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Main Authors: Heung Ying Janet Chik, Maria‐Elena Mannarelli, Natalie dos Remedios, Mirre J. P. Simons, Terry Burke, Julia Schroeder, Hannah L. Dugdale
Format: Artículo Open Access
Published: Wiley 2024
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Online Access:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17455
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author Heung Ying Janet Chik
Maria‐Elena Mannarelli
Natalie dos Remedios
Mirre J. P. Simons
Terry Burke
Julia Schroeder
Hannah L. Dugdale
author_facet Heung Ying Janet Chik
Maria‐Elena Mannarelli
Natalie dos Remedios
Mirre J. P. Simons
Terry Burke
Julia Schroeder
Hannah L. Dugdale
Heung Ying Janet Chik
Maria‐Elena Mannarelli
Natalie dos Remedios
Mirre J. P. Simons
Terry Burke
Julia Schroeder
Hannah L. Dugdale
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Adult telomere length is positively correlated with survival and lifetime reproductive success in a wild passerine Heung Ying Janet Chik Maria‐Elena Mannarelli Natalie dos Remedios Mirre J. P. Simons Terry Burke Julia Schroeder Hannah L. Dugdale Molecular Ecology AbstractExplaining variation in individual fitness is a key goal in evolutionary biology. Recently, telomeres, repeating DNA sequences capping chromosome ends, have gained attention as a biomarker for body state, physiological costs, and senescence. Existing research has provided mixed evidence for whether telomere length correlates with fitness, including survival and reproductive output. Moreover, few studies have examined how the rate of change in telomere length correlates with fitness in wild populations. Here, we intensively monitored an insular population of house sparrows, and collected longitudinal telomere and life history data (16 years, 1225 individuals). We tested whether telomere length and its rate of change predict fitness measures, namely survival, lifespan and annual and lifetime reproductive effort and success. Telomere length positively predicted short‐term survival, independent of age, but did not predict lifespan, suggesting either a diminishing telomere length—survival correlation with age or other extrinsic factors of mortality. The positive association of telomere length with survival translated into reproductive benefits, as birds with longer telomeres produced more genetic recruits, hatchlings and reared more fledglings over their lifetime. In contrast, there was no association between telomere dynamics and annual reproductive output, suggesting telomere dynamics might not reflect the costs of reproduction in this population, potentially masked by variation in individual quality. The rate of change of telomere length did not correlate with neither lifespan nor lifetime reproductive success. Our results provide further evidence that telomere length correlates with fitness, and contribute to our understanding of the selection on, and evolution of, telomere dynamics. 10.1111/mec.17455 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1111/mec.17455
format Artículo Open Access
id wiley_oa_10_1111_mec_17455
institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
publishDate 2024
publisher Wiley
record_format wiley_oa
spellingShingle Adult telomere length is positively correlated with survival and lifetime reproductive success in a wild passerine
Heung Ying Janet Chik
Maria‐Elena Mannarelli
Natalie dos Remedios
Mirre J. P. Simons
Terry Burke
Julia Schroeder
Hannah L. Dugdale
Molecular Ecology
Adult telomere length is positively correlated with survival and lifetime reproductive success in a wild passerine Heung Ying Janet Chik Maria‐Elena Mannarelli Natalie dos Remedios Mirre J. P. Simons Terry Burke Julia Schroeder Hannah L. Dugdale Molecular Ecology AbstractExplaining variation in individual fitness is a key goal in evolutionary biology. Recently, telomeres, repeating DNA sequences capping chromosome ends, have gained attention as a biomarker for body state, physiological costs, and senescence. Existing research has provided mixed evidence for whether telomere length correlates with fitness, including survival and reproductive output. Moreover, few studies have examined how the rate of change in telomere length correlates with fitness in wild populations. Here, we intensively monitored an insular population of house sparrows, and collected longitudinal telomere and life history data (16 years, 1225 individuals). We tested whether telomere length and its rate of change predict fitness measures, namely survival, lifespan and annual and lifetime reproductive effort and success. Telomere length positively predicted short‐term survival, independent of age, but did not predict lifespan, suggesting either a diminishing telomere length—survival correlation with age or other extrinsic factors of mortality. The positive association of telomere length with survival translated into reproductive benefits, as birds with longer telomeres produced more genetic recruits, hatchlings and reared more fledglings over their lifetime. In contrast, there was no association between telomere dynamics and annual reproductive output, suggesting telomere dynamics might not reflect the costs of reproduction in this population, potentially masked by variation in individual quality. The rate of change of telomere length did not correlate with neither lifespan nor lifetime reproductive success. Our results provide further evidence that telomere length correlates with fitness, and contribute to our understanding of the selection on, and evolution of, telomere dynamics. 10.1111/mec.17455 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Adult telomere length is positively correlated with survival and lifetime reproductive success in a wild passerine
topic Molecular Ecology
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17455