Three-phase fuel deposition in a long-distance migrant, the Red Knot ( Calidris canutus piersmai ), before the flight to high Arctic breeding grounds

Refuelling by migratory birds before take-off on long flights is generally considered a two-phase process, with protein accumulation preceding rapid fat deposition. The first phase expresses the demands for a large digestive system for nutrient storage after shrinkage during previous flights, the se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS ONE
Main Authors: Hua, Ning, Piersma, Theunis, Ma, Zhijun
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2013
Subjects:
BASAL METABOLIC-RATE
MIGRATORY STOPOVER
BODY-COMPOSITION
PREY QUALITY
ANNUAL CYCLE
ORGAN SIZE
MASS GAIN
BEHAVIOR
STORES
SITE
Arctic
Calidris canutus
Red Knot
Tundra
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11370/33869495-7121-4575-ac21-003e293f94e9
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/33869495-7121-4575-ac21-003e293f94e9
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062551
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/16864561/2013PLoSOneHua.pdf
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/16864562/2013PLoSOneHuaSupp1.pdf
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/16864563/2013PLoSOneHuaSupp2.pdf
https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/16864564/2013PLoSOneHuaSupp3.pdf
Description
Summary:Refuelling by migratory birds before take-off on long flights is generally considered a two-phase process, with protein accumulation preceding rapid fat deposition. The first phase expresses the demands for a large digestive system for nutrient storage after shrinkage during previous flights, the second phase the demands for fat stores to fuel the subsequent flight. At the last staging site in northward migration, this process may include expression of selection pressures both en route to and after arrival at the breeding grounds, which remains unascertained. Here we investigated changes in body composition during refuelling of High Arctic breeding red knots ( Calidris canutus piersmai ) in the northern Yellow Sea, before their flight to the tundra. These red knots followed a three-phase fuel deposition pattern, with protein being stored in the first and last phases, and fat being deposited mainly in the second phase. Thus, they did not shrink nutritional organs before take-off, and even showed hypertrophy of the nutritional organs. These suggest the build up of strategic protein stores before departure to cope with a protein shortage upon arrival on the breeding grounds. Further comparative studies are warranted to examine the degree to which the deposition of stores by migrant birds generally reflects a balance between concurrent and upcoming environmental selection pressures.

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