A test for passive absorption of glucose in yellow-rumped warblers and its ecological implications

In an earlier study, we found that yellow-rumped warblers had in vitro active uptake rates of D-glucose that were only a few percent of the glucose absorption rate achieved at the whole-animal level. Here we used a pharmacokinetic technique to test whether a substantial amount of sugar can be absorbed passively. We used yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata), known for their seasonal frugivory, freely feeding on a synthetic mash formulated with naturally occurring concentrations of D-glucose. Birds absorbed 89.8% +/- 1.0% (SE) of the D-glucose in the mash. When fed the same mash with trace-labeled 3H L-glucose, the stereoisomer that does not interact with the intestinal Na(+)-glucose cotransporter, 3H appeared in plasma, an indication that this stereoisomer of glucose was absorbed. We used 3H levels in plasma and excreta in a pharmacokinetic model to calculate L-glucose extraction efficiency (i.e., the percent absorbed). Calculated mean extraction efficiency for the passively absorbed L-glucose averaged 91% +/- 23%. Our finding of considerable passive absorption reconciles the in vitro and in vivo results for D-glucose absorption and is in concert with results from five other avian species. The passive pathway appears to provide birds with an absorptive process that can respond quickly to changing luminal concentration and that is energetically inexpensive to maintain and modulate in real time but that may bear a cost. Less discriminate passive absorption might increase vulnerability to toxins and thus constrain foraging behavior and limit the breadth of the dietary niche.