The Use of Plasma Metabolites to Predict Weekly Body-Mass Change in Red Knots

Dietz, Maurine W.; Jenni-Eiermann, Susanne; Piersma, Theunis

doi:10.1525/cond.2009.080112

Cited by 22 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…An indirect estimate of fuelling rate in birds caught only once is provided by plasma metabolite concentrations (Dietz et al 2009;Guglielmo et al 2005;Jenni and Schwilch 2001;Jenni-Eiermann and Jenni 1994;Schaub and Jenni 2001). High concentrations of triglycerides and low concentrations of ß-hydroxybutyrate indicate that the birds are in a resorptive state and gaining mass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The metabolic state of birds was determined from the concentration of certain metabolites in plasma (Dietz et al 2009;Guglielmo et al 2002;Jenni and Schwilch 2001;Jenni-Eiermann and Jenni 1991;Schaub and Jenni 2001;Seaman et al 2005). In particular, the plasma concentrations of triglycerides and b-hydroxybutyrate provided an estimate of the rate of body-mass change (Jenni-Eiermann and Jenni 1994).…”

Section: Plasma Metabolitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Numbers, foraging and refuelling of passerine migrants at a stopover site in the western Sahara: diverse strategies to cross a desert

et al. 2010

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Twice a year, songbirds breeding in the Western Palaearctic cross the largest desert of the world, the Sahara, to reach their African winter quarters. Recently, a radar study quantified this migration and demonstrated that almost all passerines cross the western Sahara with an intermittent strategy, i.e. they fly during the night and rest during the day. Before crossing the desert, most passerines accumulate fat stores because they will not find appropriate resting sites for feeding in the Sahara. However, it has also been reported that birds use the vegetation around oases for refuelling. Since birds resting at oases had smaller fat deposits than birds resting in the open desert, it was hypothesised that mainly lean birds or fall-outs use the oases for feeding. In this study, we investigated which species or individuals use oases in the western Sahara during spring migration and how they use them. We demonstrate that a minority of species adapted to dry vegetation may cross the Sahara with low energy stores and intermittent refuelling in vegetation patches. These birds avoid the costs of transporting large energy stores, in contrast to most other passerine migrants which fuel up before crossing the Sahara and adopt an intermittent strategy without refuelling. The birds which rely on refuelling at oases probably often have a slow refuelling rate and may even run the risk of not finding appropriate habitats. The available studies reveal that birds use a wide variety of strategies to cross the Sahara. The particular strategy adopted depends on the species, and is modulated according to weather conditions aloft at the time, existing energy stores, the availability of stopover sites, and the suitability (food availability, competitors) of stopover sites.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plasma Metabolitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numbers, foraging and refuelling of passerine migrants at a stopover site in the western Sahara: diverse strategies to cross a desert

et al. 2010

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“…For example, Smith and McWilliams (2009) found that plasma lipid metabolite levels reflected the fattening rates of small passerines fed a synthetic diet within the previous few hours, whereas Seaman et al (2005) found that these metabolites could predict body mass changes over the past few days in Western Sandpipers Calidris mauri. Although several other studies have been performed using these time scales, to the best of our knowledge, only the study by Dietz et al (2009) clearly reported the usefulness of the technique for longer periods (but see Williams et al 1999). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Jenni-Eiermann and Jenni 1994;Williams et al 1999;Dietz et al 2009). For example, the use of triglycerides and b-hydroxybutyrate has been validated as an indicator of fuel deposition rate in insectivorous, granivorous, and frugivorous birds (Williams et al 1999;Schaub and Jenni 2001;Jenni and Schwilch 2001;Guglielmo et al 2005;Seaman et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma metabolites correlate with weekly body mass changes in migrating black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa feeding on different diets

et al. 2015

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The study of variations in plasma metabolite profiles has emerged as a useful physiological tool to assess fuel deposition rates from a single blood sample. Diet may be a key factor in the study of refueling patterns in longdistance migratory birds, but the potential confounding effect of diet on the conclusions drawn from plasma metabolites has rarely been considered. Here, we assessed whether plasma metabolite levels correlate with the weekly increase in body mass of migrating Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa, a medium-large shorebird, feeding on two natural diets (insectivorous vs. granivorous) during the refueling period. We found that glycerol and triglycerides successfully explained the weekly natural change in body mass of Black-tailed Godwits. Although the diet type contributed to the change in body mass, all interactions between plasma metabolites and diet treatment were nonsignificant. Our results support the use of plasma metabolite profiling to predict body mass changes on a long-term (weekly) scale in medium-large birds.

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“…Capture stress could also have altered some of these parameters (Romero and Romero, 2002;Lynn and Porter, 2008); however, we attempted to minimize this by processing blood samples within 3 hr of collection (Dietz et al, 2009). One limitation of this study is the lack of data on sex and age of individuals.…”

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confidence: 99%

Hematologic and Plasma Biochemistry Values for Endangered Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) at Wintering and Migratory Sites in Argentina

D'amico

Bertellotti

Baker

et al. 2010

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:We obtained hematologic and plasma biochemistry values for adult, longdistance migrant Red Knots at their southernmost wintering site in Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) and at the first stopover site in San Antonio Oeste (Río Negro, Argentina). Lymphocytes (L) followed by heterophils (H) were the most abundant leukocytes. H/L ratio and glucose levels were significantly higher at Río Grande, possibly because of the stress of migration and molting. Packed cell volume results ranged widely, probably in response to increased oxygen demand for migration. Protein profiles and lipids were higher at the stopover site and attributable to birds storing reserves for subsequent flights.

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The Use of Plasma Metabolites to Predict Weekly Body-Mass Change in Red Knots

Cited by 22 publications

References 26 publications

Numbers, foraging and refuelling of passerine migrants at a stopover site in the western Sahara: diverse strategies to cross a desert

Numbers, foraging and refuelling of passerine migrants at a stopover site in the western Sahara: diverse strategies to cross a desert

Plasma metabolites correlate with weekly body mass changes in migrating black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa feeding on different diets

Hematologic and Plasma Biochemistry Values for Endangered Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) at Wintering and Migratory Sites in Argentina

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