Support for the life-history-oxidative stress theory from the grey seal, an animal model of simultaneous lactation and fasting

On read me text file that contains a complete description for three data files

1. OXSTRESSGREYSEALBREEDING.csv

2. OXSTRESSGREYSEALBFCTMDA.csv

3. OXSTRESSGREYSEALFORAGING.csv

that contain:

1. maternal performance characteristics of 18 female grey seals from 2013 sampled on the Isle of May Scotland

2. mass, length, girth, redox enzyme and heat shock protein gene expression and MDA, a lipid peroxidation measure, at early and late lactation from the breeding females.

3.mass, length, girth, redox enzyme and heat shock protein gene expression and MDA, a lipid peroxidation measure, for 13 foraging adult female grey seal female from East England sampled in 2015

Sampling and gene expression data generation are detailed in Armstrong et al (under review) Support for the life-history-oxidative stress theory from an animal model of simultaneous lactation and fasting: blubber oxidative stress impacts lactation strategy and pup weaning mass in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and in Armstrong, HC. 2019. Can we distinguish eustress from distress in marine mammals? Trade-offs in expression of molecular stress markers and consequences for cell damage and whole-animal fitness measures in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/14900; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.786304

Wild adult female grey seals were studied on the Isle of May, Scotland (56° 11’ 25” N, 02° 34’ 25” W) from October to December 2013 (fasting mothers; n = 18) and at Blakeney, (52° 57’ 58.32” N, 0° 57’ 46.70” E) and Donna Nook, east England (53° 28’ 33.12” N, 0° 08’ 27.02” E) in early May 2015 (foraging females; n = 13). Capture and handling procedures were carried out under Home Office project licence #60/4009 and conformed to the United Kingdom (UK) Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986. The research was approved by the University of St. Andrews Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee. Samples were taken by trained, licensed individuals who had been declared competent under European Union (EU) Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific procedures.