Early-life telomere length predicts life-history strategy and reproductive senescence in a threatened wild songbird.

ABSTRACT: Telomeres are well known for their associations with lifespan and ageing across diverse taxa. Early-life telomere length can be influenced by developmental conditions and has been shown positively affect lifetime reproductive success in a limited number of studies. Whether these effects are caused by a change in lifespan, reproductive rate or perhaps most importantly reproductive senescence is unclear. Using long-term data on female breeding success from a threatened songbird (the hihi, Notiomystis cincta), we show that the early-life telomere length of individuals predicts the presence and rate of future senescence of key reproductive traits: clutch size and hatching success. In contrast, senescence of fledging success is not associated with early-life telomere length, which may be due to

SUBMITTER: Morland F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10947174 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature