Metabolic Routing of Dietary Nutrients in Birds: Effects of Diet Quality and Macronutrient Composition Revealed Using Stable Isotopes

Podlesak, David W.; McWilliams, Scott R.

doi:10.1086/502813

Cited by 100 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Breeding colonies of the studied little auk Alle alle which are labelled as follows in the text: S1 to S4 for Spitsbergen (from north to south, inset), EG for East Greenland and WG for West Greenland wintering birds (after AMAP 1998). Geographical coordinates given in Table 1 niche at different periods of their annual cycle, we needed to take into account the tissue-dependent metabolic routing and enrichment factors for little auks (Podlesak & McWilliams 2006, Quillfeldt et al 2008a). We thus compared stable isotope ratios obtained from feathers and blood samples that were simultaneously collected on chicks, and calculated correction factors to compare δ 13 C and δ 15 N values from these 2 tissues in adult birds.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Fort¹,

Cherel²,

Harding³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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International audienceThe non-breeding season of seabirds is extremely challenging to study because it isoften spent offshore under harsh environmental conditions. We used stable isotope analysis to investigatelittle auk Alle alle feeding ecology throughout the annual cycle. The geographic distribution oflittle auks in the Arctic covers a wide range of oceanographic conditions. We sampled birds from 5different colonies located in the most important breeding areas (Greenland and Spitsbergen) toexamine how individuals breeding in contrasting marine environments differ in their trophic nichethroughout the year. We found differences in summer δ15N values among the colonies, suggestingdifferent target species despite low overall δ15N values in blood, which indicates a diet that is primarilycomposed of copepods. A rise in δ15N values between summer and autumn indicated that adultschanged their trophic status to feed at a higher trophic level. During autumn, a large overlap infeather δ13C values between colonies suggests a common moulting area off Northeast Greenland.During winter, the isotopic signatures show that the trophic status of Greenland and Spitsbergenbirds differed, with birds from Greenland feeding at low trophic levels (probably mostly on copepods),and birds from Spitsbergen maintaining a higher trophic level. These findings highlight contrastingseasonal and regional diet in little auk populations, and reveal possible population overlapsduring the autumn moult. We found substantial trophic variability in little auks, which may indicateunsuspected capabilities to adapt to current, drastic environmental change in the North Atlantic

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Fort¹,

Cherel²,

Harding³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Problems related to the routing of elements from dietary components to body tissues have been extensively discussed in isotope ecology (reviewed by Crawford et al, 2008;Martı nez del Rio et al 2009;Wolf et al, 2009;Boecklen et al, 2011). While carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur atoms in tissue protein mainly reflect those in dietary proteins, carbon atoms in tissue apatite reflect those from the entire diet (Krueger and Sullivan, 1984;Ambrose and Norr, 1993;Tieszen and Fagre, 1993;Podlesak and McWilliams, 2006;Kellner and Schoeninger, 2010;Froehle et al, 2012). Oxygen atoms are derived mainly from drinking water for large mammals (Longinelli, 1984;Luz et al, 1984;Luz and Kolodny, 1989;Bryant and Froelich, 1995).…”

Section: Routing Of Isotopes and Trace Elementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

Tsutaya

Yoneda

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

180

174

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Biogeochemical methods using stable isotopes and trace elements have been increasingly developed and applied to reconstruct modern and ancient breastfeeding and weaning practices of mammals, including humans, because they offer direct proxies for the dietary intake of subadults. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes have been used to evaluate breast milk lipid, protein, and water intake, respectively. Carbon and sulfur isotopes have been used to estimate the content of weaning foods. The elemental concentrations of Sr and Ba in subadult tissues differ because of the dietary change during the weaning process. For analyses, various tissues have been used, such as hair, nail, blood, and feces for modern mammals and bone and teeth for ancient ones. Of these, trace element analysis of tooth enamel offers a good opportunity for the reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices of the more distant past at finer resolution, although further understanding of the metabolism of trace elements is necessary. There are various tissue-and element-specific advantages and disadvantages, and a combination of different proxies can illuminate practices from various viewpoints. Finally, applying the geochemical reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices to human ecology, primatology, and paleoanthropology is important; basic studies of the underlying physiological mechanisms and technical improvements in the analyses will further highlight avenues for future research. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 156:2-21, 2015. V C 2014 American Association of Physical AnthropologistsThe reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices (BWPs) of ancient human and other mammalian species is one of the most important fields in anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and history. Infant feeding practices affect the overall health of the population because diet, health status, and growth at a young age have profound effects on an individual's later life (Dettwyler and Fishman, 1992;Katzenberg et al., 1996;WHO, 1998WHO, , 2009Lewis, 2007). Breastfeeding and weaning practices can be viewed from the evolutionary perspectives of life history theory, parental investment, child development, social system, and reproductive strat-

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“…carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) (Podlesak and McWilliams, 2006;Podlesak and McWilliams, 2007). Furthermore without using NMR, one cannot ascertain how isotopes of interest are distributed throughout molecules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking the oxidative kinetics of carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids in the house sparrow using exhaled 13CO2

McCue

Sivan

McWilliams

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYClinicians commonly measure the 13 CO 2 in exhaled breath samples following administration of a metabolic tracer (breath testing) to diagnose certain infections and metabolic disorders. We believe that breath testing can become a powerful tool to investigate novel questions about the influence of ecological and physiological factors on the oxidative fates of exogenous nutrients. Here we examined several predictions regarding the oxidative kinetics of specific carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids in a dietary generalist, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). After administering postprandial birds with 20mg of one of seven 13 Clabeled tracers, we measured rates of 13 CO 2 production every 15min over 2h. We found that sparrows oxidized exogenous amino acids far more rapidly than carbohydrates or fatty acids, and that different tracers belonging to the same class of physiological fuels had unique oxidative kinetics. Glycine had a mean maximum rate of oxidation (2021nmolmin ), and differed significantly in the extent to which each was oxidized, with 0.73%, 0.63% and 0.21% of palmitic, oleic and stearic acid tracers oxidized, respectively.

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Metabolic Routing of Dietary Nutrients in Birds: Effects of Diet Quality and Macronutrient Composition Revealed Using Stable Isotopes

Cited by 100 publications

References 38 publications

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Geographic and seasonal variability in the isotopic niche of little auks

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

Tracking the oxidative kinetics of carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids in the house sparrow using exhaled 13CO2

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