Plasma metabolite indices are robust to extrinsic variation and useful indicators of foraging habitat quality in Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

This dataset contains plasma lipid metabolite values collected from Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis) during spring migration (March 2016 and 2017) as described in the paper "Smith, E.J., M.J. Anteau, H. M. Hagy and C.N. Jacques (2021). Plasma metabolite indices are robust to extrinsic variation and useful indicators of foraging habitat quality in Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis). Ornithology. In press." The experiment investigates the use of plasma metabolites beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) and triglyceride (TRIG) as predictors of mass change in Lesser Scaup. Previously, linear relationships have been examined between these two metabolites, where beta-hydroxybutyrate has a negative relationship with mass change and triglycerides have a positive relationship with mass change. Our results using short-term captive scaup indicate that the relationship between these metabolites and daily mass change is robust to extrinisic factors and could be used by waterfowl/wetland managers to index habitat quality during migration.