Elevation impacts the balance between growth and oxidative stress in coal tits

Stier, A. , Delestrade, A., Zahn, S., Arrivé, M., Criscuolo, F. and Massemin-Challet, S. (2014) Elevation impacts the balance between growth and oxidative stress in coal tits. Oecologia, 175(3), pp. 791-800. (doi: 10.1007/s00442-014-2946-2) (PMID:24805201)

Abstract

The short favorable period of time available for the growth in seasonal environments could constrain the resources allocation between growth and other life-history traits, and the short-term fitness benefits of increased growth rate may prevail over other functions. Accelerated growth rates have been associated with long-term deleterious consequences (e.g., decreased lifespan), and recently oxidative stress (the imbalance between pro-oxidants generation and antioxidant defenses) has been suggested as a mediator of these effects. Here, we examined the impact of elevation on growth rate and self-maintenance parameters (resting metabolism, oxidative damage, and antioxidant defenses) of coal tit chicks (Periparus ater). We predicted that the shorter favorable season at the higher-elevation site could lead to a reallocation of resources towards growth at the expense of self-maintenance processes. We found that chicks at high elevation grew significantly faster in terms of body mass and body size. Chicks from the high-elevation site presented higher resting metabolism, higher oxidative damage level, but similar antioxidant defenses, compared to low-elevation chicks. Interestingly, the chicks exhibiting the better antioxidant defenses at 7 days were also those with the highest resting metabolic rate, and the chicks that grew at the faster rate within the high-elevation site were those with the highest levels of oxidative damage on DNA. Our study supports the idea that increasing elevation leads to a higher growth rate in coal tit chicks, possibly in response to a shorter favorable season. In accordance with life-history theory, a bigger investment in growth was done at the expense of body maintenance, at least in terms of oxidative stress.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Stier, Dr Antoine and Criscuolo, Dr Francois
• Authors: Stier, A., Delestrade, A., Zahn, S., Arrivé, M., Criscuolo, F., and Massemin-Challet, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Oecologia
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 0029-8549
• ISSN (Online): 1432-1939
• Published Online: 08 May 2014