Work

Rethinking the evolutionary theory of aging: Transfers, not births, shape senescence in social species

Year: 2003

Type: article

Abstract: The classic evolutionary theory of aging explains why mortality rises with age: as individuals grow older, less lifetime fertility remains, so continued survival contributes less to reproductive fitness. However, successful reproduction often involves intergenerational transfers as well as fertility. In the formal theory offered here, age-specific selective pressure on mortality depends on a weighted average of remaining fertility (the classic effect) and remaining intergenerational transfers to be made to others. For species at the optimal quantity-investment tradeoff for offspring, only the transfer effect shapes mortality, explaining postreproductive survival and why juvenile mortality declines with age. It also explains the evolution of lower fertility, longer life, and increased investments in offspring.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1530303100

Author: Ronald D. Lee

Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Animal Behavior and Reproduction

Subfield: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging

Award: ECONOMIC DEMOGRAPHY OF INTER AGE TRANSFERS