Oxidative status of blue tit nestlings varies with habitat and nestling size

• Published in: Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology Vol. 258; p. 110986
• Main Authors: Garrido-Bautista, Jorge, Soria, Antonio, Trenzado, Cristina E., Pérez-Jiménez, Amalia, Ros-Santaella, José Luis, Pintus, Eliana, Bernardo, Nicola, Comas, Mar, Moreno-Rueda, Gregorio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Blue tit; Catalase - metabolism; Diet; Ecosystem; Geography; Glutathione Peroxidase - metabolism; Lipid Peroxidation; Local environment; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Nestlings; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - physiology; Passeriformes - physiology; Songbirds - physiology; Spain; Spain; Oxidative stress; TMB; GST; SOD; TBARS; CDNB; MDA; Blue tit; GPX; Antioxidants; Local environment; TEAC; Nestlings; ROS; CAT; Hb; GSH; ABTS
• ISSN: 1095-6433; 1531-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.110986

Oxidative status has been proposed as an important ecological and evolutionary force given that pro-oxidant metabolites damage molecules, cells and tissues, with fitness consequences for organisms. Consequently, organisms usually face a trade-off between regulating their oxidative status and other physiological traits. However, environmental stressors and the availability of dietary-derived antioxidants vary according to local conditions and, thus, organisms inhabiting different habitats face different oxidative pressures. Still, there is little information on how different environmental conditions influence the oxidative status of animals inhabiting terrestrial environments. In this work, we examined the variation in oxidative status in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), a bird species with hatching asynchrony. Specifically, we examined the oxidative status of the largest and the smallest nestlings in the brood, inhabiting four forests differing in food availability and ectoparasite prevalence. We measured lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde; MDA) as a marker of oxidative damage, total antioxidant capacity (Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity; TEAC) and antioxidant enzymatic activity (catalase, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase) in blood samples. The glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity differed among the forests, being the highest in the pine forest and the lowest in a mixed oak (Quercus) forest in the most humid area. Lipid peroxidation was higher in larger nestlings, suggesting higher oxidative damage with an increasing growth rate. Neither brood size, laying date, nor ectoparasites were related to the oxidative status of nestlings. These results suggest that nest rearing conditions might shape the oxidative status of birds, having consequences for habitat-dependent variation in regulation of oxidative status. [Display omitted] •Forest type, body size, ectoparasites, brood size and laying date may modulate oxidative status of nestlings.•Larger blue tit nestlings had more lipid peroxidation levels than smaller nestlings, suggesting oxidant costs for growth.•The activity of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in nestlings differed among forests.•Neither ectoparasites, nor brood size, nor laying date did affect the oxidative status of blue tit nestlings.