Data from: Telomere length is repeatable, shortens with age and reproductive success, and predicts remaining lifespan in a long-lived seabird ...

• Main Authors: Bichet, Coraline, Bouwhuis, Sandra, Bauch, Christina, Verhulst, Simon, Becker, Peter, Vedder, Oscar
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: life-history; wild population; longitudinal study; Sterna hirundo; Common tern
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.r24352h; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.r24352h

Telomeres are protective caps at the end of chromosomes, and their length is positively correlated with individual health and lifespan across taxa. Longitudinal studies have provided mixed results regarding the within-individual repeatability of telomere length. While some studies suggest telomere length to be highly dynamic and sensitive to resource-demanding or stressful conditions, others suggest that between-individual differences are mostly present from birth and relatively little affected by the later environment. This dichotomy could arise from differences between species, but also from methodological issues. In our study, we used the highly reliable Terminal Restriction Fragment analysis method to measure telomeres over a 10-year period in adults of a long-lived seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo). Telomeres shortened with age within individuals. The individual repeatability of age-dependent telomere length was high (> 0.53), and independent of the measurement interval (i.e. 1 vs. 6 years). ...