Tools
Tools
Brown, Thomas J., Hammers, Martijn, Taylor, Martin 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3858-0712, Dugdale, Hannah L., Komdeur, Jan and Richardson, David S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7226-9074
(2021)
Hematocrit, age, and survival in a wild vertebrate population.
Ecology and Evolution, 11 (1).
pp. 214-226.
ISSN 2045-7758
Preview |
PDF (ece3.7015)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (823kB) | Preview |
Preview |
PDF (Published_Version)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (827kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Understanding trade‐offs in wild populations is difficult, but important if we are to understand the evolution of life histories and the impact of ecological variables upon them. Markers that reflect physiological state and predict future survival would be of considerable benefit to unraveling such trade‐offs and could provide insight into individual variation in senescence. However, currently used markers often yield inconsistent results. One underutilized measure is hematocrit, the proportion of blood comprising erythrocytes, which relates to the blood's oxygen‐carrying capacity and viscosity, and to individual endurance. Hematocrit has been shown to decline with age in cross‐sectional studies (which may be confounded by selective appearance/disappearance). However, few studies have tested whether hematocrit declines within individuals or whether low hematocrit impacts survival in wild taxa. Using longitudinal data from the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), we demonstrated that hematocrit increases with age in young individuals (<1.5 years) but decreases with age in older individuals (1.5–13 years). In breeders, hematocrit was higher in males than females and varied relative to breeding stage. High hematocrit was associated with lower survival in young individuals, but not older individuals. Thus, while we did not find support for hematocrit as a marker of senescence, high hematocrit is indicative of poor condition in younger individuals. Possible explanations are that these individuals were experiencing dehydration and/or high endurance demands prior to capture, which warrants further investigation. Our study demonstrates that hematocrit can be an informative metric for life‐history studies investigating trade‐offs between survival, longevity, and reproduction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | aging,biomarkers,birds,condition markers,hematocrit,life history,senescence,survival,trade-offs,wild populations,ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics,ecology,nature and landscape conservation ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Jan 2021 00:54 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Mar 2024 07:31 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/78152 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/ece3.7015 |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |