{"id":47398,"date":"2025-09-03T13:49:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/?p=47398"},"modified":"2025-09-03T14:00:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T12:00:43","slug":"flamingos-reveal-the-secrets-of-their-aging-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/publications-en\/flamingos-reveal-the-secrets-of-their-aging-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Flamingos reveal the secrets of their aging process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is ageing inevitable? While most living beings grow old, some do so more slowly than others. A new scientific study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science<\/span> (PNAS)<\/span> <\/a>addresses<\/span> a<\/span> fascinating <\/span>question: what if migration influences the way we age? To explore this mystery, scientists turned their attention to the pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus<\/span>), a graceful migratory bird that is emblematic of the Camargue region of France.<\/em><\/h4>\n
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Young flamingos on the nesting colony<\/span> \u00a9 C. Perrot - Tour du Valat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Birds that do not all age in the same way<\/span><\/h3>\n

Thanks to a flamingo tagging and tracking programme conducted for over 40 years by the Tour du Valat research institute, scientists have <\/span>discovered a surprising phenomenon: migratory flamingos age more slowly than resident flamingos.
\n<\/span>In this species, some birds remain in the Camargue for their entire lives (they are called \u2018<\/span>residents<\/i><\/span>\u2019),<\/span> while<\/span> others<\/span> travel<\/span> every<\/span> year<\/span> along <\/span>the shores of the Mediterranean (these are the \u2018migrants<\/i><\/span>\u2019). At the beginning of their adult life, resident flamingos fare better: well established in<\/span> the<\/span> lagoons<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> French<\/span> Mediterranean<\/span> coast <\/span>during the winter, they survive and reproduce more than migrants.
\nBut at what cost? As they age, residents decline more rapidly. With 40% greater ageing, their ability to reproduce decreases and the risk of death increases faster than among migratory flamingos. On the contrary, migratory flamingos, those that leave to spend the winter in Italy, Spain or North Africa, pay a high price for these seasonal journeys early in life (higher mortality and lower reproduction rates) but seem to compensate for this by slower ageing at an advanced age. Thus, the onset of the ageing process occurs earlier in residents (20.4 years on average) than in migrants (21.9 years).<\/p>\n

Migration: an animal behaviour that influences ageing<\/h3>\n

This study shows that seasonal migration \u2013 a behaviour<\/span> exhibited<\/span> by<\/span> billions<\/span> of<\/span> animals<\/span> \u2013 can<\/span> influence<\/span> the<\/span> rate<\/span> of<\/span> ageing.<\/span> In<\/span> flamingos, <\/span>deciding not to migrate offers advantages early in life that are associated with accelerated senescence at an advanced age. \u2018This is probably linked to a compromise between performance when young and health in old age,<\/i><\/span>\u2019 explains S\u00e9bastien Roques, researcher at the CNRS and co-author of the study.<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018<\/span>Residents<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>live <\/i>intensely<\/i><\/span> <\/i>at<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>fiirst, but<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>pay<\/i><\/span> <\/i>for<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>his<\/i><\/span> <\/i>pace<\/i><\/span> <\/i>later<\/i><\/span> <\/i>on. Migrants,<\/i><\/span> <\/i>on<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>he<\/i><\/span> <\/i>other<\/i><\/span> <\/i>hand,<\/i><\/span> <\/i>seem<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>o<\/i><\/span> <\/i>age<\/i><\/span> <\/i>more <\/i><\/span>slowly.<\/i>\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With their long lifespan (some live to be over 50 years old!) and behavioural diversity, flamingos<\/span> are<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> just<\/span> an<\/span> iconic<\/span> animal of the Camargue. They also provide an ideal model for understanding ageing in animals.
\n\u2018<\/span>That’s the whole point of having continued t<\/i>his<\/i><\/span> <\/i>study<\/i><\/span> <\/i>over<\/i><\/span> th<\/i>e<\/i><\/span> <\/i>long<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>erm.<\/i><\/span> <\/i>Initiated<\/i><\/span> <\/i>in<\/i><\/span> <\/i>1977 <\/i><\/span>in the Camargue by tagging flamingos with rings<\/i> t<\/i>hat<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>can<\/i> <\/i>be<\/i> <\/i>read<\/i> <\/i>from<\/i> <\/i>a<\/i> <\/i>distance<\/i> <\/i>with<\/i> <\/i>a telescope, this programme still allows us to observe<\/i> <\/i>flamingos<\/i> ta<\/i>gged<\/i> t<\/i>hat<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>year,\u2019<\/i> <\/i>explain Arnaud B\u00e9chet and Jocelyn Champagnon, research directors at the Tour du Valat and co-authors of the study. \u2018<\/span>This is a unique dataset t<\/i>hat<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>is<\/i><\/span> <\/i>proving<\/i><\/span> <\/i>invaluable<\/i><\/span> <\/i>for<\/i><\/span> <\/i>understanding<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>he <\/i><\/span>mechanisms<\/i><\/span> <\/i>of<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>ageing<\/i><\/span> <\/i>in<\/i><\/span> <\/i>animal<\/i><\/span> <\/i>populations<\/i><\/span>.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Unravelling the secrets of ageing, a scientific and existential quest<\/h3>\n

This discovery is part of an exciting field of research:<\/span> senescence,<\/span> or<\/span> biological<\/span> ageing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hugo<\/span> Cayuela,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> study’s<\/span> co-authors and a researcher at the University of Oxford, comments: \u2018<\/span>Understanding the causes of changes in the rate of ageing is a problem that<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>has<\/i> <\/i>obsessed<\/i> <\/i>researchers<\/i> <\/i>and<\/i> <\/i>polymath <\/i>philosophers<\/i><\/span> <\/i>since<\/i><\/span> <\/i>ancient<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>imes.<\/i><\/span>\u2019<\/span> He<\/span> continues <\/span>\u2018<\/span>For a long time, we thought that these variations <\/i>occurred<\/i><\/span> <\/i>mainly<\/i><\/span> <\/i>between<\/i><\/span> <\/i>species.<\/i><\/span> <\/i>But <\/i><\/span>recently, <\/i><\/span>our perception of \u012bhe problem has changed. We <\/i>are<\/i><\/span> <\/i>accumulating<\/i><\/span> <\/i>evidence<\/i><\/span> <\/i>showing<\/i><\/span> t<\/i>hat,<\/i><\/span> <\/i>within t<\/i><\/span>he<\/i><\/span> <\/i>same<\/i><\/span> <\/i>species,<\/i><\/span> <\/i>individuals<\/i><\/span> <\/i>ofiten<\/i><\/span> <\/i>do<\/i><\/span> <\/i>not<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/i>age <\/i><\/span>at the same rate due to genetic, behavioural and environmental variations<\/i>.\u2019
\n<\/span>By studying how<\/span> certain<\/span> animals<\/span> are<\/span> born,<\/span> reproduce<\/span> and die, scientists hope to unlock the secrets of ageing… In doing so, they are attempting to answer one of the most existential and central questions<\/span> in<\/span> biology:<\/span> why<\/span> and<\/span> how<\/span> do<\/span> we<\/span> die?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Study reference<\/span><\/b><\/h4>\n

H. Cayuela, S. Roques, A. Arnaud, C. Germain, A. B\u00e9chet, & J. Champagnon, Migration shapes senescence in a long-lived bird, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (36) e2422882122, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2422882122<\/a> (2025).<\/p>\n

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Flamingos flying<\/span> \u00a9 A. Chen - Tour du Valat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is ageing inevitable? While most living beings grow old, some do so more slowly than others. A new scientific study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) addresses a fascinating question: what if migration influences the way we age? To explore this mystery, scientists turned their attention to the pink flamingo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1689,"featured_media":47394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[300,664,676,296,290],"class_list":["post-47398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publications-en","tag-bag-en","tag-flamant-rose-en","tag-migr-en","tag-oiseaux-deau-en","tag-sui-en","country-camargue-en","country-france-en","country-mediterranean"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1689"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47398"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47400,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47398\/revisions\/47400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourduvalat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}