Chronological and Biological Age Predict Seasonal Reproductive Timing: An Investigation of Clutch Initiation and Telomeres in Birds of Known Age
Chronological and Biological Age Predict Seasonal Reproductive Timing: An Investigation of Clutch Initiation and Telomeres in Birds of Known Age
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DOI：
10.1086/697224
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发表时间：
2018-06-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Greives, Timothy J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bauer, Carolyn M.;Graham, Jessica L.;Greives, Timothy J.
在季节较早繁殖的雌性脊椎动物通常有更大的繁殖成功。然而，有证据表明，提早繁殖可能代价高昂，从而导致预测未来繁殖事件较少的雌性将在本季度提早繁殖。虽然按时间顺序的年龄是剩余寿命的一个很好的指标，但端粒长度也可能是很好的长寿生物标志物，因为它们潜在地反映了一生的磨损(即生物年龄)。我们研究了雌性黑眼睛幼虫(Junco Hyemalis)第一次季节性产卵的时间变化是否与年龄和端粒长度有关，预测年龄较大的雌性和端粒较短的雌性繁殖得更早。这两个预测都是正确的，而且彼此独立，因为端粒长度不会随着年龄的变化而显著变化。这些结果表明，雌性可能会根据时间和生物年龄来调整她们的生殖努力。
Female vertebrates that breed earlier in the season generally have greater reproductive success. However, evidence suggests that breeding early may be costly, thus leading to the prediction that females with fewer future reproductive events will breed earlier in the season. While chronological age is a good indicator of remaining life span, telomere lengths may also be good biomarkers of longevity as they potentially reflect lifetime wear and tear (i.e., biological age). We examined whether variation in the timing of the first seasonal clutch was related to age and telomere length in female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), predicting that older females and those with shorter telomeres would breed earlier. Both predictions held true and were independent of each other, as telomere length did not significantly vary with age. These results suggest that females may adjust their reproductive effort based on both chronological and biological age.