Jones Owen R, Gaillard Jean-Michel, Tuljapurkar Shripad, Alho Jussi S, Armitage Kenneth B, Becker Peter H, Bize Pierre, Brommer Jon, Charmantier Anne, Charpentier Marie, Clutton-Brock Tim, Dobson F Stephen, Festa-Bianchet Marco, Gustafsson Lars, Jensen Henrik, Jones Carl G, Lillandt Bo-Göran, McCleery Robin, Merilä Juha, Neuhaus Peter, Nicoll Malcolm A C, Norris Ken, Oli Madan K, Pemberton Josephine, Pietiäinen Hannu, Ringsby Thor Harald, Roulin Alexandre, Saether Bernt-Erik, Setchell Joanna M, Sheldon Ben C, Thompson Paul M, Weimerskirch Henri, Jean Wickings E, Coulson Tim
Division of Biology and Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PY, UK.
Ecol Lett. 2008 Jul;11(7):664-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01187.x. Epub 2008 Apr 28.
Comparative analyses of survival senescence by using life tables have identified generalizations including the observation that mammals senesce faster than similar-sized birds. These generalizations have been challenged because of limitations of life-table approaches and the growing appreciation that senescence is more than an increasing probability of death. Without using life tables, we examine senescence rates in annual individual fitness using 20 individual-based data sets of terrestrial vertebrates with contrasting life histories and body size. We find that senescence is widespread in the wild and equally likely to occur in survival and reproduction. Additionally, mammals senesce faster than birds because they have a faster life history for a given body size. By allowing us to disentangle the effects of two major fitness components our methods allow an assessment of the robustness of the prevalent life-table approach. Focusing on one aspect of life history - survival or recruitment - can provide reliable information on overall senescence.
通过使用生命表对生存衰老进行的比较分析已经得出了一些普遍规律，其中包括观察到哺乳动物比体型相似的鸟类衰老得更快。由于生命表方法的局限性以及人们越来越认识到衰老不仅仅是死亡概率的增加，这些普遍规律受到了挑战。在不使用生命表的情况下，我们使用20个基于个体的陆地脊椎动物数据集来研究年度个体适合度中的衰老率，这些数据集具有不同的生活史和体型。我们发现衰老在野外很普遍，并且在生存和繁殖中同样可能发生。此外，哺乳动物比鸟类衰老得更快，因为对于给定的体型，它们具有更快的生活史。通过让我们能够区分两个主要适合度成分的影响，我们的方法允许评估流行的生命表方法的稳健性。关注生活史的一个方面——生存或补充——可以提供有关整体衰老的可靠信息。
