CAVIEDES-VIDAL,E.; KARASOV,W.H.*: Developmental changes in digestive enzymes of nestling house sparrows, Passer domesticus

Six decades of studies have speculated that digestive capacity might limit avian growth rate, or that developmental changes in the gut might determine developmental changes in digestive efficiency. However, there are no studies on digestive biochemistry during avian development, except for studies on mainly domestic birds that exhibit the precocial mode of development. We studied pancreatic and intestinal enzyme activities during development of a wild passerine bird exhibiting the altricial mode of development. Wild nestling house sparrows were studied immediately after removal from the nest (days 0, 3, 6 of age; day 0 = hatch), whereas captives were raised in the laboratory beginning day 3 on a formulated casein/starch-based diet until fledging age (after day 12). Digestive biochemistry was dynamic. Tissue-specific activities of some digestive enzymes continued to increase through fledging, by >10 times in some cases (e.g., sucrase and maltase in mid-intestine). Total pancreatic amylase activity increased 100 times between hatch and day 12 through a combination of increases in tissue specific activity and pancreas mass. House sparrows differ from poultry, in whom after about 2 weeks of age the specific activity of intestinal and pancreatic digestive enzymes is generally constant or declines during development. The data on intestinal and pancreatic enzymes help explain why digestive efficiency of nestling house sparrows improves with age, and the data seem consistent with the idea that digestive capacity might limit feeding rate and hence growth rate. Supported by grants from FONCYT to ECV, and NSF toWHK.