Studies on cooperative breeders have addressed the effects of non-breeding ‘helpers’ on reproduction and parental care, but the consequences for offspring physiology and long-term survival are less understood. Helpers are expected to benefit offspring, but their presence can also lead to decreased pre- or post-natal parental reproductive effort. To examine whether prenatal and postnatal helpers influence offspring condition, we conducted a whole-clutch cross-fostering experiment in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) that altered the nestlings’ social environment (presence/absence of helpers). We tested whether relative telomere length (rTL), an indicator of somatic maintenance, was influenced by prenatal and/or postnatal presence of helpers 9 and 17 days after hatching, and whether rTL predicted long-term survival. Nine days after hatching, we found an overall positive effect of postnatal helpers on rTL: for nestlings with prenatal helpers, a reduction in the number of helpers post-hatch was associated with shorter telomeres, while nestlings swapped from nests without helpers to nests with helpers had a larger rTL. However, when prenatal helpers were present, an increased number of helpers after hatching led to shorter telomeres. Nine-day old chicks with longer rTL tended to be more likely to survive over the 5 years following hatching. However, close to fledging, there was no detectable effect of the experiment on rTL and no link between rTL and survival. This experimental study of a wild cooperative breeder, therefore, presents partial support for the importance of the presence of helpers for offspring rTL and the link between early-life telomere length and long-term survival.

关于合作育种者的研究已经解决了非育种“辅助者”对生殖和父母照料的影响，但是对后代生理和长期生存的后果却知之甚少。预计佣工将使后代受益，但他们的存在也会导致产前或产后父母的生殖努力减少。为了检查产前和产后助手是否会影响后代状况，我们在社交织布工（Philetairus socius），从而改变了雏鸟的社交环境（有无助手）。我们测试了相对端粒长度（rTL）（体细胞维持的指标）是否受孵化后9天和17天的助手的产前和/或产后影响，以及rTL是否可预测长期存活。孵化后第9天，我们发现产后助手对rTL的总体积极影响：对于有产前助手的雏鸟，孵化后助手数量的减少与端粒较短有关，而雏鸟从没有助手的鸟巢换成带有助手的鸟巢。具有更大的rTL。但是，当有产前帮手时，孵化后帮手数量的增加会导致端粒变短。rTL较长的9日龄小鸡在孵化后的5年内往往更有可能存活。然而，接近起步阶段，该实验对rTL没有可检测的作用，并且rTL与生存之间没有联系。因此，这项对野生合作育种者的实验研究为后代rTL的辅助作用的存在以及早期端粒长度与长期存活之间的联系提供了部分支持。