THREE PINNIPED SPECIES, by Susan D. Inglis, MS a Dissertation
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Dietary effects on protein turnover in three pinniped species, Eumetopias jubatus, Phoca vitulina, and Leptonychotes weddellii Item Type Thesis Authors Inglis, Susan D. Download date 11/10/2021 13:32:47 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10505 DIETARY EFFECTS ON PROTEIN TURNOVER IN THREE PINNIPED SPECIES, EUMETOPIAS JUBATUS, PHOCA VITULINA, AND LEPTONYCHOTES WEDDELLII By Susan D. Inglis, MS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks May 2019 ©2019 Susan D. Inglis APPROVED: Michael Castellini, Committee Chair Shannon Atkinson, Committee Member Perry Barboza, Committee Member James Carpenter, Committee Member Lorrie Rea, Committee Member Matthew Wooller, Chair Department of Marine Biology Bradley S. Moran, Dean College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Michael Castellini, Dean of the Graduate School Abstract The role of dietary protein in pinniped (seal and sea lion) nutrition is poorly understood. Although these marine mammals derive the majority of their daily energetic needs from lipid, lipids cannot supply essential amino acids which have to come from protein fractions of the diet. Protein regulation is vital for cellular maintenance, molt, fasting metabolism, exercise and development. Proteins are composed of linked amino acids (AA), and net protein turnover is the balance between protein synthesis from component AA, and degradation back to AA. Protein regulation is influenced by dietary intake and quality, as well as physiological and metabolic requirements. In this work, pinniped diet quality was assessed through comparisons of amino acid profiles between maternal milk, blood serum, and seasonal prey of wild juvenile Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Southcentral Alaska. Both Pacific herring (Clupei pallasi) and walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogramma) showed similar patterns to milk in essential and branched chain amino acid content. Serum amino acid profiles suggest the juvenile sea lions were not in protein deficit at the time of capture. Protein metabolism in the blood and urine was assessed through turnover studies using amino acid tracers. The turnover kinetics of 15N-labelled glycine in the blood amino acid and protein pool, red blood cells, and urine urea were measured in wild adult female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in the Antarctic. Labelled glycine moved quickly into serum protein and red blood cells (1-2 hours) and urinary urea (2-4 hours). The turnover rates in the blood amino acid and urine urea pools demonstrated a reduced turnover rate associated with molting. iii Lastly, whole body protein turnover experiments using a single bolus 15N-labelled glycine tracer method with endproduct collection of blood, feces and urine were conducted on 2 Cohort groups of captive Alaskan harbor seals over 2 years. Season was found to have the greatest effect on whole body protein turnover, which increased during the winter and decreased in the summer molt. Conversely, protein intake decreased during the winter and increased in the summer molt. This pattern corresponded with an increase in mass and protein synthesis in the winter, while mass decreased and protein degradation rates increased in molting seals. Weaning also influenced the patterns with reduced protein turnover in newly weaned animals that had recently transitioned from milk to a fish diet. This project presents results on whole body protein turnover rates in nonfasting pinnipeds and reveals that protein turnover is strongly regulated by developmental and seasonal physiological and metabolic demands. iv Dedication This work is dedicated to my father, who taught me that a curious mind was a wonderful thing and was always there to catch me when I stumbled. v Table of Contents Page Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ..................................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ viii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ x Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 General Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 Protein Quality in the Diet of Steller Sea Lions, Eumetopias jubatus, in Southcentral Alaska1 .................. 8 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction 9 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 13 Collection and analysis of prey samples ............................................................................................. 13 Collection of SSL samples................................................................................................................... 16 Amino acid analysis ............................................................................................................................ 16 Statistical analysis .............................................................................................................................. 17 Results......................................................................................................................................................18 Seasonal Variability in Prey Constituents .......................................................................................... 18 Protein Quality.................................................................................................................................... 19 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................... 21 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................... 27 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Appendix................................................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 50 Tracking Protein Turnover in Adult Female Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) Using 15N-labelled Glycine 1..................................................................................................................................................... 50 Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 50 Introduction 52 Methods 55 vi Animal and sample collection ............................................................................................................. 55 Laboratory Analyses ...........................................................................................................................57 Statistical Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 62 Results......................................................................................................................................................62 Protein quality of prey ........................................................................................................................ 62 Animal condition ................................................................................................................................. 62 Turnover kinetics ................................................................................................................................ 63 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................... 64 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................... 68 Literature Cited ....................................................................................................................................... 69 Appendix 1.............................................................................................................................................. 93 Chapter 4 ....................................................................................................................................................