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

• Published in: Biology Letters
• Main Authors: Urvik, Janek, Rattiste, Kalev, Giraudeau, Mathieu, Okuliarová, Monika, Hõrak, Peeter, Sepp, Tuul
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2018
• Subjects: Evolutionary Biology; Larus canus
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6083236/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29997189; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0346

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 the levels of yolk testosterone, carotenoids and vitamins A and E 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.