Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima)
International audience Background: The uropygial gland is an exocrine gland located above the tail of birds that produces a diverse range of biochemicals. It has been hypothesized to be involved in chemical protection, water-proofing and maintenance of plumage brightness. Although these not necessar...
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-02390287v1 2023-05-15T18:20:24+02:00 Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) Pape Møller, Anders Laursen, Karsten Ecologie Systématique et Evolution (ESE) Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2019-12 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/document https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/file/s40657-019-0163-8.pdf https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 en eng HAL CCSD BMC info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/document https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/file/s40657-019-0163-8.pdf doi:10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 2053-7166 Avian Research https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 Avian Research, BMC, 2019, 10 (1), ⟨10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8⟩ Water-proofing Anti-microbial substance Eider Somateria mollissima Uropygial gland [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2019 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 2021-11-28T00:32:33Z International audience Background: The uropygial gland is an exocrine gland located above the tail of birds that produces a diverse range of biochemicals. It has been hypothesized to be involved in chemical protection, water-proofing and maintenance of plumage brightness. Although these not necessarily mutually exclusive functions have received some empirical support , there has been little empirical research on the function of water-proofing. Methods: Here we analyzed data for 229 individual eiders (Somateria mollissima) collected by Danish hunters during 2016-2018. Results: The Eider is a sea-duck that spends almost its entire life in sea water emphasizing water-proofing of the plumage. The size of the uropygial gland increased with body mass in males, but not in females, and it increased with age. The size of the uropygial gland decreased during winter. Eiders with small uropygial glands grew their feathers at a fast rate. Eiders with large wing areas had large uropygial glands. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with large uropygial glands playing a role in water-proofing during molt and foraging, but also that uropygial glands may play a role in chemical defense. Article in Journal/Newspaper Somateria mollissima Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Avian Research 10 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
Water-proofing Anti-microbial substance Eider Somateria mollissima Uropygial gland [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] |
spellingShingle |
Water-proofing Anti-microbial substance Eider Somateria mollissima Uropygial gland [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] Pape Møller, Anders Laursen, Karsten Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
topic_facet |
Water-proofing Anti-microbial substance Eider Somateria mollissima Uropygial gland [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] |
description |
International audience Background: The uropygial gland is an exocrine gland located above the tail of birds that produces a diverse range of biochemicals. It has been hypothesized to be involved in chemical protection, water-proofing and maintenance of plumage brightness. Although these not necessarily mutually exclusive functions have received some empirical support , there has been little empirical research on the function of water-proofing. Methods: Here we analyzed data for 229 individual eiders (Somateria mollissima) collected by Danish hunters during 2016-2018. Results: The Eider is a sea-duck that spends almost its entire life in sea water emphasizing water-proofing of the plumage. The size of the uropygial gland increased with body mass in males, but not in females, and it increased with age. The size of the uropygial gland decreased during winter. Eiders with small uropygial glands grew their feathers at a fast rate. Eiders with large wing areas had large uropygial glands. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with large uropygial glands playing a role in water-proofing during molt and foraging, but also that uropygial glands may play a role in chemical defense. |
author2 |
Ecologie Systématique et Evolution (ESE) Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pape Møller, Anders Laursen, Karsten |
author_facet |
Pape Møller, Anders Laursen, Karsten |
author_sort |
Pape Møller, Anders |
title |
Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
title_short |
Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
title_full |
Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
title_fullStr |
Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Function of the uropygial gland in eiders (Somateria mollissima) |
title_sort |
function of the uropygial gland in eiders (somateria mollissima) |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/document https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/file/s40657-019-0163-8.pdf https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 |
genre |
Somateria mollissima |
genre_facet |
Somateria mollissima |
op_source |
ISSN: 2053-7166 Avian Research https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 Avian Research, BMC, 2019, 10 (1), ⟨10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/document https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02390287/file/s40657-019-0163-8.pdf doi:10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-019-0163-8 |
container_title |
Avian Research |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766197929945595904 |