Biochemical profile of male and female wandering albatrosses

• Autor(a) principal: Ribeiro, Inês Terraquente
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/30821
• topic: Wandering albatross; Predator; Fatty acid; Carbohydrates; South Georgia; Plasma; Blood; Tissues; Sexes; Months; SFA; MUFA; PUFA; Glucose; Young; Reserves

The Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, due to its behavior and biology, is often used as a top predator model. This species spends a great time in the ocean searching for food and only comes ashore during the breeding season. This study aimed to determine and compare the fatty acid and carbohydrates profile of male and female traveling albatrosses, between May and October 2009, in order to verify potential differences in the diet and infer about the body condition of individuals of both sexes and the months of sampling, during chick rearing. We analyzed 34 breeding adults (18 females and 16 males). The samples were collected on Bird Island, South Georgia, for further analysis of the biochemical profile in plasma and blood samples from each individual. In the analysis of fatty acids, it was observed that there were differences between tissues (plasma and blood) (F = 68.31; p < 0.01) but not between sexes and months. A greater abundance of FA in the plasma (98%) was observed in relation to blood samples. Saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids were the most abundant FA. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were only observed in blood samples from individuals of both sexes. Although differences were observed over the months in both blood and plasma, these were not significant. Males showed a greater amount of FA (63%) in July and females in May (68%), in plasma samples, whereas in blood samples this pattern was observed in October for males (85%) and in September for females (67%). In the analysis of sugars, significant differences were also observed between tissues (F = 56.02; p < 0.01) but not between sexes and months. There was a greater abundance of carbohydrates in plasma samples than in blood samples, with Glucose showing greater abundance. In plasma, males showed a peak in October (71%) and females in July (55%), as well as in blood. These results show that both males and females contribute to the care of the young, not showing differences between sexes, and that both have to spend their energy reserves during the breeding season. However, males seem to be able to recover more quickly.