Demographic responses to oxidative stress and inflammation in the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans).
12 pages; International audience; One of the major challenges in ecological research is the elucidation of physiological mechanisms that underlie the demographic traits of wild animals. We have assessed whether a marker of plasma oxidative stress (TBARS) and plasma haptoglobin (protein of the acute inflammatory phase response) measured at time t predict five demographic parameters (survival rate, return rate to the breeding colony, breeding probability, hatching and fledging success) in sexually mature wandering albatrosses over the next four years (Diomedea exulans) using a five-year individual-based dataset. Non-breeder males, but not females, having higher TBARS at time t had reduced fut…
Individual variation of persistent organic pollutants in relation to stable isotope ratios, sex, reproductive phase and oxidative status in Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from the Southern Mediterranean
Abstract: Little is known about the accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and its consequences for seabirds in the Mediterranean basin. We characterised the plasma contaminant profile (polychlorinated biphenyls ΣPCBs; organochlorine pesticides ΣOCPs; polybrominated diphenyl ethers ΣPBDEs) of a population of the seabird Scopoli's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) that breeds in the southern Mediterranean (Linosa Island) and investigated (i) whether sex, stable isotope ratios (related to diet), reproductive phase (early incubation vs. late breeding season) and body mass explained variation in contaminant burden and (ii) whether they predict health-related variables. The predomi…