Gull chicks grow faster but lose telomeres when prenatal cues mismatch the real presence of sibling competitors.

ABSTRACT: During embryonic life, individuals should adjust their phenotype to the conditions that they will encounter after birth, including the social environment, if they have access to (social) cues that allow them to forecast future conditions. In birds, evidence indicates that embryos are sensitive to cues from clutch mates, but whether embryos adjust their development to cope with the expected level of sibling competition has not hitherto been investigated. To tackle this question, we performed a 'match versus mismatch' experimental design where we manipulated the presence of clutch mates (i.e. clutch size manipulation) and the real (postnatal) level of sibling competition (i.e. brood size manipulation) in the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). We provide evidence that the prenatal

SUBMITTER: Noguera JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7287347 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature