Supplementary material from "Short-term dietary changes are reflected in the cerebral content of adult ring-billed gulls" ...

• Main Authors: Lamarre, Jessika, Wilson, David
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Royal Society 2024
• Subjects: Ecology not elsewhere classified; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7379662; https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Short-term_dietary_changes_are_reflected_in_the_cerebral_content_of_adult_ring-billed_gulls_/7379662

Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n3-LCPUFAs) are produced primarily in aquatic ecosystems and are considered essential nutrients for predators given their structural role in vertebrates’ cerebral tissues. Alarmingly, with urbanization, many aquatic animals now rely on anthropogenic foods lacking n3-LCPUFAs. In this study undertaken in Newfoundland (Canada), we tested whether recent or longer-term diet explains the cerebral fatty acid composition of ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis), a seabird that now thrives in cities. During the breeding season, cerebral levels of n3-LCPUFA were significantly higher for gulls nesting in a natural habitat and foraging on marine food (mean±SD: 32±1%) than for urban nesters exploiting garbage (27±1%). Stable isotope analysis of blood and feathers showed that urban and natural nesters shared similar diets in fall and winter, suggesting that the difference in cerebral n3-LCPUFA in the breeding season was due to concomitant and transient differences in diet. ...