Transfer of Vitamins E and A from yolk to embryo during development of the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus).

Since the yolk lipids of the king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are rich in n-3 fatty acids, which are potentially susceptible to peroxidative damage, the yolk contents and yolk-to-embryo transfer of antioxidants and lipid-soluble vitamins were investigated under conditions of natural incubation in the wild. The concentration of vitamin E in the unincubated egg was 155 microg/g wet yolk, of which 88% was alpha-tocopherol and the rest was gamma-tocopherol. Vitamin A (2.

Comparative evaluation of the effect of two maternal diets on fatty acids, vitamin E and carotenoids in the chick embryo.

1. The fatty acid profile of egg yolk and vitamin E and carotenoid accumulation in the egg yolk and embryonic tissues were investigated in relation to the maternal diet. 2.

Carotenoid discrimination by the avian embryo: a lesson from wild birds.

The concentrations (microg/g wet yolk) of total carotenoids in eggs of the common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), American coot (Fulica americana) and lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), collected in the wild, were 47.5, 131.0 and 71.

Use of perches and nestboxes by laying hens in relation to social status, based on examination of consistency of ranking orders and frequency of interaction.

Four groups of 15-19 adult ISA Brown hens were studied in pens to assess the relationship between social status and use of perches and nestboxes. This was to test the hypothesis that subordinate hens use these resources more by day, for avoiding dominants, but that dominants use perches more at night, for roosting. The experiment consisted of a 5-week pre-treatment period, when no perches were present, and a 4-week treatment period, when each group was tested with different perch treatments (No, Low, Medium, High).

Captivity diets alter egg yolk lipids of a bird of prey (the American kestrel) and of a galliforme (the red-legged partridge).

The salient feature of the fatty acid profile of kestrel eggs collected in the wild was the very high proportion of arachidonic acid (15.2%+/-0.7% of fatty acid mass, n=5) in the phospholipid fraction of the yolk.