Data from: Telomere heritability and parental age at conception effects in a wild avian population

Individual variation in telomere length is predictive of health and
mortality risk across a range of species. However, the relative influence
of environmental and genetic variation on individual telomere length in
wild populations remains poorly understood. Heritability of telomere
length has primarily been calculated using parent–offspring regression
which can be confounded by shared environments. To control for confounding
variables, quantitative genetic ‘animal models’ can be used, but few
studies have applied animal models in wild populations. Furthermore,
parental age at conception may also influence offspring telomere length,
but most studies have been cross-sectional. We investigated within- and
between- parental age at conception effects and heritability of telomere
length in the Seychelles warbler using measures from birds caught over 20
years and a multi-generational pedigree. We found a weak negative
within-paternal age at conception effect (as fathers aged, their offspring
had shorter telomeres) and a weak positive between-maternal age at
conception effect (females that survived to older ages had offspring with
longer telomeres). Animal models provided evidence that heritability and
evolvability of telomere length was low in this population, and that
variation in telomere length was not driven by early-life effects of hatch
period or parental identities. qPCR plate had a large influence on
telomere length variation and not accounting for it in the models would
have underestimated heritability. Our study illustrates the need to
include and account for technical variation in order to accurately
estimate heritability, as well as other environmental effects, on telomere
length in natural populations.