Omega-3 fatty acids accelerate fledging in an avian marine predator: a potential role of cognition

Consuming omega-3 fatty acids (n3-LCPUFAs) during development improves cognition in mammals, but the effect remains untested in other taxa. In aquatic ecosystems, n3-LCPUFAs are produced by phytoplankton and bioaccumulate in the food web. Alarmingly, the warming and acidification of aquatic systems caused by climate change impair n3-LCPUFA production, with an anticipated decrease of 80% by the year 2100. We tested whether n3-LCPUFA consumption affects the physiology, morphology, behaviour, and cognition of a top marine predator's chicks, the ring-billed gull. Using a colony with little access to n3-LCPUFAs, we supplemented siblings from 22 fenced nests with opposite treatments from hatching until fledging; one sibling received n3-LCPUFA-rich fish oil and the other, a control sucrose solution without n3-LCPUFAs. Halfway through the nestling period, half the chicks receiving fish oil were switched to the sucrose solution to test whether n3-LCPUFA intake remains crucial past the main growt...