Bateson Melissa, Brilot Ben O, Gillespie Robert, Monaghan Pat, Nettle Daniel
Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience and Newcastle University Institute of Ageing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Institute of Neuroscience and Newcastle University Institute of Ageing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2015 Jan 22;282(1799):20142140. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2140.
Animals in a poor biological state face reduced life expectancy, and as a consequence should make decisions that prioritize immediate survival and reproduction over long-term benefits. We tested the prediction that if, as has been suggested, developmental telomere attrition is a biomarker of state and future life expectancy, then individuals who have undergone greater developmental telomere attrition should display greater choice impulsivity as adults. We measured impulsive decision-making in a cohort of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in which we had previously manipulated developmental telomere attrition by cross-fostering sibling chicks into broods of different sizes. We show that as predicted by state-dependent optimality models, individuals who had sustained greater developmental telomere attrition and who had shorter current telomeres made more impulsive foraging decisions as adults, valuing smaller, sooner food rewards more highly than birds with less attrition and longer telomeres. Our findings shed light on the biological embedding of early adversity and support a functional explanation for its consequences that could be applicable to other species, including humans.
处于不良生物学状态的动物预期寿命会缩短，因此它们应做出将即时生存和繁殖置于长期利益之上的决策。我们检验了这样一个预测：如果如有人所提出的，发育过程中的端粒损耗是状态和未来预期寿命的生物标志物，那么经历了更大程度发育端粒损耗的个体成年后应表现出更大的选择冲动性。我们在一群欧洲椋鸟（Sturnus vulgaris）中测量了冲动决策，此前我们通过将同胞雏鸟交叉寄养到不同大小的巢中，对发育端粒损耗进行了操控。我们发现，正如状态依赖最优模型所预测的，经历了更大程度发育端粒损耗且当前端粒较短的个体成年后在觅食决策上更冲动，比起端粒损耗较小且端粒较长的鸟类，它们更看重更小、更早获得的食物奖励。我们的研究结果揭示了早期逆境的生物学根源，并支持了一种对其后果的功能性解释，这种解释可能适用于包括人类在内的其他物种。
