Deterioration, death and the evolution of reproductive restraint in late life Export

@article{citeulike:5712488, abstract = {10.1098/rspb.2009.0959 Explaining why organisms schedule reproduction over their lifetimes in the various ways that they do is an enduring challenge in biology. An influential theoretical prediction states that organisms should increasingly invest in reproduction as they approach the end of their life. An apparent mismatch of empirical data with this prediction has been attributed to age-related constraints on the ability to reproduce. Here we present a general framework for the evolution of age-related reproductive trajectories. Instead of characterizing an organism by its age, we characterize it by its physiological condition. We develop a common currency that if maximized at each time guarantees the whole life history is optimal. This currency integrates reproduction, mortality and changes in condition. We predict that under broad conditions it will be optimal for organisms to invest less in reproduction as they age, thus challenging traditional interpretations of age-related traits and renewing debate about the extent to which observed life histories are shaped by constraint versus adaptation. Our analysis gives a striking illustration of the differences between an age-based and a condition-based approach to life-history theory. It also provides a unified account of not only standard life-history models but of related models involving the allocation of limited resources.}, author = {McNamara, John M. and Houston, Alasdair I. and Barta, Zoltan and Scheuerlein, Alexander and Fromhage, Lutz}, citeulike-article-id = {5712488}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0959}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/08/28/rspb.2009.0959.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/08/28/rspb.2009.0959.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19726476}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=19726476}, day = {22}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2009.0959}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}, keywords = {body-condition, mortality, reproduction, senescence}, month = {November}, number = {1675}, pages = {4061--4066}, posted-at = {2009-09-03 09:44:59}, priority = {4}, title = {Deterioration, death and the evolution of reproductive restraint in late life}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0959}, volume = {276}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5712488 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5712488 N2 - 10.1098/rspb.2009.0959 Explaining why organisms schedule reproduction over their lifetimes in the various ways that they do is an enduring challenge in biology. An influential theoretical prediction states that organisms should increasingly invest in reproduction as they approach the end of their life. An apparent mismatch of empirical data with this prediction has been attributed to age-related constraints on the ability to reproduce. Here we present a general framework for the evolution of age-related reproductive trajectories. Instead of characterizing an organism by its age, we characterize it by its physiological condition. We develop a common currency that if maximized at each time guarantees the whole life history is optimal. This currency integrates reproduction, mortality and changes in condition. We predict that under broad conditions it will be optimal for organisms to invest less in reproduction as they age, thus challenging traditional interpretations of age-related traits and renewing debate about the extent to which observed life histories are shaped by constraint versus adaptation. Our analysis gives a striking illustration of the differences between an age-based and a condition-based approach to life-history theory. It also provides a unified account of not only standard life-history models but of related models involving the allocation of limited resources. IS - 1675 JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences EP - 4066 TI - Deterioration, death and the evolution of reproductive restraint in late life VL - 276 SP - 4061 KW - body-condition KW - mortality KW - reproduction KW - senescence AU - McNamara, John AU - Houston, Alasdair AU - Barta, Zoltan AU - Scheuerlein, Alexander AU - Fromhage, Lutz PY - 2009/11/22/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.0959 ER -