Data from: Age-specific patterns of maternal investment in common gull egg yolk

• Main Authors: Urvik, Janek, Rattiste, Kalev, Giraudeau, Mathieu, Okuliarova, Monika, Horak, Peeter, Sepp, Tuul
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Life sciences; medicine and health care; Larus canus
• Online Access: http://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:nl:ui:13-d5-9nml; https://easy.dans.knaw.nl/ui/datasets/id/easy-dataset:108542

While the general patterns of age-specific changes in reproductive success are quite well established in long-lived animals, we still do not know if allocation patterns of maternally-transmitted compounds are related to maternal age. We measured yolk testosterone, carotenoids and vitamins A and E levels in a population of known-aged common gulls (Larus canus) and found an age-specific pattern in yolk lutein and vitamin A concentrations. Middle-aged mothers allocated more of these substances to yolk compared to young and old mothers. These results can be explained through differences in age-specific foraging, absorption, or deposition patterns of carotenoids and vitamins into yolk. If these molecules play a role in antioxidant defense and immune modulation, our results suggest a possible physiological pathway behind the age-specific changes in reproductive success of long-lived birds in the wild.