Oxidative stress in relation to reproduction, contaminants, gender and age in a long-lived seabird

• Published in: Oecologia
• Main Authors: Costantini, David, Meillère, Alizée, Carravieri, Alice, Lecomte, Vincent, Sorci, Gabriele, Faivre, Bruno, Weimerskirch, Henri, Bustamante, Paco, Labadie, Pierre, Budzinski, Hélène, Chastel, Olivier
• Other Authors: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Glasgow, University of Glasgow-University of Glasgow, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp (UA), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biogéosciences UMR 6282 (BGS), Université de Bourgogne (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Project supported by the French Polar Institute (IPEV, program 109, H. Weimerskirch), Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises, Zone Atelier de Recherches sur l'Environnement Antarctique et Subantarctique (CNRS-INEE)., ANR-10-CESA-0016,POLARTOP,Contaminants chez les prédateurs supérieurs polaires: niveaux et effets des polluants organiques et métaux lourds sur la physiologie du stress et le devenir des oiseaux marins des Terres Australes Françaises (TAAF)(2010)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Seabirds; Reproduction; POPs; Mercury; Ageing; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Diomedea exulans; Wandering Albatross
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01079023; https://hal.science/hal-01079023/document; https://hal.science/hal-01079023/file/Costantini%20et%20al%202014%20Oecologia%20%281%29.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2975-x

10 pages International audience Reproduction is a demanding activity for animals, since they must produce, and in some cases protect and provision, their young. It is often overlooked that demands of reproduction may also be exacerbated by exposure to contaminants. In this study, we make use of an exceptional long-term dataset to perform a cross-sectional study on the long-lived wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in order to test the effects of reproduction, persistent organic pollutants [POPs: pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)], mercury, individual age (3–47 years), and sex on the levels of plasma oxidative damage and inflammation. The results of our study support the hypothesis that oxidative damage may be a physiological cost of reproduction and that individuals carrying higher levels of organic or non-organic contaminants have higher oxidative damage. Levels of the inflammatory protein haptoglobin were similar between breeding and nonbreeding birds, with the exception of breeding males which had the lowest levels of haptoglobin. Our data also show an effect of age and of organic contaminants on the plasma oxidative damage level, but not on plasma haptoglobin. In addition, plasma oxidative damage level increased with red blood cell mercury concentration in females but not in males. Hence, our study highlights that the harmful effects of contaminants may come through interaction with factors like life stage or gender, suggesting potential for high variation in susceptibility to contamination among individuals.