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Diverse aging rates in ectothermic tetrapods provide insights for the evolution of aging and longevity

June 23, 2022

Comparative studies of mortality in the wild are necessary to understand the evolution of aging; yet, ectothermic tetrapods are underrepresented in this comparative landscape, despite their suitability for testing evolutionary hypotheses. We present a study of aging rates and longevity across wild tetrapod ectotherms, using data from 107 populations (77 species) of nonavian reptiles and amphibians. We test hypotheses of how thermoregulatory mode, environmental temperature, protective phenotypes, and pace of life history contribute to demographic aging. Controlling for phylogeny and body size, ectotherms display a higher diversity of aging rates compared with endotherms and include phylogenetically widespread evidence of negligible aging. Protective phenotypes and life-history strategies further explain macroevolutionary patterns of aging. Analyzing ectothermic tetrapods in a comparative context enhances our understanding of the evolution of aging.

Publication Year 2022
Title Diverse aging rates in ectothermic tetrapods provide insights for the evolution of aging and longevity
DOI 10.1126/science.abm0151
Authors Beth A. Reinke, Hugo Cayuela, Fredric Janzen, Jean-François Lemaitre, Jean-Michel Gaillard, A. Lawing, John Iverson, Ditte Christiansen, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Gregorio Sánchez-Montes, Jorge Gutiérrez, Francis Rose, Nicola Nelson, Susan Keall, Alain J Crivelli, Theodoros Nazirides, Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth, Klaus Henle, Emiliano Mori, Gaetan Guiller, Rebecca Homan, Anthony Olivier, Erin Muths, Blake R. Hossack, Xavier Bonnet, David S. Pilliod, Marieke Lettink, Tony Whitaker, Benedikt Schmidt, Michael Gardner, Marc Cheylan, Francoise Poitevin, Ana Golubovic, Ljiljana Tomovic, Dragan Arsovski, Richard Griffiths, Jan Arntzen, Jean-Pierre Baron, Jean-Francois Le Galliard, Thomas Tully, Luca Luiselli, Massimo Capula, Lorenzo Rugiero, Rebecca McCaffery, Lisa A Eby, Briggs-Gonzalez; Venetia, Frank Mazzotti, David Pearson, Brad A. Lambert, David Green, Nathalie Jreidini, Claudio Angelini, Graham Pyke, Jean-Marc Thirion, Pierre Joly, Jean-Paul Lena, Tony Tucker, Limpus, Pauline Priol, Aurelien Besnard, Pauline Bernard, Kristin Stanford, Richard King, Justin Garwood, Jaime Bosch, Franco Souza, Jaime Bertoluci, Shirley Famelli, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Kathleen Matthews, Sylvain Boitaud, Deanna H. Olson, Tim Jessop, Graeme Gillspie, Jean Clobert, Murielle Richard, Andrés Valenzuela-Sánchez, Gary Fellers, Patrick Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Evan Campbell Grant, Phillip Byrne, Thierry Fretey, Gernard Le Garff, Pauline Levionnois, John Maerz, Julian Pichenot, Kurtulus Olgun, Nazan Uzum, Aziz Avci, Claude Miaud, Johan Elmberg, Gregory Brown, Richard Shine, Nathan Bendik, Lisa O’Donnell, Courtney Davis, Michael Lannoo, Rochelle Stiles, Robert Cox, Aaron Reedy, Daniel A. Warner, Eric Bonnaire, Kristine Grayson, Roberto Ramos-Targarona, Eyup Baskale, David Munoz, John Measey, F. Villiers, Will Selman, Victor Ronget, Anne Bronikowski, David Miller
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Science
Index ID 70241792
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Fort Collins Science Center; Western Ecological Research Center
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