Lipid reserves, fasting capability and the evolution of nestling obesity in procellariiform seabirds

Abstract

Restricted accessMoreSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Cite this article Phillips R. A. and Hamer K. C. 1999Lipid reserves, fasting capability and the evolution of nestling obesity in procellariiform seabirdsProc. R. Soc. Lond. B.2661329–1334http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0783SectionRestricted accessLipid reserves, fasting capability and the evolution of nestling obesity in procellariiform seabirds R. A. Phillips R. A. Phillips Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK () Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author and K. C. Hamer K. C. Hamer Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK () Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author R. A. Phillips R. A. Phillips Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK () Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author and K. C. Hamer K. C. Hamer Department of Biological Sciences, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK () Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Published:07 July 1999https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0783AbstractSeveral alternative explanations have been proposed to account for the evolution of nestling obesity in a variety of avian groups. These predict quite different patterns of fat accumulation, storage and use by chicks of different ages. Yet surprisingly few studies have measured changes in body composition during chick development. We tested the applicability of these hypotheses for fulmars, Fulmarus glacialis, by direct measurement of changes in water, lipid and lean dry mass in growing chicks. Lipid and lean dry mass increased until ca. 70% of the way through chick rearing, but then levelled off. Total body water also increased until the same stage, but gradually declined thereafter, and it was this change rather than fat metabolism that resulted in mass recession. The observed pattern of a continued increase in stored lipid, and most importantly, its maintenance all the way through the mass–recession phase until chicks reach fledging, is incompatible with many of the proposed hypotheses. We suggest that the most likely ultimate explanation for large fat deposits is to fuel chicks during the initial critical period away from the nest site while they learn to forage Previous ArticleNext Article VIEW FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD PDF FiguresRelatedReferencesDetailsCited byAllen J, Hodinka B, Hall H, Leonard K and Williams T (2022) Flexible growth and body mass predict physiological condition at fledging in the synchronously breeding European starling, Sturnus vulgaris, Royal Society Open Science, 9:6, Online publication date: 1-Jun-2022.Poupart T, Waugh S, Kato A and Arnould J (2020) Foraging niche overlap during chick-rearing in the sexually dimorphic Westland petrel, Royal Society Open Science, 7:11, Online publication date: 1-Nov-2020. Jones C, Phillips R, Grecian W and Ryan P (2020) Ecological segregation of two superabundant, morphologically similar, sister seabird taxa breeding in sympatry, Marine Biology, 10.1007/s00227-020-3645-7, 167:4, Online publication date: 1-Apr-2020. 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PHILLIPS R and HAMER K (2008) Growth and provisioning strategies of Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Ibis, 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2000.tb04440.x, 142:3, (435-445) This Issue07 July 1999Volume 266Issue 1426 Article InformationDOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1999.0783Published by:Royal SocietyPrint ISSN:0962-8452Online ISSN:1471-2954History: Published online07/07/1999Published in print07/07/1999 License: Citations and impact Keywordsfat storespost-fledging survivalmass recession Large datasets are available through Proceedings B's partnership with Dryad