Pre-fledgling oxidative damage predicts recruitment in a long-lived bird

Noguera, J.C., Kim, S.-Y. and Velando, A. (2012) Pre-fledgling oxidative damage predicts recruitment in a long-lived bird. Biology Letters, 8(1), pp. 61-63. (doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0756)

Abstract

Empirical evidence has shown that stressful conditions experienced during development may exert long-term negative effects on life-history traits. Although it has been suggested that oxidative stress has long-term effects, little is known about delayed consequences of oxidative stress experienced early in life in fitness-related traits. Here, we tested whether oxidative stress during development has long-term effects on a life-history trait directly related to fitness in three colonies of European shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Our results revealed that recruitment probability decreased with oxidative damage during the nestling period; oxidative damage, in turn, was related to the level of antioxidant capacity. Our results suggest a link between oxidative stress during development and survival to adulthood, a key element of population dynamics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Noguera, Dr Jose Carlos
• Authors: Noguera, J.C., Kim, S.-Y., and Velando, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Biology Letters
• ISSN: 1744-9561
• Published Online: 24 August 2011