Reproductive aging in female birds

Holmes, Donna J.; Thomson, S.; Wu, Julie M.; Ottinger, Mary Ann

doi:10.1016/s0531-5565(03)00103-7

Cited by 70 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…This contradicts early ideas that senescence is negligible in wild birds (Holmes et al 2003), but confirms its ubiquity in a range of vertebrate species ( Jones et al 2008). …”

Section: K1contrasting

confidence: 59%

Great tits growing old: selective disappearance and the partitioning of senescence to stages within the breeding cycle

et al. 2009

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Deterioration of reproductive traits with age is observed in an increasing number of species. Although such deterioration is often attributed to reproductive senescence, a within-individual decline in reproductive success with age, few studies on wild animals have focused on direct fitness measures while accounting for selective disappearance and terminal effects, and to our knowledge none have determined how senescence effects arise from underlying reproductive traits. We show for female great tits that such an approach helps understanding of the onset, impact and architecture of senescence. Cross-sectional analysis of 49 years of breeding data shows annual recruit production to decline from 3.5 years of age, this decline affecting 9 per cent of females each year. Longitudinal analyses, however, show that selective disappearance of poor-quality breeders partly masks senescence, which in fact starts at 2.8 years and affects 21 per cent of females each year. There is no evidence for abrupt terminal effects. Analyses of underlying traits show no deterioration in clutch size, but significant declines in brood size and fledgling number. Furthermore, these traits contribute K9, 12 and 39 per cent to the senescent decline in recruit production, respectively. Besides providing detailed knowledge of the patterns and architecture of senescence in a natural population, these results illustrate the importance of modelling individual variation, and facilitate study of the underlying mechanisms of senescence.

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“…This contradicts early ideas that senescence is negligible in wild birds (Holmes et al 2003), but confirms its ubiquity in a range of vertebrate species ( Jones et al 2008). …”

Section: K1contrasting

confidence: 59%

Great tits growing old: selective disappearance and the partitioning of senescence to stages within the breeding cycle

et al. 2009

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“…Aging hens show declining ovarian function and concurrent loss of hypothalamic responsiveness, resulting in shorter clutches, longer inter-clutch intervals, and eventual loss of egg production. Contrary to mammals, the avian female does not appear to have a dramatic loss in primordial follicles with aging (Holmes et al, 2003;Holmes and Ottinger, 2004). Males have declining reproductive function as they age, which is more gradual and accompanies reduced fertility of quail pairs as early as 18 months of age.…”

Section: Elements Of Reproductive Aging In a Short-lived Avian Modelmentioning

confidence: 87%

Neuroendocrine and immune characteristics of aging in avian species

Ottinger¹,

Lavoie²

2007

Cytogenet Genome Res

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Avian species show a remarkable diversity in lifespan. The differing lifespan patterns are found across a number of birds, in spite of higher body temperature and apparent increased metabolic rate. These characteristics make study of age-related changes of great interest, especially for understanding the biology of aging associated with surprisingly long lifespan in some birds. Our studies have focused on a short-lived avian model, the Japanese quail in order to describe reproductive aging and the neuroendocrine characteristics leading to reproductive senescence. Biomarkers of aging used in mammalian species include telomere length, oxidative damage, and selected metabolic indicators. These markers provide confirming evidence that the long-lived birds appear to age more slowly. A corollary area of interest is that of immune function and aging. Immune responses have been studied in selected wild birds and there has been a range of studies that have considered the effects of stress in wild and domestic species. Our laboratory studies have specifically tested response to immune challenge relative to aging in the quail model and these studies indicate that there is an age-related change in the qualitative aspects of the response. However, there are also intriguing differences in the ability of the aging quail to respond that differ from mammalian data. Finally, another approach to understanding aging is to attempt to develop or test strategies that may extend lifespan and presumably health. One area of great interest has been to consider the effect of calorie restriction, which is a treatment shown to extend lifespan in a variety of species. This approach is routinely used in domestic poultry as a means for extending reproductive function and enhancing health. Our data indicate that moderate calorie restriction has beneficial effects, and that physiological and endocrine responses reflect these benefits.

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“…In this regard, the neuroendocrine theory has a holistic view that takes into account complex, homeostatic inter-relationships between hormonal and neural signals. There is clearly wide variation among vertebrate groups in patterns of neuroendocrine aging (Holmes et al 2003;Ottinger et al 2003Ottinger et al , 2004. Thus, it becomes difficult to determine causal or physiological relationships between reproductive aging and other aspects of organismal aging.…”

Section: Neuroendocrine Agingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging in male primates: reproductive decline, effects of calorie restriction and future research potential

Sitzmann

Urbanski

Ottinger

2008

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Although less dramatic than in females, male mammals experience decreasing reproductive function during aging. In primates, multiple facets of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis show evidence of gradual age-related decline, including behavioral, neuroendocrine and endocrine alterations such as decreased testosterone levels, reduced circulating dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels, increased numbers of sperm abnormalities, and a general decline in physiological responses. In this review we consider a range of age-related changes in males. These measures, including more subtle aging characteristics, are interesting additional indices for detecting the timing of age-related changes in behavioral, neuroendocrine, and endocrine responses. Evidence of potential effects of calorie restriction as an intervention in reproductive aging is also discussed. A discernable decline occurs in both metabolic and reproductive endocrine processes during male aging. This cascade of events includes neuroendocrine and behavioral changes; biomarkers such as circulating DHEAS also show clear age-related decline. The varied changes that occur during male aging are considered in the context of primate aging in general.

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Reproductive aging in female birds

Cited by 70 publications

References 42 publications

Great tits growing old: selective disappearance and the partitioning of senescence to stages within the breeding cycle

Great tits growing old: selective disappearance and the partitioning of senescence to stages within the breeding cycle

Neuroendocrine and immune characteristics of aging in avian species

Aging in male primates: reproductive decline, effects of calorie restriction and future research potential

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