Telomere length reflects phenotypic quality and costs of reproduction in a long-lived seabird

Telomere length is associated with cellular senescence, lifestyle and ageing. Short telomeres indicate poor health in humans and reduced life expectancy in several bird species, but little is known about telomeres in relation to phenotypic quality in wild animals. We investigated telomere lengths in erythrocytes of known-age common terns (Sterna hirundo), a migratory seabird, in relation to arrival date and reproductive performance. Cross-sectional data revealed that, independent of age, individuals with short telomeres performed better: they arrived and reproduced earlier in the season and had more chicks in the nest. The latter effect was stronger the older the brood and stronger in males, which do most of the chick provisioning. Longitudinal data confirmed this pattern: compared with birds that lost their brood, birds that raised chicks beyond the 10th nestling day experienced higher telomere attrition from one year to the next. However, more detailed analysis revealed that the least...端粒（telomere）长度与细胞衰老、生活方式及衰老进程密切相关。端粒较短的人类个体健康状况较差，在多种鸟类中则预示着预期寿命缩短，但目前学界关于野生动物端粒与表型质量间关联的研究仍较为匮乏。本研究以已知年龄的迁徙性海鸟普通燕鸥（Sterna hirundo）为研究对象，检测其红细胞端粒长度，探究其与抵达繁殖地时间及繁殖性能的关联。横断面数据显示，无论个体年龄如何，端粒较短的个体繁殖表现更优：它们在繁殖季更早抵达繁殖地并启动繁殖，且巢内窝雏数量更多。该效应随窝雏日龄增长而增强，且在承担大部分育雏任务的雄性个体中更为显著。纵向数据验证了这一规律：与繁殖失败（窝雏丢失）的个体相比，成功将雏鸟抚育至10日龄以上的个体，其端粒在年度间的损耗程度更高。然而，更细致的分析表明，最不...