Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Telomeres and Telomerase02:41

Telomeres and Telomerase

6.0K
6.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same authorSame journal

Corticosterone Under Experimental Manipulation of Nutrition and Parasite Burden in a Wild Rodent System.

Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology·2026
Same author

Robust but transient thermoregulatory responses to an acute thermal challenge in a free-living altricial songbird.

Integrative and comparative biology·2026
Same author

Sex and breeding stage differences in neurogenomic profiles reflect hormone signaling in a socially polyandrous shorebird.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Behavior as a Keystone Trait: A Conceptual Framework Applied to the Problem of Heat.

Integrative and comparative biology·2026
Same author

Divergent climate impacts despite similar response to temperature in a widespread aerial insectivore.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

Total solar eclipse triggers dawn behavior in birds: Insights from acoustic recordings and community science.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Real Time and Repeated Measurement of Skeletal Muscle Growth in Individual Live Zebrafish Subjected to Altered Electrical Activity
11:41

Real Time and Repeated Measurement of Skeletal Muscle Growth in Individual Live Zebrafish Subjected to Altered Electrical Activity

Published on: June 16, 2022

2.2K

A multi-tissue view on telomere dynamics and postnatal growth.

Sarah E Wolf1,2, Kimberly A Rosvall1,2

  • 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A, Ecological and Integrative Physiology
|December 29, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Early growth impacts longevity, but the link between growth and telomere length (a biomarker of self-maintenance) is unclear. This study in tree swallows found tissue-specific positive correlations between growth and telomere length, suggesting resource availability masks trade-offs.

Keywords:
ageingbirdlife historylipopolysaccharidepostnatal growthtissue

More Related Videos

Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation
12:59

Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation

Published on: February 28, 2021

3.9K
Culturing and Measuring Fetal and Newborn Murine Long Bones
06:58

Culturing and Measuring Fetal and Newborn Murine Long Bones

Published on: April 26, 2019

8.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Real Time and Repeated Measurement of Skeletal Muscle Growth in Individual Live Zebrafish Subjected to Altered Electrical Activity
11:41

Real Time and Repeated Measurement of Skeletal Muscle Growth in Individual Live Zebrafish Subjected to Altered Electrical Activity

Published on: June 16, 2022

2.2K
Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation
12:59

Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation

Published on: February 28, 2021

3.9K
Culturing and Measuring Fetal and Newborn Murine Long Bones
06:58

Culturing and Measuring Fetal and Newborn Murine Long Bones

Published on: April 26, 2019

8.4K

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Trade-offs between organismal growth and self-maintenance are fundamental in life-history theory.
  • Telomeres, protective caps on chromosome ends, are considered biomarkers of cellular aging and self-maintenance, potentially linking early growth to later survival.
  • Evidence for a direct trade-off between growth and telomere length is mixed, with population-level studies often showing null or positive correlations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between early-life growth and telomere length in multiple tissues of nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor).
  • To determine if growth-telomere relationships vary across different developmental stages (peak growth vs. late growth) and tissues.
  • To explore how resource availability and stressors might influence the observed growth-telomere dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified nestling growth rates during peak postnatal growth (around 6 days) and late growth (around 12 days).
  • Measured telomere length in blood during postnatal growth and in blood, brain, adrenal glands, and liver at 12 days old.
  • Analyzed correlations between growth metrics and telomere length across different tissues and developmental periods, considering stressor exposure.

Main Results:

  • Growth rate was unrelated to telomere length in the liver and telomere dynamics in blood.
  • Brain telomere length positively correlated with peak growth rate.
  • Adrenal telomere length positively related to later growth, especially in chicks exposed to a temporary stressor.

Conclusions:

  • Observed positive correlations between growth and telomere length in specific tissues (brain, adrenals) suggest that resource availability can mask underlying trade-offs at the population level.
  • Tissue-specific relationships highlight the complexity of linking early growth to self-maintenance, with different organs potentially allocating resources differently.
  • Findings provide insights into how early-life conditions and resource heterogeneity shape long-term organismal maintenance and survival.