Trophic position structures physiological trade-offs between metabolic and detoxification pathways in sympatric passerines
8 affiliations
- 1Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias 1 , Ñuñoa, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
- 2Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Mayor 2 , Santiago, Chile
- 3Universidad Austral de Chile 3 , Valdivia, Chile
- 4Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas 4 , Valdivia, Chile
- 5Millenium Nucleus of Patagonian Limit of Life (LiLi) 5 , Valdivia, Chile
- 6Department of Environmental Sciences, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha—Campus de Toledo 6 , Toledo, Spain
- 7Departamento de Ciencias, Universidad Adolfo Ibanez 7 , Peñalolén, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
- 8Department of Biology, University of New Mexico Consortium of the Americas for Interdisciplinary Science 8 , Albuquerque, NM, USA
Abstract
Resource use links ecological context to organismal performance, yet whether dietary breadth or trophic position is more closely associated with physiological state in wild birds remains unclear. We used a natural trophic gradient in a sympatric passerine assemblage to test whether trophic position and isotopic niche breadth are associated with integrated physiological phenotypes. We studied three co-occurring passerine species in central Chile spanning a trophic spectrum (granivorous, omnivorous, insectivorous). Using blood δ13C and δ15N, we quantified isotopic niche width and estimated trophic position, then compared these metrics with physiological variables measured in free-living birds (n = 60), including differential leukocyte counts, antioxidant capacity, and enzymatic markers of oxidative metabolism, glutathione-related physiology, and plasma esterase activity. Isotopic niche width differed among species but was weakly associated with physiological variation. By contrast, estimated trophic position showed stronger species-level correspondence with multivariate physiological organization. Metabolic and enzyme-based variables contributed most to interspecific physiological differentiation, whereas baseline non-enzymatic antioxidant buffering was conserved. Overall, estimated trophic position showed a stronger correspondence with coordinated physiological variation than isotopic niche breadth. These findings highlight species-level physiological differences associated with trophic position and provide a basis for broader comparative analyses of ecological and evolutionary influences on avian physiology.
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BibTeX
@article{sabat2026trophic,
title = {{Trophic position structures physiological trade-offs between metabolic and detoxification pathways in sympatric passerines}},
author = {Pablo Sabat and Antonia Beltran-Hayet and Francisco del Basto and Benjamin Corvalán and Natalia Ramirez-Otarola and Felipe Alvarez-Vergara and Diego Landaeta and Roberto Nespolo and Juan C. Sanchez-Hernandez and Karin Maldonado and Seth D. Newsome},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.261499},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/261499/483517/Trophic-position-structures-physiological-trade},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Trophic position structures physiological trade-offs between metabolic and detoxification pathways in sympatric passerines
AU - Pablo Sabat
AU - Antonia Beltran-Hayet
AU - Francisco del Basto
AU - Benjamin Corvalán
AU - Natalia Ramirez-Otarola
AU - Felipe Alvarez-Vergara
AU - Diego Landaeta
AU - Roberto Nespolo
AU - Juan C. Sanchez-Hernandez
AU - Karin Maldonado
AU - Seth D. Newsome
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.261499
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/261499/483517/Trophic-position-structures-physiological-trade
AB - Resource use links ecological context to organismal performance, yet whether dietary breadth or trophic position is more closely associated with physiological state in wild birds remains unclear. We used a natural trophic gradient in a sympatric passerine assemblage to test whether trophic position and isotopic niche breadth are associated with integrated physiological phenotypes. We studied three co-occurring passerine species in central Chile spanning a trophic spectrum (granivorous, omnivorous, insectivorous). Using blood δ13C and δ15N, we quantified isotopic niche width and estimated trophic position, then compared these metrics with physiological variables measured in free-living birds (n = 60), including differential leukocyte counts, antioxidant capacity, and enzymatic markers of oxidative metabolism, glutathione-related physiology, and plasma esterase activity. Isotopic niche width differed among species but was weakly associated with physiological variation. By contrast, estimated trophic position showed stronger species-level correspondence with multivariate physiological organization. Metabolic and enzyme-based variables contributed most to interspecific physiological differentiation, whereas baseline non-enzymatic antioxidant buffering was conserved. Overall, estimated trophic position showed a stronger correspondence with coordinated physiological variation than isotopic niche breadth. These findings highlight species-level physiological differences associated with trophic position and provide a basis for broader comparative analyses of ecological and evolutionary influences on avian physiology.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -