Data from: Telomere length and dynamics predict mortality in a wild longitudinal study

Explaining variation in life expectancy between individuals of the same
age is fundamental to our understanding of population ecology and
life-history evolution. Variation in the length and rate of loss of the
protective telomere chromosome caps has been linked to cellular lifespan.
Yet, the extent to which telomere length and dynamics predict organismal
lifespan in nature is still contentious. Using longitudinal samples taken
from a closed population of Acrocephalus sechellensis (Seychelles
warblers) studied for over 20 years, we describe the first study into
life-long adult telomere dynamics (1 to 17 years) and their relationship
to mortality in natural conditions (N=204 individuals). We show that
telomeres shorten with increasing age and body mass, and that shorter
telomeres and greater rates of telomere shortening predicted future
mortality. Our results provide the first clear and unambiguous evidence of
a relationship between telomere length and mortality in the wild, and
substantiate the prediction that telomere length and shortening rate can
act as an indicators of biological age further to chronological age when
exploring life-history questions in natural conditions.

阐释同年龄段个体间预期寿命的差异，是解析种群生态学与生活史进化的核心基础。具有保护功能的端粒（telomere）的长度及其缩短速率的变异，已被证实与细胞寿命相关。然而，在自然环境中，端粒长度与动态变化能够在多大程度上预测个体的整体寿命，这一问题仍存在争议。本研究以一个被连续研究超20年的塞舌尔苇莺（*Acrocephalus sechellensis*）封闭种群的纵向采样数据为基础，开展了首个针对成年个体终身端粒动态变化（跨度1至17年）及其与自然条件下死亡率关联的研究，共纳入204个个体。研究结果显示，端粒长度会随年龄增长与体重增加而缩短，且更短的端粒以及更快的端粒缩短速率可预测个体未来的死亡风险。本研究首次为野生种群中端粒长度与死亡率之间的关联提供了清晰且无可辩驳的证据，并证实了这一预测：在自然环境中开展生活史相关研究时，端粒长度与缩短速率可作为生物学年龄的有效指标，补充于历法年龄之外。