{
  "abstract": "Early-life conditions can shape molecular ageing processes, yet to what extent developmental variation in telomere length (TL) influences ageing trajectories remains unclear, particularly in long-lived mammals. We investigated how early-life environmental conditions and maternal age relate to juvenile TL and short-term survival in two long-lived bat species, Myotis myotis and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum . Using novel long-term datasets spanning ten years in M. myotis and five years in R. ferrumequinum , we measured relative telomere length (rTL) in juvenile wing tissue and applied sliding window analysis to identify sensitive climatic periods during development. In both species, early-life rTL varied significantly among years and was associated with short-term climatic conditions, with rainfall predicting rTL in both species and temperature acting in opposing directions: longer rTL with warmer conditions in M. myotis , and longer rTL at intermediate temperatures in R. ferrumequinum . Maternal age at conception showed little association with offspring TL in either species, although a weak positive sex-specific longitudinal effect was detected in R. ferrumequinum . Despite clear environmental influences on early-life rTL, we found no evidence that early-life rTL or early-life telomere change predicted short-term survival. Together, these results indicate that early-life telomere variation in bats reflects climatic conditions during development, providing novel insights into how early-life exposures could contribute to inter-individual differences in ageing trajectories in long-lived mammals.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Tadhg Lonergan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Megan Power"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luke Romaine"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roger Ransome"
    },
    {
      "name": "Frédéric Touzalin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sebastien Puechmaille"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gareth Jones"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emma Teeling"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fthavb6d9nkmw.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.05.26.727814",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "fthavb6d9nkmw",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783458v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sdv"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.sdv.ee"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2737|Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7162846780",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783458/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-05-27",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fthavb6d9nkmw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05783458",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783458v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "hal:1.sdv.ee",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Early-life telomere length variation under changing developmental conditions in long-lived bats",
  "title_text": "Early-life telomere length variation under changing developmental conditions in long-lived bats",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:50Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/fthavb6d9nkmw",
  "venue": "HAL",
  "versions": []
}