DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Oxidative stress and trade-offs in the cooperatively breeding Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

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Oxidative damage results from the inability of an organism to cope with reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are formed as byproducts of metabolism. Damage to various classes of biomolecules has been implicated in cellular senescence, aging and debilitating diseases. This research will be the first to address the effects of multiple aspects of oxidative damage on fitness-related measures in a free-living long-lived avian model. The framework currently being developed from this research may be of importance to the medical community as birds are increasingly being recognized as viable models to assess adaptations to combat oxidative damage, senescence, and associated diseases in humans. Florida Scrub-Jays will be used to assess whether the accumulation of oxidative damage negatively affects reproductive decisions and output, as well as fitness. Both nestling and adult birds will be supplemented with antioxidants which neutralize ROS. Thus, birds that receive antioxidants are predicted to demonstrate higher reproduction and survivorship. Florida Scrub-Jays are a federally threatened species and therefore, the results of this research may be applied broadly to assist in the conservation of this, and other threatened species by providing important clues as to the best management practices with regard to supplemental antioxidant diets. Additionally, through collaboration with Archbold Biological Station (ABS), an ecological research facility intimately involved in environmental education, this research will integrate scientific advancement with educational opportunities. This research will be published in high profile journals and presented at scientific and lay meetings. It will also be shared informally through interactions with visitors to ABS, and formally both through the station?s internship program which brings several dozen undergraduate and graduate students to the station to work on independent projects each year and the ABS ecology education program which hosts nearly 3,000 3rd-5th grade schoolchildren every year.