Early-life experience shapes patterns of senescence in a food-caching passerine

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DOI

  • Marjorie C. Sorensen
    University of Guelph, Ontario
  • Dan Strickland
  • Nikole E Freeman
    Kansas State UniversityUniversity of Guelph, Ontario
  • Matthew Fuirst
    University of Guelph, Ontario
  • A.O. Sutton
    University of Guelph, Ontario
  • D. Ryan Norris
    University of Guelph, Ontario
For many species, breeding performance increases through early adulthood followed by declines later in life. Although patterns of age-specific decline have been shown to vary between individuals, the factors that lead to this individual variation in the intensity of reproductive senescence are yet to be fully understood. We investigated whether early-life social status influenced age-related trends in the breeding performance of male Canada jays (Perisoreus canadensis), year-round residents of North America's boreal and sub-alpine forests. Shortly after young become nutritionally independent, intra-brood dominance struggles lead to one juvenile (Dominant Juvenile) remaining on the natal territory after expelling its subordinate siblings (Ejectees). First, we show via radio tracking that in our declining range-edge population Ejectees either join an unrelated pair (67%), form a breeding pair with another bird (28%) or occupy a territory alone (5%). Second, using 39 years of breeding data, we demonstrate that Ejectee males advanced laying dates and increased the annual number of nestlings until 6 years of age before declining, whereas Dominant Juvenile males advanced laying dates until 11 years and increased annual number of nestlings until 12 years of age before declining. This study documents clear variation in ageing patterns between dominant and expelled young, with implications for the role of early-life experiences and phenotypic quality in determining patterns of ageing.

Keywords

  • Canada jay, dispersal timing, food hoarding, lifespan
Original languageEnglish
Article number20210532
JournalBiology Letters
Volume18
Issue number1
Early online date26 Jan 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jan 2022
Externally publishedYes
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