Skin pentosidine and telomere length do not covary with age in a long-lived seabird

Rattiste, Kalev; Klandorf, H.; Urvik, Janek; Sepp, Tuul; Asghar, Muhammad; Hasselquist, Dennis; Cooey, Crissa; Hõrak, Peeter

doi:10.1007/s10522-015-9564-1

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Concave relationship between white wing patch size and age indicates that it is a condition-dependent trait. Consistent with this, previous studies in the same colony have shown that middle-aged birds start their annual breeding attempts earlier (Rattiste et al 2015), lay heavier eggs and their breeding success exceeds that of young and old individuals (Rattiste 2004). Also consistent with an idea of condition dependency is the finding that females with larger white wing patches experienced lower extent of abrasion of wing tips.…”

Section: Statistical Analysessupporting

confidence: 84%

A small badge of longevity: opposing survival selection on the size of white and black wing markings

Sepp

Rattiste

Saks

et al. 2017

Journal of Avian Biology

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According to handicap principle, exaggerated ornamental traits are supposed to exert costs on their bearers. However, there is much less theoretical and practical consensus about whether and under which conditions ornament expression should positively correlate with survival. We measured age‐related variation and survival selection on the size of white wing patches and black wing tips in a long‐lived monogamous seabird, the common gull Larus canus. Males had larger white patches than females but patch size showed concave relationship with age irrespective of sex, suggesting that white patch size was prone to senescence in both sexes. Extent of wing tip abrasion correlated negatively with the size of white patch, suggesting, in agreement with the Zahavian handicap hypothesis that only individuals with largest ornaments are able of maintaining them and not paying cost of displaying them. Areas of white wing patches and black wing tips correlated negatively. Irrespective of sex, survival selection favored birds with larger white wing patches and smaller black wing tips, which suggests that white and black wing markings may have coevolved as reverse components of a single ornament. Altogether, our results provide an evidence for the case where survival selection on ornamental traits in females is not weaker than in males. Absence of sex differences with respect to most of observed patterns is consistent with a prediction that among monogamous long‐lived species with biparental care, mutual mate choice leads to evolution of elaborate ornamental traits in both sexes.

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Section: Statistical Analysessupporting

confidence: 84%

A small badge of longevity: opposing survival selection on the size of white and black wing markings

Sepp

Rattiste

Saks

et al. 2017

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…Absence of age-related decline in uropygial gland size in old birds compares favourably with results of previous studies (Rattiste et al 2015;Urvik et al 2016;Sepp et al 2017) indices of physiological condition is consistent with the concept that aging is multidimensional and can be asynchronous in wild animals (Hayward et al 2015). For instance, it has been shown, that in wild ungulates reproductive senescence may start later and progress more rapidly, than age-related declines in survival probability (Nussey et al 2013) and in some mammal species even post-reproductive survival has been documented (Croft et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Previous studies in this species have indicated that reproductive senescence is common in this colony, with old birds starting breeding later and having lower breeding success (Brommer and Rattiste 2008), lower investment into egg quality (Urvik et al 2018) and having smaller ornamental white wing patches (Sepp et al 2017) than middle-aged birds. At the same time, traits related to physiological condition (telomere length and skin pentosidine concentration; Rattiste et al 2015), and indices of oxidative and nutritional state (Urvik et al 2016), do not show consistent age-related patterns. These findings are compliant with the prediction of the life-history theory that in long-lived species whose lifetime reproductive success depends heavily on lifespan, self-maintenance is prioritized over reproduction (Nussey et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Uropygial gland size: a marker of phenotypic quality that shows no senescence in a long-lived seabird

et al. 2018

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Studies of senescence in the wild have traditionally focused on traits like survival or fecundity. Although efforts to measure other salient phenotypic traits and markers of relevant physiological processes are rapidly increasing, traits related to selfmaintenance remain understudied in the context of aging. Uropygial or preen gland is a holocrine gland, exclusive to birds, directly linked to self-maintenance of the quality of plumage. We measured the size of uropygial glands of common gulls (Larus canus) in a cross sectional manner in order to test whether it shows the similar age-related decline as reproductive traits previously recorded in this species. Gulls with larger glands started breeding earlier in the season, indicating that gland size is a marker of individual phenotypic quality. We found a senescent decline in the onset of breeding and the size of white wing patches, a sexually dimorphic ornamental trait, while in contrast, preen gland increased with advancing age. This finding supports the view of life-history theory that in long-lived species whose lifetime reproductive success depends heavily on lifespan, self-maintenance is prioritized over reproduction. Altogether our results support the concept that senescence in the wild can be asynchronous for traits related to maintenance versus reproduction.

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“…Pentosidine has been shown to accumulate in a linear fashion in terrestrial birds and some seabirds including California gulls ( Larus californicus ) (Chaney, Blemings, Bonner, & Klandorf, ) and Double‐crested cormorants ( Phalocrocorax auritus ) (Fallon et al, ). This technique has yielded age estimates with a precision of 2–4 years in wild birds (Chaney et al, ; Fallon et al, ; Rattiste et al, ). However, in a study of another long‐lived seabird, the Bridled tern ( Onychoprion anaethetus ), no correlation between pentosidine levels and age was found (Labbé, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

Paoli-Iseppi

Deagle

Polanowski

et al. 2019

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Age structure is a fundamental aspect of animal population biology. Age is strongly related to individual physiological condition, reproductive potential and mortality rate. Currently, there are no robust molecular methods for age estimation in birds. Instead, individuals must be ringed as chicks to establish known‐age populations, which is a labour‐intensive and expensive process. The estimation of chronological age using DNA methylation (DNAm) is emerging as a robust approach in mammals including humans, mice and some non‐model species. Here, we quantified DNAm in whole blood samples from a total of 71 known‐age Short‐tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) using digital restriction enzyme analysis of methylation (DREAM). The DREAM method measures DNAm levels at thousands of CpG dinucleotides throughout the genome. We identified seven CpG sites with DNAm levels that correlated with age. A model based on these relationships estimated age with a mean difference of 2.8 years to known age, based on validation estimates from models created by repeated sampling of training and validation data subsets. Longitudinal observation of individuals re‐sampled over 1 or 2 years generally showed an increase in estimated age (6/7 cases). For the first time, we have shown that epigenetic changes with age can be detected in a wild bird. This approach should be of broad interest to researchers studying age biomarkers in non‐model species and will allow identification of markers that can be assessed using targeted techniques for accurate age estimation in large population studies.

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Skin pentosidine and telomere length do not covary with age in a long-lived seabird

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

A small badge of longevity: opposing survival selection on the size of white and black wing markings

A small badge of longevity: opposing survival selection on the size of white and black wing markings

Uropygial gland size: a marker of phenotypic quality that shows no senescence in a long-lived seabird

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

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