Interspecific differences in plasma carotenoid profiles in nestlings of three sympatric vulture species  

作　　者：Guillermo Blanco Damaso Hornero-Mendezb 

机构地区：[1]Department of Evolutionary Ecology,Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales(CSIC),Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2,28006 Madrid,Spain [2]Departament of Food Phytochemistry,Instituto de la Grasa(CSiC),Campus Universidad Pablo de Olavide,41013 Seville,Spain

出　　处：《Current Zoology》2023年第6期658-669,共12页动物学报（英文版）

基　　金：Research was funded through projectsCGL2007-61395,CGL2010-15726,CGL2013-42451-P;PID2019-109685GB-100 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation。

摘　　要：Carotenoids are diet-based micronutrients important in health and coloration signaling.Related species with similar diets can differ in the kinds and levels of circulating carotenoids,which suggests specific physiological mechanisms to efficiently utilize these micronutrients,regardless of their availability.We explored whether diet and parental provisioning of unusual sources of carotenoids(fresh vegetal matter and vertebrate feces)can explain the occurrence and concentrations of carotenoids in the cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus,griffon vulture Gyps fulvus,and Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus nestlings,even when these pigments appear to not be deposited in their integumentary system.A greater diversity of wild prey in diet could be behind the profile of higher concentrations of carotenoids in the Egyptian vulture,the species with carotenoid-dependent coloration during adulthood,while differences in diet composition between cinereous and griffon vultures do not translate to different carotenoid profiles.The carotenoid profile appears to not be related to the ingestion of unusual matter rich in these compounds,although the infrequent occurrence of lycopene and unidentified y-carotene-like compounds suggest that these vultures may be exploiting vegetal matter that left no identifiable unconsumed remains in the nest of Egyptian vultures.The consumption of green plant material by griffon vultures does not result in especially high levels of carotenoids when compared to the carotenoids found in cinereous vultures,which do not consume green plant material.Ungulate feces were not provisioned to Egyptian vulture nestlings,despite the fact they contain carotenoids that adults need for appropriate coloration.Overall,this study indicates that diet differences alone appear insufficient to explain contrasting inter.specific carotenoid profiles,especially since all types of food consumed are considered to be poor in carotenoids,except vegetable matter.We suggest that nestling Egyptian vultures are comparatively effi

关 键 词：avian scavengers CAROTENES coloration feeding habits micronutrients XANTHOPHYLLS 

分 类 号：Q95[生物学—动物学]