Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon
The risk of mortality associated with a long-distance migration will depend on an animal's physiological state, as well as the prevailing ecological conditions. Here we assess whether juvenile telomere length, which in endotherms has been shown to be a biomarker of physiological state and expec...
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:144554 2023-05-15T15:31:54+02:00 Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon McLennan, Darryl Armstrong, John D. Stewart, David C. Mckelvey, Simon Boner, Winnie Monaghan, Pat Metcalfe, Neil B. 2017-11 text https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/7/144554.pdf en eng Wiley https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/7/144554.pdf McLennan, D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/38610.html>, Armstrong, J. D., Stewart, D. C., Mckelvey, S., Boner, W. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/13193.html> , Monaghan, P. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/10154.html> and Metcalfe, N. B. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/10179.html> (2017) Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon. Functional Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Functional_Ecology.html>, 31(11), pp. 2070-2079. (doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12939 <https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12939>) cc_by_4 CC-BY Articles PeerReviewed 2017 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12939 2022-09-22T22:13:39Z The risk of mortality associated with a long-distance migration will depend on an animal's physiological state, as well as the prevailing ecological conditions. Here we assess whether juvenile telomere length, which in endotherms has been shown to be a biomarker of physiological state and expected lifespan, predicts whether wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar successfully complete their marine migration. Over 1800 juvenile fish were trapped, measured, PIT-tagged and a tissue biopsy taken when migrating as juveniles down-river towards the sea. Survivors of the marine phase of the life cycle were then re-trapped and re-sampled when returning to the river to spawn as sexually mature adults, 1.5-2.5 years later. Most individuals experienced a reduction in telomere length during the marine migratory phase of their life cycle. While the relative rate of telomere loss was greater in males than females, telomere loss was unrelated to growth at sea. Contrary to expectations, salmon that had the shortest telomeres at the time of the outward migration had the greatest probability of surviving through to the return migration. This effect, independent of body size, may indicate a trade-off between investment in readiness for marine life (which favours high glucocorticoid levels, known to increase telomere attrition in other vertebrate species) and investment in telomere maintenance. Survival was also significantly influenced by the seasonal timing of outward migration, with the fish migrating downstream earliest in the spring having the highest probability of return. This study reveals that telomere length is associated with survival, although in ways that contrast with patterns seen in endotherms. This illustrates that while telomeres may be universally important for chromosome protection, the potential for telomere dynamics to predict performance may vary across taxa. Article in Journal/Newspaper Atlantic salmon Salmo salar University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Functional Ecology 31 11 2070 2079 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
English |
description |
The risk of mortality associated with a long-distance migration will depend on an animal's physiological state, as well as the prevailing ecological conditions. Here we assess whether juvenile telomere length, which in endotherms has been shown to be a biomarker of physiological state and expected lifespan, predicts whether wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar successfully complete their marine migration. Over 1800 juvenile fish were trapped, measured, PIT-tagged and a tissue biopsy taken when migrating as juveniles down-river towards the sea. Survivors of the marine phase of the life cycle were then re-trapped and re-sampled when returning to the river to spawn as sexually mature adults, 1.5-2.5 years later. Most individuals experienced a reduction in telomere length during the marine migratory phase of their life cycle. While the relative rate of telomere loss was greater in males than females, telomere loss was unrelated to growth at sea. Contrary to expectations, salmon that had the shortest telomeres at the time of the outward migration had the greatest probability of surviving through to the return migration. This effect, independent of body size, may indicate a trade-off between investment in readiness for marine life (which favours high glucocorticoid levels, known to increase telomere attrition in other vertebrate species) and investment in telomere maintenance. Survival was also significantly influenced by the seasonal timing of outward migration, with the fish migrating downstream earliest in the spring having the highest probability of return. This study reveals that telomere length is associated with survival, although in ways that contrast with patterns seen in endotherms. This illustrates that while telomeres may be universally important for chromosome protection, the potential for telomere dynamics to predict performance may vary across taxa. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McLennan, Darryl Armstrong, John D. Stewart, David C. Mckelvey, Simon Boner, Winnie Monaghan, Pat Metcalfe, Neil B. |
spellingShingle |
McLennan, Darryl Armstrong, John D. Stewart, David C. Mckelvey, Simon Boner, Winnie Monaghan, Pat Metcalfe, Neil B. Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
author_facet |
McLennan, Darryl Armstrong, John D. Stewart, David C. Mckelvey, Simon Boner, Winnie Monaghan, Pat Metcalfe, Neil B. |
author_sort |
McLennan, Darryl |
title |
Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
title_short |
Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
title_full |
Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
title_fullStr |
Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon |
title_sort |
shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory atlantic salmon |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/7/144554.pdf |
genre |
Atlantic salmon Salmo salar |
genre_facet |
Atlantic salmon Salmo salar |
op_relation |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/144554/7/144554.pdf McLennan, D. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/38610.html>, Armstrong, J. D., Stewart, D. C., Mckelvey, S., Boner, W. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/13193.html> , Monaghan, P. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/10154.html> and Metcalfe, N. B. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/10179.html> (2017) Shorter juvenile telomere length is associated with higher survival to spawning in migratory Atlantic salmon. Functional Ecology <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Functional_Ecology.html>, 31(11), pp. 2070-2079. (doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12939 <https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12939>) |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12939 |
container_title |
Functional Ecology |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2070 |
op_container_end_page |
2079 |
_version_ |
1766362400914669568 |