A New Technique for Avian Age Estimation

摘要

Over the past 10 years, we have been developing a technique that appears to be useful in estimating the age of adult birds. We have found that there is a correlation between biological aging and the accumulation of a compound called pentosidine within skin collagen. We have established a relationship between the rate of accumulation of pentosidine and chronological age in several species. Within these species, quantification of pentosidine allows for age estimation of individual birds.