Daily variation in markers of nutritional condition in wintering Black-capped Chickadees Poecile atricapillus

The plasma metabolites triglycerides (TRIG) and β‐hydroxybutyrate (BUTY) are used as indices of nutritional condition in migrating birds during refuelling and can provide a measure of relative fattening rates in individual birds. Because non‐migratory birds wintering at northern latitudes also fatten on a daily basis to support their overnight fast, blood metabolites could provide a useful tool to measure individual performance in energy acquisition. However, daily patterns of metabolite change may differ between species and could be affected by thermoregulatory requirements. We studied daily variation in TRIG and BUTY over a complete winter in Black‐capped Chickadees to determine the pattern of daily and seasonal change in these markers. We also assessed how short‐term variation (up to 7 days) in weather parameters that influence heat exchange may affect TRIG and BUTY levels. In contrast to a linear gain of body mass, TRIG increased non‐linearly during the day, with a rapid increase in the morning that levelled off in the afternoon, whereas BUTY did not change significantly. Metabolites varied with sampling time and the seasonal change in day length, suggesting higher fat catabolism and fattening rates in mid‐winter. TRIG and BUTY also differed between capture sites, possibly due to differences in shelter quality. Weather variation did not affect TRIG levels and had a significant but marginal effect on BUTY, explaining at best 3% of the variation. Our results suggest that these markers can be used as indicators of energy turnover in resident wintering passerines.