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Hibernation involves prolonged intervals of profound metabolic suppression periodically interrupted by brief arousals to euthermy, the function of which is unknown. Annual cycles in mammals are timed by a photoperiodically-regulated thyroid-hormone-dependent mechanism in hypothalamic tanycytes, driven by thyrotropin (TSH) in the pars tuberalis (PT), which regulates local TH-converting deiodinases and triggers remodeling of neuroendocrine pathways. We demonstrate that over the course of hibernation in continuous darkness, arctic ground squirrels (Urocitellus parryii) up-regulate the retrograde TSH/Deiodinase/TH pathway, remodel hypothalamic tanycytes, and activate the reproductive axis. Forcing the premature termination of hibernation by warming animals induced hypothalamic deiodinase expression and the accumulation of secretory granules in PT thyrotrophs and pituitary gonadotrophs, but did not further activate the reproductive axis. We suggest that periodic arousals may allow for the transient activation of hypothalamic thyroid hormone signaling, cellular remodeling, and re-programming of brain circuits in preparation for the short Arctic summer. Arctic ground squirrels hibernating in darkness activate the pars tuberalis - hypothalamus thyroid hormone signaling pathway, remodel hypothalamic tanycytes, and activate the reproductive axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intra- and inter-specific resource partitioning within predator communities is a fundamental component of trophic ecology, and one proposed mechanism for how populations partition resources is through individual niche variation. The Niche Variation Hypothesis (NVH) predicts that inter-individual trait variation leads to functional trade-offs in foraging efficiency, resulting in populations composed of individual dietary specialists. The degree to which niche specialization persists within a population is plastic and responsive to fluctuating resource availability. We quantified niche overlap and tested the NVH within an Arctic raptor guild, focusing on three species that employ different foraging strategies: golden eagles (generalists); gyrfalcons (facultative specialists); and rough-legged hawks (specialists). Tundra ecosystems exhibit cyclic populations of arvicoline rodents (lemmings and voles), providing a unique system in which to examine predator diet in response to interannual fluctuations in resource availability. Using blood δ13C and δ15N values from 189 raptor nestlings on Alaska's Seward Peninsula (2014–2019), we calculated isotopic niche width and used Bayesian stable isotope mixing models (BSIMMs) to characterize individual specialization and test the NVH. Nest-level specialization estimated from stable isotopes was strongly correlated with indices of specialization based on camera trap data. We observed a high degree of isotopic niche overlap between the three species and gyrfalcons displayed a positive relationship between individual specialization and population niche width on an interannual basis consistent with the NVH. Our findings suggest plasticity in niche specialization may reduce intra- and inter-specific resource competition under dynamic ecological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of fatty acids (FAs) is an increasingly utilized tool in studies of trophic ecology in marine ecosystems. This powerful technique has proved useful in delineating spatial and temporal variability in diets, identifying the consumption of key species, and providing quantitative estimates of diet composition. Although consumer FA signatures are undeniably influenced by diet, they can also be affected by other factors including life-history stage, diet quality, and physiological state. Here, we review how FAs are assimilated, deposited, and metabolized in birds, and the implications of these processes on the various tissues commonly sampled for FA analyses. We then examine the assumptions underlying FA signature analysis when used in studies of seabird trophic ecology and propose a direction for future laboratory experiments that are needed to refine the approach. The correct interpretation of FA data relies on accounting for factors that alter predator FA metabolism and controlling for variability in the lipid content and FA composition of prey. Efforts should also be made to incorporate uncertainty associated with predator metabolism into models designed for quantitative diet estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty acid (FA) signature analysis is a powerful tool to investigate foraging ecology and food web dynamics in marine ecosystems. However, use of FA signatures to qualitatively or quantitatively infer diets is potentially complicated by effects of nutritional state on lipid metabolism. Estimation of diets using the quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) model requires the use of calibration coefficients to account for predator metabolism of individual FAs. We conducted a captive feeding experiment to determine the effects of a 50% reduction in food intake on growth rate and adipose tissue FA signatures of tufted puffin ( Fratercula cirrhata) nestlings, a species that routinely experiences food restriction during growth. FA signatures of chicks fed low- and high-calorie diets both exhibited a change in composition in response to the dietary shift with the direction of change in the composition of individual FAs matching the direction of change in the dietary FAs. Despite a growth rate in the restricted nestlings that was 38% of those in the well-fed group, rates of FA turnover were not different between high and low-calorie treatments, and turnover was close to, but not entirely complete, after 27 days on both high-calorie and restricted diets. FA signatures of tufted puffin nestlings were significantly affected by caloric restriction, but these effects were much less pronounced than those of dietary turnover, and calibration coefficients of puffins fed low and high-calorie diets were highly correlated. Our results demonstrate that changes in physiological state can affect FA metabolism, but future research is required to better understand whether the size of these effects is sufficient to substantially alter diet estimation using the QFASA model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When using stable isotopes as dietary tracers it is essential to consider effects of nutritional state on isotopic fractionation. While starvation is known to induce enrichment of 15N in body tissues, effects of moderate food restriction on isotope signatures have rarely been tested. We conducted two experiments to investigate effects of a 50–55% reduction in food intake on δ15N and δ13C values in blood cells and whole blood of tufted puffin chicks, a species that exhibits a variety of adaptive responses to nutritional deficits. We found that blood from puffin chicks fed ad libitum became enriched in 15N and 13C compared to food-restricted chicks. Our results show that 15N enrichment is not always associated with food deprivation and argue effects of growth on diet–tissue fractionation of nitrogen stable isotopes (Δ15N) need to be considered in stable isotope studies. The decrease in δ13C of whole blood and blood cells in restricted birds is likely due to incorporation of carbon from 13C-depleted lipids into proteins. Effects of nutritional restriction on δ15N and δ13C values were relatively small in both experiments (δ15N: 0.77 and 0.41‰, δ13C: 0.20 and 0.25‰) compared to effects of ecological processes, indicating physiological effects do not preclude the use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in studies of seabird ecology. Nevertheless, our results demonstrate that physiological processes affect nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in growing birds and we caution isotope ecologists to consider these effects to avoid drawing spurious conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]