Telomere Dynamics of Grey Seals (Halichoerus grypus) on Sable Island, Nova Scotia: a Long-Lived Marine Mammal Population Island

Telomeres are highly conserved structures on the terminal ends of linear chromosomes that are essential to normal cell function. Loss in telomere length occurs with age in somatic tissues and is exacerbated by sources of stress, particularly during early life. Loss in telomere length with age is well documented, but rarely in long-lived mammals due to sampling difficulty. This study used an established qPCR assay to measure relative telomere length (rTL) in the grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) of Sable Island, Nova Scotia, a population of long-lived marine mammals approaching carrying capacity. Grey seals exhibited a slow decline in rTL with age, similar to other large and long-lived animals. Meanwhile early life rTL did not appear to be related to the overall population density which was expected to negatively affect postnatal environment conditions. Current sampling criteria or other environmental factors beyond population density may better explain variation in rTL.

Name thesis:degree_name

M Sc

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Western Ontario

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Carter, Liam Alastair Wayde

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Coltman, David W

• long-lived
• marine mammal
• relative telomere length
• aging
• carrying capacity
• longitudinal sampling
• early life

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution 4.0 International

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/39405

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/39405