DIFFERENCES IN THE TISSUE CHOLESTEROL CONTENT OF WILD AND DOMESTICATED BIRDS INHABITING VARIOUS MICRO-ENVIRONMENTS IN NSUKKA, NIGERIA

Information on the tissue cholesterol content of various avian species inhabiting contiguous microenvironments, with differences in diet and behavior, is limited. This study evaluated potential differences in tissue cholesterol concentrations of several avian species inhabiting varying, but sometimes overlapping, microhabitats in Nsukka, Nigeria. The birds included adult males of two domesticated and one wild species: turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, Galliformes), pigeon (Columba livia, Columbiformes), and wild Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris, Galliformes). Tissue samples were dissected from the brain, liver, breast muscle, gizzard, and heart (n = 5/species), and total lipids and total cholesterol levels in each tissue were extracted using standard methods. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze potential differences in tissue cholesterol concentrations, while the mean differences in tissue cholesterol concentrations were considered significant at p ≤ 0.05. The results show significant species differences in tissue cholesterol concentration (p < 0.001), with the brain and liver having the highest cholesterol concentrations. Significant intraspecific differences in cholesterol concentration were observed in each species (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences in cholesterol levels for most pairs of tissues compared. These findings show that avian species inhabiting similar environments regulate cholesterol differently in different tissues within a species and in similar tissues across different species