Flying stimulates the antioxidant system and protects against oxidative damage in a migratory songbird, yet diet quality has little effect

Ecologically-relevant factors such as exercise and diet quality can directly influence how multifaceted physiological systems work; however, little is known about how such factors directly and interactively affect key components of the antioxidant system in multiple tissues of migratory songbirds. We tested 3 main hypotheses across three tissues in European Starlings fed diets with more or less antioxidants (anthocyanins) and long-chain omega-6 polyunsaturated fats (18:2n6) while being flight-trained in a wind tunnel. Stimulatory effect of flight: Flight-training stimulated the antioxidant system in that a) plasma oxidative damage (dROMs) was reduced during a given acute flight, and contrary to our predictions, b) antioxidant capacity (OXY or ORAC) and oxidative damage in plasma (dROMs), flight-muscle, and liver (LPO) of flight-trained birds were similar to that of untrained birds (i.e., not flown in a wind tunnel). Flight-trained birds that expended more energy per unit time (kJ/min) d..., , , # Data from: Flying stimulates the antioxidant system and protects against oxidative damage in a migratory songbird, yet diet quality has little effect

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dv41ns26w](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dv41ns26w)

All data from the manuscript is included in one Excel file. There are additional data from the companion papers including relative gene expression and enzyme activities for the pectoralis and liver.

## Description of the data and file structure

| column name | column description |
| :----------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| liverid | liver identification number, unique to an individual's sample ...,