Effects of developmental conditions on growth, stress and telomeres in black‐legged kittiwake chicks

Abstract

Early-life conditions can drive ageing patterns and life history strategies throughout the lifespan. Certain social, genetic and nutritional developmental conditions are more likely to produce high-quality offspring: those with good likelihood of recruitment and productivity. Here, we call such conditions "favoured states" and explore their relationship with physiological variables during development in a long-lived seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Two favoured states were experimentally generated by manipulation of food availability and brood size, while hatching order and sex were also explored as naturally generating favoured states. Thus, the favoured states we explored were high food availability, lower levels of sibling competition, hatching first and male sex. We tested the effects of favoured developmental conditions on growth, stress, telomere length (a molecular marker associated with lifespan) and nestling survival. Generation of favoured states through manipulation of both the nutritional and social environments furthered our understanding of their relative contributions to development and phenotype: increased food availability led to larger body size, reduced stress and higher antioxidant status, while lower sibling competition (social environment) led to lower telomere loss and longer telomere lengths in fledglings. Telomere length predicted nestling survival, and wing growth was also positively correlated with telomere length, supporting the idea that telomeres may indicate individual quality, mediated by favoured states.

Is telomere length a molecular marker of individual quality? Insights from a long‐lived bird

“…For example, younger black‐browed albatrosses produce chicks in poorer condition and with shorter telomeres (Dupont et al, ). Supporting this interpretation, recent studies reported that a larger body size and a better growth rate were associated with longer telomeres in developing birds (Black‐legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla : Young et al, ; male Barn swallows Hirundo rustica : Caprioli et al, ; Parolini et al, , but see Common terns Sterna. hirundo , Vedder et al, ) although the relationship between growth and telomere dynamics seems more complex in other study systems (Stier et al, ; Stier, Massemin, Zahn, Tissier, & Criscuolo, , Stier et al, ; reviewed in Vedder et al, ).…”

“…In addition to this potential causal link between telomere length and individual quality, telomere length could also be an indirect biomarker of individual quality. Adult telomere length is known to be partly determined by genetic factors (heritability, Asghar Bensch, Tarla, Hansson, & Hasselquist, ; Becker et al, ; Reichert, Rojas et al, ) and developmental conditions (Angelier, Costantini, Blévin, & Chastel, ; Boonekamp, Mulder, Salomons, Dijkstra, & Verhulst, ; Monaghan, ; Nettle et al, ; Young et al, ), which are also known to have long‐term consequences on adult performance (Lindström, ; Metcalfe & Monaghan, ; Monaghan, ). In addition, environmental constraints and life‐history events (e.g.…”

Developmental stress and telomere dynamics in a genetically polymorphic species

“…A few past studies report a relationship between accelerated growth, OS and telomere length, in accordance with our results (Bádas et al., ; Geiger et al., ; Stier et al., ). However, others find no relationship between OS and telomere length or attrition (Boonekamp et al., ; Nettle et al., , ; Reichert et al., ; Young et al., ). Boonekamp et al.…”

Divergent patterns of telomere shortening in tropical compared to temperate stonechats

“…A number of recent studies in temperate songbirds during the nestling period have shown that the rearing environment has an influence on telomere attrition rates in early life (e.g., Salmon et al, 2016;Soler et al, 2017). For example, growing up in large broods, high begging effort and low food availability hasten telomere loss in nestlings (Costanzo et al, 2017;Nettle et al, 2017;Young et al, 2017 , 2014;Salmon et al, 2017). The effect of extended parental care in tropical birds on telomere dynamics in fledglings should be further investigated, for example through brood size manipulation experiments.…”

“…For example, exposure to poor or stressful environments can lead to accelerated telomere loss in young birds (Costanzo et al, 2017;Haussmann, Longenecker, Marchetto, Juliano, & Bowden, 2012;Herborn et al, 2014;Nettle et al, 2017;Salmon, Nilsson, Nord, Bensch, & Isaksson, 2016;Soler et al, 2017;Young et al, 2017), which can be predictive of decreased survival as nestlings or fledglings (Boonekamp, Mulder, Salomons, Dijkstra, & Verhulst, 2014;Salmon, Nilsson, Watson, Bensch, & Isaksson, 2017;Watson, Bolton, & Monaghan, 2015). For example, exposure to poor or stressful environments can lead to accelerated telomere loss in young birds (Costanzo et al, 2017;Haussmann, Longenecker, Marchetto, Juliano, & Bowden, 2012;Herborn et al, 2014;Nettle et al, 2017;Salmon, Nilsson, Nord, Bensch, & Isaksson, 2016;Soler et al, 2017;Young et al, 2017), which can be predictive of decreased survival as nestlings or fledglings (Boonekamp, Mulder, Salomons, Dijkstra, & Verhulst, 2014;Salmon, Nilsson, Watson, Bensch, & Isaksson, 2017;Watson, Bolton, & Monaghan, 2015).…”