Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird
ABSTRACT Foraging during breeding is a demanding activity linked to breeding investment and possibly constrained by individual quality. Telomere length, the protective nucleoproteins located at the ends of the chromosomes, is considered a trait reflecting somatic maintenance and individual quality....
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70732 |
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| author | Mauricio Guillen‐Parra Rocio Barcenas‐Flores Alberto Velando Anne Wiley Bibiana Montoya Roxana Torres |
| author_facet | Mauricio Guillen‐Parra Rocio Barcenas‐Flores Alberto Velando Anne Wiley Bibiana Montoya Roxana Torres |
| author_sort | Mauricio Guillen‐Parra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Foraging during breeding is a demanding activity linked to breeding investment and possibly constrained by individual quality. Telomere length, the protective nucleoproteins located at the ends of the chromosomes, is considered a trait reflecting somatic maintenance and individual quality. Therefore, foraging effort and parental investment may be positively related to telomere length, if individuals with longer telomeres are of better quality and thus able to maintain better body condition and allocate more resources to parental activities. In the brown booby (Sula leucogaster), we investigated if telomere length is related to body mass (a proxy of condition) and whether variation in foraging behavior and provisioning effort is related to telomere length or body mass. Then, we explored whether variation in foraging and provisioning influences the chick mass growth rate. In 34 pairs nesting in Isla de San Jorge, in the Gulf of California, México, we sampled their blood to estimate telomere length, measured their body mass, and for 10 days, recorded their foraging behavior via global positioning system (GPS) loggers and their chick provisioning rate and chicks' mass growth rate. We found a positive relationship between parents' body mass and telomere length. Body mass did not affect foraging behavior. Females with longer telomeres were more prone to travel longer distances toward offshore and deeper waters than females with shorter telomeres. In contrast, males with longer telomere lengths performed more nearshore foraging trips than males with shorter telomeres. The chick provisioning rate was unrelated to telomere length or body mass, but females fed the chick at a rate 2.4 times greater than males. Females' offshore foraging, but not males', was positively related to chick mass growth rate. Our results suggest that individual quality, indicated by telomere length, is an important driver of sex‐specific, between‐individual variation in foraging behavior, indirectly affecting offspring condition. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-076a445e79b84de4a1ef6cfe5809552e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-076a445e79b84de4a1ef6cfe5809552e2024-12-27T11:24:39ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-12-011412n/an/a10.1002/ece3.70732Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived SeabirdMauricio Guillen‐Parra0Rocio Barcenas‐Flores1Alberto Velando2Anne Wiley3Bibiana Montoya4Roxana Torres5Programa de Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México MexicoDepartamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México MexicoAnimal Ecology Group (GEA), Centro de Investigacion Mariña (CIM) Universidade de Vigo Vigo SpainDepartment of Natural Sciences Bowie State University Bowie Maryland USAEstación Científica La Malinche, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta (CTBC) Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala Tlaxcala MexicoDepartamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México MexicoABSTRACT Foraging during breeding is a demanding activity linked to breeding investment and possibly constrained by individual quality. Telomere length, the protective nucleoproteins located at the ends of the chromosomes, is considered a trait reflecting somatic maintenance and individual quality. Therefore, foraging effort and parental investment may be positively related to telomere length, if individuals with longer telomeres are of better quality and thus able to maintain better body condition and allocate more resources to parental activities. In the brown booby (Sula leucogaster), we investigated if telomere length is related to body mass (a proxy of condition) and whether variation in foraging behavior and provisioning effort is related to telomere length or body mass. Then, we explored whether variation in foraging and provisioning influences the chick mass growth rate. In 34 pairs nesting in Isla de San Jorge, in the Gulf of California, México, we sampled their blood to estimate telomere length, measured their body mass, and for 10 days, recorded their foraging behavior via global positioning system (GPS) loggers and their chick provisioning rate and chicks' mass growth rate. We found a positive relationship between parents' body mass and telomere length. Body mass did not affect foraging behavior. Females with longer telomeres were more prone to travel longer distances toward offshore and deeper waters than females with shorter telomeres. In contrast, males with longer telomere lengths performed more nearshore foraging trips than males with shorter telomeres. The chick provisioning rate was unrelated to telomere length or body mass, but females fed the chick at a rate 2.4 times greater than males. Females' offshore foraging, but not males', was positively related to chick mass growth rate. Our results suggest that individual quality, indicated by telomere length, is an important driver of sex‐specific, between‐individual variation in foraging behavior, indirectly affecting offspring condition.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70732chick growth ratechick provisioning rateforaging behaviorlong‐lived seabirdtelomere length |
| spellingShingle | Mauricio Guillen‐Parra Rocio Barcenas‐Flores Alberto Velando Anne Wiley Bibiana Montoya Roxana Torres Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird Ecology and Evolution chick growth rate chick provisioning rate foraging behavior long‐lived seabird telomere length |
| title | Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird |
| title_full | Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird |
| title_fullStr | Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird |
| title_short | Sex‐Specific Variation in Foraging Behavior is Related to Telomere Length in a Long‐Lived Seabird |
| title_sort | sex specific variation in foraging behavior is related to telomere length in a long lived seabird |
| topic | chick growth rate chick provisioning rate foraging behavior long‐lived seabird telomere length |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70732 |
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