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Diet and ambient temperature interact to shape plasma fatty acid composition, basal metabolic rate, and oxidative stress in great tits
Author(s) -
Martin Andersson,
Johan Nilsson,
Caroline Isaksson
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of experimental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 185
eISSN - 1477-9145
pISSN - 0022-0949
DOI - 10.1242/jeb.186759
Subject(s) - basal metabolic rate , oxidative stress , basal (medicine) , metabolic rate , composition (language) , fatty acid , biology , oxidative phosphorylation , chemistry , food science , biochemistry , ecology , endocrinology , art , insulin , literature
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; SFA and UFA, 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 to high ambient temperature, whereas the opposite pattern was evident for the UFA-provided birds. Surprisingly, the SFA-provided birds had higher relative levels of monounsaturated fatty acids compared to the UFA-provided 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 due to anthropogenic feeding of wild animals across variable and changing climatic conditions.

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