[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuM1bfojZBI[/video]
Diving birds like guillemots die quickly after reaching their 30s, with few signs of deterioration, a recent study finds. The results could improve our understanding of the aging process.
For four summers, a team of French and Canadian researchers studied behavior and metabolism in Brünnich’s guillemots, Uria lomvia, at Coats Island in Hudson Bay, Canada.
These long-lived birds have high metabolisms and spend a lot of energy on diving. However, they remain active and capable even toward the end of their lives.
The team looked at 75 birds, measuring dive depth and length, and flight speed and distance to determine the amount of energy spent.
“Most of what we know about aging is from studies of short-lived round worms, fruit flies, mice, and chickens, but long-lived animals age differently,” said study lead author Kyle Elliott at the University of Manitoba in a press release.
“Not only do these birds live very long, but they maintain their energetic lifestyle in a very extreme environment into old age.”
The Coats Island colony has been studied since 1981. A particular male has been observed to breed and raise chicks for 18 years running. The bird is called Wayne Gretzky after the Canadian ice hockey player who competed for 20 years, and also has Gretzky’s team colors on its identification band.
The research will be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting in Austria on July 2.
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