期刊
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
卷 221, 期 3, 页码 -出版社
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.165373
关键词
Tree swallows; HUFA; ALA; Energy; Nutrients; Compound-specific stable isotopes; Carbon stable isotope tracer
类别
资金
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (Hatch) [NYC-399-7461]
- National Science Foundation [DDIG DEB-1838331]
- Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Mellon Grant
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Food availability and quality are both critical for growing young animals. In nature, swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and other aerial insectivores feed on both aquatic insects, which are rich in omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs), and terrestrial insects, which contain considerably lower amounts of omega-3 HUFAs. Carnivorous mammals and fishes must obtain omega-3 HUFAs from their diet, as they have lost the capacity to convert the precursor omega-3 alinolenic acid (ALA) into omega-3 HUFAs. Thus, the relative value of aquatic versus terrestrial insects depends not only on the fatty acid composition of the prey but also on the capacity of consumers to convert ALA into omega-3 HUFAs. We used a combination of stable-isotope-labeled fatty acid tracers to ask whether, and how efficiently, tree swallows can deposit newly synthesized omega-3 HUFAs into tissue. Our data show for the first time that tree swallows can convert ALA into omega-3 HUFAs deposited in liver and skeletal muscle. However, high tree swallow demand for omega-3 HUFAs combined with low ALA availability in natural terrestrial foods may strain their modest conversion ability. This suggests that while tree swallows can synthesize omega-3 HUFAs de novo, omega-3 HUFAs are ecologically essential nutrients in natural systems. Our findings thus provide mechanistic support for our previous findings and the importance of omega-3 HUFA-rich aquatic insects for tree swallows and most likely other aerial insectivores with similar niches.
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