Metcalfe Neil B, Monaghan Pat
Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Graham Kerr Building, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Glasgow University, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
Exp Gerontol. 2003 Sep;38(9):935-40. doi: 10.1016/s0531-5565(03)00159-1.
There are many ecological advantages to attaining a large body size as fast as possible (such as reduced risks of being caught by predators or increased reproductive success). However, studies in several taxa indicate that fast growth in itself can have negative as well as positive effects. There appears to be a link between accelerated growth and lifespan: rapid growth early in life is associated with impaired later performance and reduced longevity. In this review we assess the evidence for such within individual trade-offs between growth rate and lifespan, and the potential physiological mechanisms that might underlie them. We discuss the fitness implications of any reduction in lifespan, and point out that certain environmental circumstances may favour a 'grow fast and die young' strategy if this increases overall reproductive success. However, investigation of the intra-specific relationships among growth rate, lifespan and fitness is not straightforward; few studies have controlled for confounding variables such as adult body size or duration of the growth period, and none to date have measured fitness in an appropriate ecological setting. We suggest a number of experimental approaches that might allow the true relationships between growth rate and future performance to be elucidated.
尽快达到较大体型有许多生态优势（例如被捕食者捕获的风险降低或繁殖成功率提高）。然而，对几个分类群的研究表明，快速生长本身可能既有负面影响也有正面影响。加速生长与寿命之间似乎存在联系：生命早期的快速生长与后期表现受损和寿命缩短有关。在这篇综述中，我们评估了个体内部生长速率和寿命之间这种权衡的证据，以及可能作为其基础的潜在生理机制。我们讨论了寿命缩短对适合度的影响，并指出如果某些环境条件能提高总体繁殖成功率，那么它们可能有利于“快速生长并早死”的策略。然而，研究生长速率、寿命和适合度之间的种内关系并非易事；很少有研究控制诸如成年体型或生长周期持续时间等混杂变量，而且迄今为止没有一项研究在适当的生态环境中测量适合度。我们提出了一些实验方法，这些方法可能有助于阐明生长速率与未来表现之间的真实关系。
