Data from: Age-specific patterns of maternal investment in common gull egg yolk
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 le...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Dataset |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://zenodo.org/record/5008821 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dc8dp2j |
Summary: | 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 defense and immune modulation, our results suggest a possible physiological pathway behind the age-specific changes in reproductive success of long-lived birds in the wild. Urvik et al_gull eggs_raw dataRaw data of age specific differences in common gull egg characteristics. Data collected from the field. |
---|