Physiological Conditions of Parent and Offspring Black-Browed Albatrosses \u3cem\u3eThalassarche melanophris\u3c/em\u3e

Capsule: In Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris nutritional condition is correlated between parents and their offspring. Aims: To test resource allocation hypotheses analysing the relationship between parental and offspring nutritional condition. Methods: We measured blood chemistry parameters related with nutritional condition in 24 parents and their nestlings in a colony of Black-browed Albatrosses. Results: There were no significant differences in blood parameters between sexes or location of the nest within the colony, neither among adults nor among nestlings. We found a significant positive correlation between parents and the nutritional condition of their offspring, measured as urea, uric acid and beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations in blood. Discussion: These relationships demonstrate that condition of the young seems to be merely a reflection of parental condition. An interesting relationship between alkaline phosphatase concentration in adults and nutritional condition of their nestlings was found, suggesting that age of the parents would be a key factor explaining quality of the nestling