scholarly journals Causes and consequences of variation in early-life telomere length in a bird metapopulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Le Pepke ◽  
Thomas Kvalnes ◽  
Peter Sjolte Ranke ◽  
Yimen G. Araya-Ajoy ◽  
Jonathan Wright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Pace Of Life

1.Environmental conditions during early-life development can have lasting effects on individual quality and fitness. Telomere length (TL) may correlate with early-life conditions and may be an important mediator or biomarker of individual quality or pace-of-life, as periods of increased energy demands can increase telomere attrition due to oxidative stress. Thus, knowledge of the mechanisms that generate variation in TL, and the relation between TL and fitness, is important in understanding the role of telomeres in ecology and life-history evolution. 2.Here, we investigate how environmental conditions and morphological traits are associated with early-life TL and if TL predicts natal dispersal probability or components of fitness in two populations of wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus). 3.We measured morphological traits and blood TL in 2746 nestlings from 20 cohorts (1994-2013) and retrieved data on weather conditions. We monitored population fluctuations, and individual survival and reproductive output using field observations and genetic pedigrees. We then used generalized linear mixed-effects models to test which factors affected TL in early-life, and if TL predicted dispersal propensity, or was associated with recruitment probability, mortality risk, or reproductive success.4.We found a negative effect of population density on TL, but only in one of the populations. There was a curvilinear association between TL and the maximum daily North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index during incubation, suggesting that there are optimal weather conditions that result in the longest TL. Dispersers tended to have shorter telomeres than non-dispersers. TL did not predict survival, but we found a tendency for individuals with short telomeres to have higher annual reproductive success.5.Our study showed how early-life TL is shaped by effects of growth, weather conditions and population density, supporting that environmental stressors negatively affect TL in wild populations. In addition, TL may be a mediator or biomarker of individual pace-of-life, with higher dispersal rates and annual reproduction tending to be associated with shorter early-life TL in this study. However, clear associations between early-life TL and individual fitness seems difficult to establish and may differ between different populations in the wild.

scholarly journals The influence of weather conditions during gestation on life histories in a wild Arctic ungulate

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1841) ◽  
pp. 20161760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Douhard ◽  
Leif Egil Loe ◽  
Audun Stien ◽  
Christophe Bonenfant ◽  
R. Justin Irvine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Svalbard Reindeer ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Age Related

The internal predictive adaptive response (internal PAR) hypothesis predicts that individuals born in poor conditions should start to reproduce earlier if they are likely to have reduced performance in later life. However, whether this is the case remains unexplored in wild populations. Here, we use longitudinal data from a long-term study of Svalbard reindeer to examine age-related changes in adult female life-history responses to environmental conditions experienced in utero as indexed by rain-on-snow (ROS utero ). We show that females experiencing high ROS utero had reduced reproductive success only from 7 years of age, independent of early reproduction. These individuals were able to maintain the same annual reproductive success between 2 and 6 years as phenotypically superior conspecifics that experienced low ROS utero . Young females born after high ROS utero engage in reproductive events at lower body mass (about 2.5 kg less) than those born after low ROS utero . The mean fitness of females that experienced poor environmental conditions in early life was comparable with that of females exposed to good environmental conditions in early life. These results are consistent with the idea of internal PAR and suggest that the life-history responses to early-life conditions can buffer the delayed effects of weather on population dynamics.

scholarly journals Telomere attrition rates are associated with weather conditions and predict productive lifespan in dairy cattle

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luise A. Seeker ◽  
Sarah L. Underwood ◽  
Rachael V. Wilbourn ◽  
Jennifer Dorrens ◽  
Hannah Froy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
Telomere Attrition ◽  
Research Population

AbstractTelomere length is predictive of adult health and survival across vertebrate species. However, we currently do not know whether such associations result from among-individual differences in telomere length determined genetically or by early-life environmental conditions, or from differences in the rate of telomere attrition over the course of life that might be affected by environmental conditions. Here, we measured relative leukocyte telomere length (RLTL) multiple times across the entire lifespan of dairy cattle in a research population that is closely monitored for health and milk production and where individuals are predominantly culled in response to health issues. Animals varied in their change in RLTL between subsequent measurements and RLTL shortened more during early life and following hotter summers which are known to cause heat stress in dairy cows. The average amount of telomere attrition calculated over multiple repeat samples of individuals predicted a shorter productive lifespan, suggesting a link between telomere loss and health. TL attrition was a better predictor of when an animal was culled than their average TL or the previously for this population reported significant TL at the age of 1 year. Our present results support the hypothesis that TL is a flexible trait that is affected by environmental factors and that telomere attrition is linked to animal health and survival traits. Change in telomere length may represent a useful biomarker in animal welfare studies.

scholarly journals Early‐life telomere length predicts lifespan and lifetime reproductive success in a wild bird

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1127-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin R. Eastwood ◽  
Michelle L. Hall ◽  
Niki Teunissen ◽  
Sjouke A. Kingma ◽  
Nataly Hidalgo Aranzamendi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Wild Bird ◽  
Lifetime Reproductive Success

scholarly journals Early-life seasonal, weather and social effects on telomere length in a wild mammal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sil H. J. van Lieshout ◽  
Elisa Perez Badás ◽  
Julius G. Bright Ross ◽  
Amanda Bretman ◽  
Chris Newman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Telomere Length ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Survival Probability ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Sexual Competition

Early-life environmental conditions can provide a source of individual variation in life-history strategies and senescence patterns. Conditions experienced in early life can be quantified by measuring telomere length, which can act as a biomarker of survival probability. Here, we investigate whether seasonal changes, weather conditions, and group size are associated with early-life and/or early-adulthood telomere length in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles). We found substantial intra-annual changes in telomere length during the first three years of life (both between and within individuals), with shorter telomere lengths from spring to winter and longer telomere lengths over the winter torpor period. In terms of weather conditions, linked to food availability and foraging success, cubs born in warmer, wetter springs with low rainfall variability had longer early-life (<1 year old) telomere lengths. Additionally, cubs born in groups with more cubs did not have significantly shorter early-life telomeres, providing no evidence of resource constraint from cub competition. We also found that our previously documented positive association between early-life telomere length and cub survival probability remained when social and weather variables were included. Finally, after sexual maturity, in early adulthood (i.e. 12–36 months) we found no significant association between same-sex adult group size and telomere length (i.e. no effect of intra-sexual competition). Overall we show that controlling for seasonal effects is important in telomere length analyses, and that badger telomere length functions as a biomarker that reflects the physiological consequences of early-life adversity and subsequent effects on cub survival probability.

scholarly journals Adaptive shaping of the behavioural and neuroendocrine phenotype during adolescence

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias D. Zimmermann ◽  
Sylvia Kaiser ◽  
Michael B. Hennessy ◽  
Norbert Sachser
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Temporal Window ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Aggressive Phenotype ◽  
Adaptive Developmental Plasticity

Environmental conditions during early life can adaptively shape the phenotype for the prevailing environment. Recently, it has been suggested that adolescence represents an additional temporal window for adaptive developmental plasticity, though supporting evidence is scarce. Previous work has shown that male guinea pigs living in large mixed-sex colonies develop a low-aggressive phenotype as part of a queuing strategy that is adaptive for integrating into large unfamiliar colonies. By contrast, males living in pairs during adolescence become highly aggressive towards strangers. Here, we tested whether the high-aggressive phenotype is adaptive under conditions of low population density, namely when directly competing with a single opponent for access to females. For that purpose, we established groups of one pair-housed male (PM), one colony-housed male (CM) and two females. PMs directed more aggression towards the male competitor and more courtship and mating towards females than did CMs. In consequence, PMs attained the dominant position in most cases and sired significantly more offspring. Moreover, they showed distinctly higher testosterone concentrations and elevated cortisol levels, which probably promoted enhanced aggressiveness while mobilizing necessary energy. Taken together, our results provide the clearest evidence to date for adaptive shaping of the phenotype by environmental influences during adolescence.

scholarly journals Do Early-Life Conditions Drive Variation in Senescence of Female Bighorn Sheep?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Pigeon ◽  
Julie Landes ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet ◽  
Fanie Pelletier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Early Life Conditions ◽  
Specific Variation

The rate of senescence may vary among individuals of a species according to individual life histories and environmental conditions. According to the principle of allocation, changes in mortality driven by environmental conditions influence how organisms allocate resources among costly functions. In several vertebrates, environmental conditions during early life impose trade-offs in allocation between early reproduction and maintenance. The effects of conditions experienced during early life on senescence, however, remain poorly documented in wild populations. We examined how several early-life environmental conditions affected reproductive and survival senescence in wild bighorn sheep. We found long-term effects of high population density at birth, precipitations during the winter before birth, and temperature during the winter following birth that decreased survival after 7 years of age. High temperature during the first summer and autumn of life and high Pacific decadal oscillation decreased reproductive success at old ages. However, harsh early-life environment did not influence the rate of senescence in either survival or reproduction. Contrary to our expectation, we found no trade-off between reproductive allocation prior to senescence and senescence. Our results do show that early-life environmental conditions are important drivers of later survival and reproductive success and contribute to intra-specific variation in late-life fitness, but not aging patterns. These conditions should therefore be considered when studying the mechanisms of senescence and the determinants of variation in both survival and reproductive senescence at older ages.

scholarly journals Telomere length, individual quality and fitness in female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) during breeding

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Criscuolo ◽  
M.F. Fowler ◽  
V.A. Fuhrer ◽  
S. Zahn ◽  
T.D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Sturnus Vulgaris ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Energy Status ◽  
European Starlings ◽  
Adult Individual ◽  
Weak Support ◽  
Provisioning Rate ◽  
Linear Chromosomes

AbstractTelomeres, short guanine-rich repeats that cap linear chromosomes, are involved in cell senescence and organismal ageing. Our present understanding of telomere function oscillates between a marker of individual quality, which should be positively correlated with reproduction, to a marker of costs of reproduction (e.g. due to DNA damage). To test these ‘quality’ and ‘cost’ hypotheses, we tested the output of very simple predictions in a free-living population of European starlings Sturnus vulgaris where reproductive success of adult females was followed over 2 breeding seasons (with 2 broods per breeding). If telomere length indicate individual quality, low quality females (LQ, no fledgling) should have lower telomere lengths than high quality females (which produced fledglings in 1st and 2nd broods). Additionally, physiological determinants of adult individual quality (established in a previous study) and provisioning rate should be positively associated with adult telomere lengths. Finally, telomere length should predict future reproductive success. Adult telomere length was lower in LQ females but only during the chick-rearing period. Females producing larger clutches at fledging in the 1st brood of the 1st year also had longer telomeres. Provisioning rate was positively related to telomere length, as were plasma markers of oxidative damage, non-esterified fatty acids and triglycerides. Despite these associations, we found weak support for telomeres as indicators of individual quality. Telomere length failed in predicting future reproduction success and there was a lack of consistency in within-individual telomere length over the breeding season. In starlings, we suggest that telomere length may indicate current breeding capacities and energy status of female adults, rather than future fecundity/survival.

scholarly journals Individual quality, early-life conditions, and reproductive success in contrasted populations of large herbivores

Ecology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 1981-1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Hamel ◽  
Jean-Michel Gaillard ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet ◽  
Steeve D. Côté
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Life Conditions ◽  
Early Life Conditions

Early-life conditions impact juvenile telomere length, but do not predict later life-history strategies or fitness in a wild vertebrate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janske van de Crommenacker ◽  
Martijn Hammers ◽  
Hannah Louise Dugdale ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Jan Komdeur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Life Conditions ◽  
The Future ◽  
Early Life Conditions ◽  
The Impact

1.Environmental conditions experienced during early life may have long-lasting effects on later-life phenotypes and fitness. Individuals experiencing poor early-life conditions may suffer subsequent fitness constraints. Alternatively, individuals may use a strategic ‘Predictive Adaptive Response’ (PAR), whereby they respond – in terms of physiology or life-history strategy – to the conditions experienced in early life to maximise later-life fitness. In particular, the Future Lifespan Expectation (FLE) PAR hypothesis predicts that when poor early-life conditions negatively impact an individual’s physiological state, individuals will accelerate their reproductive schedule to maximise fitness during their shorter predicted lifespan.2.We aimed to measure the impact of early-life conditions and resulting fitness across individual lifetimes to test the predictions of the FLE hypothesis in a wild, long-lived model species. 3.Using a long-term individual-based dataset, we investigated how early-life conditions are linked with subsequent fitness in an isolated population of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). How individuals experience early-life environmental conditions may vary greatly, so we also tested whether telomere length – shorter telomers are a biomarker of an individual’s exposure to stress – can provide an effective measure of the individual-specific impact of early-life conditions. Specifically, under the FLE hypothesis, we would expect shorter telomeres to be associated with accelerated reproduction. 4.Contrary to expectations, shorter juvenile telomere length was not associated with poor early-life conditions, but instead with better conditions, probably as a result of faster juvenile growth. Furthermore, neither juvenile telomere length, nor other measures of early-life conditions, were associated with age of first reproduction or the rate of early-life reproduction in either sex. These results do not support the key prediction of the Future Lifetime Expectation PAR hypothesis. 5.We found no support for the FLE hypothesis. However, at least for males, poor early-life body conditions were associated with lower first year survival and reduced longevity, indicating that poor early-life conditions pose subsequent fitness constraints. Our results also showed that using juvenile telomere length as a measure of early-life conditions requires caution, as it is likely to not only reflect environmental stress but also other processes such as growth.

scholarly journals Cross-seasonal weather effects interact with breeding conditions to impact reproductive success in an alpine songbird

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin R de Zwaan ◽  
Anna Drake ◽  
Alaine F Camfield ◽  
Elizabeth C MacDonald ◽  
Kathy Martin
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Nest Survival ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Breeding Phenology ◽  
Early Season ◽  
Offspring Development ◽  
Clutch Initiation

In alpine habitats, fluctuating early-season weather conditions and short breeding seasons limit reproductive opportunities, such that arriving and breeding earlier or later than the optimum may be particularly costly for migratory species. Given early-season energy limitations, the influence of environmental conditions across the annual cycle on breeding phenology may have pronounced fitness consequences, yet our understanding of cross-seasonal dynamics in alpine breeding organisms is severely limited. For an alpine-breeding, migratory population of horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) in northern British Columbia, Canada (54.8N latitude) we assessed how spatially explicit weather conditions from across the annual cycle influenced clutch initiation date and offspring development. We also addressed how cross-seasonal effects on breeding parameters interact to influence reproductive fitness. With 12 years of intensive breeding data and 3 years of migration data from archival light-level geolocators, we used a sliding window approach to identify critical points during the annual cycle where weather events most influenced breeding phenology and offspring development. Consequences for reproductive success were assessed using nest survival simulations. Average clutch initiation varied up to 11 days among years but did not advance from 2003 to 2019. Colder temperatures with greater precipitation at wintering habitats, as well as colder temperatures upon arrival at the breeding site delayed clutch initiation, independent of arrival time. Extreme cold (sub-zero temperatures) within a staging area just prior to arrival at the breeding site carried over to prolong offspring development rate, potentially by influencing parental investment. Nest survival decreased with both later clutch initiation and prolonged offspring development, such that females that nested earlier and fledged offspring at a younger age were up to 45% more likely to reproduce successfully. We demonstrate pronounced carry-over effects acting through mechanisms that influence breeding phenology and offspring development independently. We also highlight the potential importance of staging areas for alpine songbirds, particularly given that environmental conditions are becoming increasingly decoupled across seasons. Understanding the cross-seasonal mechanisms shaping breeding decisions in stochastic environments like the alpine enables more accurate predictions of future individual- and population-level responses to climate change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document