Supplementary material from "Age-specific patterns of maternal investment in common gull egg yolk"

• Main Authors: Urvik, Janek, Rattiste, Kalev, Giraudeau, Mathieu, Okuliarová, Monika, Hõrak, Peeter, Tuul Sepp
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Figshare 2018
• Subjects: Evolutionary Biology; FOS Biological sciences; Larus canus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4147019.v1; https://figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Age-specific_patterns_of_maternal_investment_in_common_gull_egg_yolk_/4147019/1

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 defence and immune modulation, our results suggest a possible physiological pathway underlying the age-specific changes in reproductive success of long-lived birds in the wild.