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The long lives of primates and the ‘invariant rate of ageing’ hypothesis

Author

Listed:
  • Fernando Colchero

    (University of Southern Denmark
    University of Southern Denmark)

  • José Manuel Aburto

    (University of Southern Denmark
    Nuffield College at University of Oxford
    Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)

  • Elizabeth A. Archie

    (University of Notre Dame
    Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya)

  • Christophe Boesch

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    CSRS)

  • Thomas Breuer

    (Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program
    World Wide Fund for Nature - Germany)

  • Fernando A. Campos

    (University of Texas at San Antonio)

  • Anthony Collins

    (Gombe Stream Research Centre, Jane Goodall Institute)

  • Dalia A. Conde

    (University of Southern Denmark
    Species360 Conservation Science Alliance
    University of Southern Denmark)

  • Marina Cords

    (Columbia University
    New York Consortium in Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Catherine Crockford

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    CSRS)

  • Melissa Emery Thompson

    (University of New Mexico
    Kibale Chimpanzee Project)

  • Linda M. Fedigan

    (University of Calgary)

  • Claudia Fichtel

    (German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research)

  • Milou Groenenberg

    (Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program
    World Wide Fund for Nature- Cambodia Program)

  • Catherine Hobaiter

    (University of St Andrews
    Budongo Conservation Field Station)

  • Peter M. Kappeler

    (German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research
    Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen)

  • Richard R. Lawler

    (James Madison University)

  • Rebecca J. Lewis

    (University of Texas at Austin
    Ankoatsifaka Research Station)

  • Zarin P. Machanda

    (Kibale Chimpanzee Project
    Tufts University)

  • Marie L. Manguette

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program)

  • Martin N. Muller

    (University of New Mexico
    Kibale Chimpanzee Project)

  • Craig Packer

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Richard J. Parnell

    (Wildlife Conservation Society Congo Program)

  • Susan Perry

    (Department of Anthropology, and Behavior, Evolution & Culture Program, UCLA)

  • Anne E. Pusey

    (Duke University)

  • Martha M. Robbins

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology)

  • Robert M. Seyfarth

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Joan B. Silk

    (Arizona State University)

  • Johanna Staerk

    (University of Southern Denmark
    Species360 Conservation Science Alliance
    University of Southern Denmark)

  • Tara S. Stoinski

    (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International)

  • Emma J. Stokes

    (Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program)

  • Karen B. Strier

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Shirley C. Strum

    (University of California, San Diego
    Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project
    Kenya Wildlife Service
    African Conservation Centre)

  • Jenny Tung

    (Duke University
    Duke University
    Duke University)

  • Francisco Villavicencio

    (Johns Hopkins University)

  • Roman M. Wittig

    (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    CSRS)

  • Richard W. Wrangham

    (Kibale Chimpanzee Project
    Harvard University)

  • Klaus Zuberbühler

    (University of St Andrews
    Budongo Conservation Field Station
    University of Neuchâtel)

  • James W. Vaupel

    (University of Southern Denmark
    Duke University)

  • Susan C. Alberts

    (Duke University
    Duke University
    Duke University)

Abstract

Is it possible to slow the rate of ageing, or do biological constraints limit its plasticity? We test the ‘invariant rate of ageing’ hypothesis, which posits that the rate of ageing is relatively fixed within species, with a collection of 39 human and nonhuman primate datasets across seven genera. We first recapitulate, in nonhuman primates, the highly regular relationship between life expectancy and lifespan equality seen in humans. We next demonstrate that variation in the rate of ageing within genera is orders of magnitude smaller than variation in pre-adult and age-independent mortality. Finally, we demonstrate that changes in the rate of ageing, but not other mortality parameters, produce striking, species-atypical changes in mortality patterns. Our results support the invariant rate of ageing hypothesis, implying biological constraints on how much the human rate of ageing can be slowed.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Colchero & José Manuel Aburto & Elizabeth A. Archie & Christophe Boesch & Thomas Breuer & Fernando A. Campos & Anthony Collins & Dalia A. Conde & Marina Cords & Catherine Crockford & Melissa , 2021. "The long lives of primates and the ‘invariant rate of ageing’ hypothesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-23894-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Jos'e Manuel Aburto & Ugofilippo Basellini & Annette Baudisch & Francisco Villavicencio, 2021. "Drewnowski's index to measure lifespan variation: Revisiting the Gini coefficient of the life table," Papers 2111.11256, arXiv.org.

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