Age is an important parameter for a variety of ecological applications, including population viability analyses, contaminants monitoring and targeting of individuals for conservation. While many organisms can be aged by annual rings, dentition and other techniques (i.e., fish otoliths, clam growth rings, mammal tooth wear), there are no minimally invasive biomarkers for accurately aging birds in the wild. For the past century, banding has been the only way to identify a bird of known age, which requires continuous effort on a large scale with possibly low return rates. Recent studies have identified pentosidine as a potential biomarker of chronological aging in several bird species. To test this idea in four species of long-lived seabirds, we collected skin biopsies from the foot webs of previously banded, known-age seabirds: black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla; 0-19 y old), Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica; 5-26 y old), razorbills (Alca torda; 0-15 d old) and thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia; 0-35 y old). Foot web samples were specifically chosen because this was the least invasive site for substantial skin biopsy. Samples were analysed with high performance liquid chromatography to quantify pentosidine levels. Collagen levels were estimated through hydroxyproline assays to normalize pentosidine content across individuals. Kittiwakes displayed a weak correlation (r2 = 0.20) between age and pentosidine/collagen. Puffins (adults only, r2 = 0.02), razorbills (chicks only, r2 = 0.08), and murres (adults, r2 = 0.04) did not show any associations with age. We concluded that pentosidine content in the foot web does not appear to be a reliable method for aging seabirds in the wild. An absence of change in pentosidine in the foot web with age is further evidence that long-lived seabirds may maintain physiological performance into old age.

中文翻译：

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在四种野生海鸟中，脚蹼戊糖苷不会随年龄强烈变化。

年龄是各种生态应用的重要参数，包括种群生存力分析，污染物监测以及个人保护目标。尽管许多生物可以通过年轮，齿列和其他技术（例如，鱼耳石，蛤类生长环，哺乳动物的牙齿磨损）进行衰老，但没有微创生物标志物可以在野外准确地使鸟类衰老。在过去的一个世纪中，条带化是识别已知年龄的鸟类的唯一方法，这需要大规模的持续努力，而返回率可能很低。最近的研究已经确定戊糖苷是几种鸟类中时间变老的潜在生物标记。为了在四种长寿海鸟中验证这一想法，我们从以前带状，已知年龄的海鸟的脚蹼中收集了皮肤活检样本：黑脚kittiwakes（Rissa tridactyla； 0-19岁），大西洋海雀（Fratercula arctica； 5-26岁），razorbills（Alca torda； 0-15 d岁）和长嘴鼠（Uria lomvia； 0- 35岁）。特别选择了脚蹼样本，因为这是进行实质性皮肤活检的侵入性最小的部位。用高效液相色谱分析样品以定量戊糖苷水平。通过羟脯氨酸测定法估计胶原蛋白水平以使个体中的戊糖苷含量正常化。Kittiwakes在年龄和戊糖苷/胶原蛋白之间显示弱相关性（r2 = 0.20）。海雀（仅成人，r2 = 0.02），剃刀（仅小鸡，r2 = 0.08）和黑猩猩（成人，r2 = 0.04）与年龄没有任何关联。我们得出的结论是，脚蹼中的戊糖苷含量似乎不是在野外老化海鸟的可靠方法。随着年龄的增长，脚蹼中戊糖苷的变化没有变化，这进一步证明了长寿海鸟可能在老年人中保持生理机能。