Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
Telomeres are non-coding DNA sequences located at the end of linear chromosomes, protecting genome integrity. In numerous taxa, telomeres shorten with age and telomere length (TL) is positively correlated with longevity. Moreover, TL is also affected by environmental stressors and/or resource-demand...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Peer Community In
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Peer Community Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.341/ |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1825206451302301696 |
|---|---|
| author | Criscuolo, François Fache, Inès Scaar, Bertrand Zahn, Sandrine Bleu, Josefa |
| author_facet | Criscuolo, François Fache, Inès Scaar, Bertrand Zahn, Sandrine Bleu, Josefa |
| author_sort | Criscuolo, François |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Telomeres are non-coding DNA sequences located at the end of linear chromosomes, protecting genome integrity. In numerous taxa, telomeres shorten with age and telomere length (TL) is positively correlated with longevity. Moreover, TL is also affected by environmental stressors and/or resource-demanding situations particularly during early-life. Thus, TL has been used as a physiological marker of individual quality and also as an indicator of population trend in conservation physiology. In this study, we investigated the effects of hatching rank, year of birth (2014 to 2017), sex and nest environment on TL of 137 Little Owls nestlings (Athene noctua). Little Owls’ populations in Europe showed a marked declined in the end of the 20th century. Nowadays, in the studied Alsatian population, the population is increasing. In this study, our results indicated that telomeres are longer in females and, independently of sex, in nestlings with the highest body condition. There was also a negative effect of hatching rank but only for last-hatched nestlings in large clutches of 5 nestlings. We did not find any effect of the environmental covariates on nestlings’ TL. Finally, we found that nestlings’ TL were shorter the last year of the study, while nestlings’ body condition stayed unchanged over the same period. This result is intriguing given the local positive population dynamics and is further discussed in the context of physiological conservation. Future studies should investigate the link between reduced TL and survival prospects in this species.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd56c7ff479c419ebbee92ba0a5612e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2804-3871 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Peer Community In |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Peer Community Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd56c7ff479c419ebbee92ba0a5612e12025-02-07T10:16:48ZengPeer Community InPeer Community Journal2804-38712023-11-01310.24072/pcjournal.34110.24072/pcjournal.341Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua Criscuolo, François0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8997-8184Fache, Inès1Scaar, Bertrand2Zahn, Sandrine3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9303-4223Bleu, Josefa4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3403-8272Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, FranceUniversité de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, FranceLigue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) Alsace, 1 rue du Wisch, 67560 Rosenwiller, FranceUniversité de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, FranceUniversité de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, FranceTelomeres are non-coding DNA sequences located at the end of linear chromosomes, protecting genome integrity. In numerous taxa, telomeres shorten with age and telomere length (TL) is positively correlated with longevity. Moreover, TL is also affected by environmental stressors and/or resource-demanding situations particularly during early-life. Thus, TL has been used as a physiological marker of individual quality and also as an indicator of population trend in conservation physiology. In this study, we investigated the effects of hatching rank, year of birth (2014 to 2017), sex and nest environment on TL of 137 Little Owls nestlings (Athene noctua). Little Owls’ populations in Europe showed a marked declined in the end of the 20th century. Nowadays, in the studied Alsatian population, the population is increasing. In this study, our results indicated that telomeres are longer in females and, independently of sex, in nestlings with the highest body condition. There was also a negative effect of hatching rank but only for last-hatched nestlings in large clutches of 5 nestlings. We did not find any effect of the environmental covariates on nestlings’ TL. Finally, we found that nestlings’ TL were shorter the last year of the study, while nestlings’ body condition stayed unchanged over the same period. This result is intriguing given the local positive population dynamics and is further discussed in the context of physiological conservation. Future studies should investigate the link between reduced TL and survival prospects in this species. https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.341/telomere, little owl, hatching rank, early-life effects, sex differences |
| spellingShingle | Criscuolo, François Fache, Inès Scaar, Bertrand Zahn, Sandrine Bleu, Josefa Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua Peer Community Journal telomere, little owl, hatching rank, early-life effects, sex differences |
| title | Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
|
| title_full | Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
|
| title_fullStr | Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
|
| title_full_unstemmed | Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
|
| title_short | Telomere length varies with sex, hatching rank and year of birth in the Little Owl, Athene noctua
|
| title_sort | telomere length varies with sex hatching rank and year of birth in the little owl athene noctua |
| topic | telomere, little owl, hatching rank, early-life effects, sex differences |
| url | https://peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10.24072/pcjournal.341/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT criscuolofrancois telomerelengthvarieswithsexhatchingrankandyearofbirthinthelittleowlathenenoctua AT facheines telomerelengthvarieswithsexhatchingrankandyearofbirthinthelittleowlathenenoctua AT scaarbertrand telomerelengthvarieswithsexhatchingrankandyearofbirthinthelittleowlathenenoctua AT zahnsandrine telomerelengthvarieswithsexhatchingrankandyearofbirthinthelittleowlathenenoctua AT bleujosefa telomerelengthvarieswithsexhatchingrankandyearofbirthinthelittleowlathenenoctua |