Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge

Determinants of individual variation in reallocation of limited resources towards self-maintenance versus reproduction are not well known. We tested the hypothesis that individual heterogeneity in long-term ‘somatic state’ (i) explains variation in endocrine and behavioural responses to environmenta...

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Main Authors: Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M., Lacey, L. M., Whelan, S., Will, A. P.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Bucknell Digital Commons 2022
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Online Access:https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/1967
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0139
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spelling ftbucknelluniv:oai:digitalcommons.bucknell.edu:fac_journ-3051 2023-06-11T04:16:17+02:00 Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M. Lacey, L. M. Whelan, S. Will, A. P. 2022-07-13T07:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/1967 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0139 unknown Bucknell Digital Commons https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/1967 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0139 Faculty Journal Articles text 2022 ftbucknelluniv 2023-04-27T17:23:54Z Determinants of individual variation in reallocation of limited resources towards self-maintenance versus reproduction are not well known. We tested the hypothesis that individual heterogeneity in long-term ‘somatic state’ (i) explains variation in endocrine and behavioural responses to environmental challenges, and (ii) is associated with variation in strategies for allocating to self-maintenance versus reproduction. We used relative telomere length as an indicator of somatic state and experimentally generated an abrupt short-term reduction of food availability (withdrawal of food supplementation) for free-living seabirds (black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla). Incubating male kittiwakes responded to withdrawal by increasing circulating corticosterone and losing more weight compared to continuously supplemented controls. Males with longer telomeres increased time in directed travel regardless of treatment, while experiencing smaller increases in corticosterone. Males with longer telomeres fledged more chicks in the control group and tended to be more likely to return regardless of treatment. This study supports the hypothesis that somatic state can explain variation in short-term physiological and behavioural responses to challenges, and longer-term consequences for fitness. Male kittiwakes with longer telomeres appear to have prioritized investment in self over investment in offspring under challenging conditions. Text rissa tridactyla Bucknell University: Bucknell Digital Commons
institution Open Polar
collection Bucknell University: Bucknell Digital Commons
op_collection_id ftbucknelluniv
language unknown
description Determinants of individual variation in reallocation of limited resources towards self-maintenance versus reproduction are not well known. We tested the hypothesis that individual heterogeneity in long-term ‘somatic state’ (i) explains variation in endocrine and behavioural responses to environmental challenges, and (ii) is associated with variation in strategies for allocating to self-maintenance versus reproduction. We used relative telomere length as an indicator of somatic state and experimentally generated an abrupt short-term reduction of food availability (withdrawal of food supplementation) for free-living seabirds (black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla). Incubating male kittiwakes responded to withdrawal by increasing circulating corticosterone and losing more weight compared to continuously supplemented controls. Males with longer telomeres increased time in directed travel regardless of treatment, while experiencing smaller increases in corticosterone. Males with longer telomeres fledged more chicks in the control group and tended to be more likely to return regardless of treatment. This study supports the hypothesis that somatic state can explain variation in short-term physiological and behavioural responses to challenges, and longer-term consequences for fitness. Male kittiwakes with longer telomeres appear to have prioritized investment in self over investment in offspring under challenging conditions.
format Text
author Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M.
Lacey, L. M.
Whelan, S.
Will, A. P.
spellingShingle Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M.
Lacey, L. M.
Whelan, S.
Will, A. P.
Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
author_facet Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M.
Lacey, L. M.
Whelan, S.
Will, A. P.
author_sort Benowitz-Fredericks, Z. M.
title Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
title_short Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
title_full Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
title_fullStr Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
title_full_unstemmed Telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
title_sort telomere length correlates with physiological and behavioural responses of a long-lived seabird to an ecologically relevant challenge
publisher Bucknell Digital Commons
publishDate 2022
url https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/1967
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0139
genre rissa tridactyla
genre_facet rissa tridactyla
op_source Faculty Journal Articles
op_relation https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_journ/1967
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0139
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