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Biodemography of Ectothermic Tetrapods Provides Insights into the Evolution and Plasticity of Mortality Patterns

Authors: David AW Miller; Fredric J Janzen; Gary M Fellers; Patrick M Kleeman; Anne M Bronikowski
Contribution Number: 471

nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18822&utm_expid=4418042-5.krRTDpXJQISoXLpdo-1Ynw.0

Abstract/Summary

In this paper we examine the biodemography of wild populations of three species (a turtle, a frog, and a snake). All are ectotherms, an understudied subset of the vertebrate taxa for understanding aging. Employing a comparative perspective by examining wild populations of relatively long-lived ectothermic vertebrates, we found that (1) across all three species, there was strong evidence for mortality senescence and (2) environmental factors, including stress, influence age-specific patterns of mortality both in current and later years and therefore produces plastic variation in the shapes of mortality trajectories.

Publication details
Published Date: 2014
Outlet/Publisher: Sociality, Hierarchy, Health: Comparative Biodemography: Papers from a Workshop: 295-313.
Media Format: .PDF

ARMI Organizational Units:
Southwest, Northern California - Biology
Topics:
Species and their Ecology
Place Names:
California
Illinois
Yosemite National Park
Keywords:
demographics
life history
population
reproduction
survival
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