Omega-3 fatty acids accelerate fledging in an avian marine predator: a potential role of cognition [RESEARCH ARTICLE]

Jessika Lamarre, Sukhinder Kaur Cheema, Gregory J. Robertson, and David R. Wilson Consuming omega-3 fatty acids (n3-LCPUFAs) during development improves cognition in mammals, but the effect remains untested in other taxa. In aquatic ecosystems, n3-LCPUFAs are produced by phytoplankton and bioaccumulate in the food web. Alarmingly, the warming and acidification of aquatic systems caused by climate change impair n3-LCPUFA production, with an anticipated decrease of 80% by the year 2100. We tested whether n3-LCPUFA consumption affects the physiology, morphology, behaviour, and cognition of a top marine predator's chicks, the ring-billed gull. Using a colony with little access to n3-LCPUFAs, we supplemented siblings from 22 fenced nests with opposite treatments from hatching until fledging; one sibling received n3-LCPUFA-rich fish oil and the other, a control sucrose solution without n3-LCPUFAs. Halfway through the nestling period, half the chicks receiving fish oil were switched to the sucrose solution to test whether n3-LCPUFA intake remains crucial past the main growth phase (chronic versus transient treatments). Upon fledging, n3-LCPUFAs were elevated in the blood and brains of chicks receiving the chronic treatment, but were comparable to control levels among transient chicks. Across the entire sample, chicks with elevated n3-LCPUFAs in their tissues fledged earlier despite their morphology and activity levels being unrelated to fledging age. Fledging required chicks to esca...
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research