate whether migrants recover during stopover by decreasing the amount of oxidative lipid damage (malondialdehyde [MDA]) and/or increasing the total nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (AOX). In caged wheatears, MDA decreased within a single day. These birds were able to simultaneously accumulate considerable amounts of fuel. Also, in the free-flying wheatears, there was a decrease in MDA during stopover; however, this process seemed incompatible with refueling. The reason for this difference could relate to constraints in the wild that are absent in caged birds, such as food limitation/ composition and locomotor activity. In the robins, there was a near significant decrease in MDA concentration in relation to how long the birds were already at stopover, suggesting that this species also physiologically recovers during stopover. AOX did not change during stopover in either of the wheatear studies. For the robins, however, uric acid–corrected AOX declined during stopover. Our results show that during stopover, migrating birds rapidly reduce oxidative lipid damage, thereby likely recovering their physiological state. In addition to the commonly accepted function of refueling, stopovers thus probably serve physiological recovery.</p>}},
author = {{Eikenaar, Cas and Ostolani, Alessia and Hessler, Sven and Ye, Ellen Y. and Karwinkel, Thiemo and Isaksson, Caroline}},
issn = {{1522-2152}},
keywords = {{medium distance; migration; oxidative stress; rest; trans-Sahara}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{378--389}},
publisher = {{University of Chicago Press}},
series = {{Physiological and Biochemical Zoology}},
title = {{Stopovers Serve Physiological Recovery in Migratory Songbirds}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/726788}},
doi = {{10.1086/726788}},
volume = {{96}},
year = {{2023}},
}