%ABae, Junsoo [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Augusta University Augusta GA USA]%ABertucci, Emily [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA]%ABock, Samantha [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA]%AHale, Matthew [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA]%AMoore, Jameel [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Benedict College Columbia SC USA]%AWilkinson, Phil [Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Georgetown SC USA]%ARainwater, Thomas [Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center Georgetown SC USA, Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology &, Forest Science Clemson University Georgetown SC USA]%ABowden, John [Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology College of Veterinary Medicine University of Florida Gainesville FL USA]%AKoal, Therese [Biocrates Life Sciences AG Innsbruck Austria]%APhamTuan, Hai [Biocrates Life Sciences AG Innsbruck Austria]%AParrott, Benjamin [Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Aiken SC USA, Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA]%BJournal Name: Molecular Ecology; Journal Volume: 31; Journal Issue: 23; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2023-08-19 21:01:44 %D2021%IWiley-Blackwell %JJournal Name: Molecular Ecology; Journal Volume: 31; Journal Issue: 23; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2023-08-19 21:01:44 %K %MOSTI ID: 10366035 %PMedium: X %TIntrinsic and extrinsic factors interact during development to influence telomere length in a long‐lived reptile %XAbstract

The mechanisms connecting environmental conditions to plasticity in biological aging trajectories are fundamental to understanding individual variation in functional traits and life history. Recent findings suggest that telomere biology is especially dynamic during early life stages and has long‐term consequences for subsequent reproduction and survival. However, our current understanding is mostly derived from studies investigating ecological and anthropogenic factors separately, leaving the effects of complex environmental interactions unresolved. American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are long‐lived apex predators that rely on incubation temperature during a discrete period during development and endocrine cues to determine sex, making them especially vulnerable to current climatic variability and exposure to anthropogenic contaminants interfering with hormone function. Here, we combine field studies with a factorial design to understand how the developmental environment, along with intrinsic biological variation contribute to persistent telomere variation. We found that exposure to a common endocrine disrupting contaminant, DDE, affects telomere length, but that the directionality is highly dependent upon incubation temperature. Variation in hatchling growth, underlies a strong clutch effect. We also assess concentrations of a panel of glucocorticoid hormones and find that contaminant exposure elicits an increase in circulating glucocorticoids. Consistent with emerging evidence linking stress and aging trajectories, GC levels also appear to trend with shorter telomere length. Thus, we add support for a mechanistic link between contaminants and glucocorticoid signalling, which interacts with ecological aspects of the developmental environment to alter telomere dynamics.

%0Journal Article