Telomere shortening with age has been documented in many organisms, but few studies have reported telomere length measurements in amphibians, and no information is available for growth after metamorphosis, nor in wild populations. We provide both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence of net telomere attrition with age in a wild amphibian population of natterjack toads (Epidalea calamita). Based on age-estimation by skeletochronology and qPCR telomere length measurements in the framework of an individual-based monitoring programme, we confirmed telomere attrition in recaptured males. Our results support that toads experience telomere attrition throughout their ontogeny, and that most attrition occurs during the first 1–2 years. We did not find associations between telomere length and inbreeding or body condition. Our results on telomere length dynamics under natural conditions confirm telomere shortening with age in amphibians and provide quantification of wide telomere length variation within and among age-classes in a wild breeding population.

许多生物体都记录了端粒随年龄缩短的情况，但很少有研究报道两栖动物端粒长度的测量，也没有关于变态后生长的信息，也没有野生种群的信息。我们提供了野生两栖动物响尾蟾（ Epidalea calamita ）种群随年龄增长而净端粒磨损的横截面和纵向证据。根据在基于个体的监测计划框架内通过骨骼年代学和 qPCR 端粒长度测量进行的年龄估计，我们确认了重新捕获的雄性中的端粒损耗。我们的结果支持蟾蜍在其个体发育过程中经历端粒磨损，并且大多数磨损发生在最初的 1-2 年。我们没有发现端粒长度与近亲繁殖或身体状况之间的关联。我们对自然条件下端粒长度动态的研究结果证实了两栖动物的端粒随着年龄的增长而缩短，并提供了野生繁殖种群中不同年龄组内和年龄组之间广泛的端粒长度变化的量化。