McGill University
B.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: Kyle Elliott
Don-Jean Leandri Breton, McGill University
Start: 2022-11-14
End: 2023-05-01

Project

Do metabolite levels reflect nutritional state in a free-living seabird?
Project description This research will take place on Middleton Island, AK (59.4283° N, 146.3300° W) and includes two components: 1) participation in the long-term study of six sub-arctic seabirds run by the Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation, and 2) conducting an independent research project for the development of my honours thesis. My project will use a food supplementation experiment on black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) to improve understanding of the effects of (i) food availability and (ii) breeding stage on metabolite panels and nutritional state. I will be testing two hypotheses: Food availability affects the nutritional state of individuals as reflected in plasma metabolite levels. I predict that fed birds will have higher glucose and triglyceride levels, and unfed birds will have higher cholesterol and ketone levels. Plasma metabolite levels of individuals differ between breeding stages. I predict that the nutritional state of individuals will be better in pre-laying compared to incubation and chick-rearing, but similar between incubation and chick-rearing5. To test these hypotheses, I will be using an experimental approach. I will take small blood samples from 160 black-legged kittiwakes on Middleton Island, AK, during pre-laying (n=50), incubating (n=40), and chick-rearing (n=70). A subset of the study population will be fed fish ad libidum throughout the breeding season to experimentally increase food intake and nutritional condition. Immediately after each capture, the blood sample will be analysed with point-of-care devices to measure levels of glucose, cholesterol, ketones, and triglycerides.