Longitudinal analysis in Plantago: strength of selection and reverse-age analysis reveal age-indeterminate senescence.

ABSTRACT: 1. Senescence is usually viewed as increased age-specific mortality or decreased age-specific fecundity due to the declining ability of natural selection to remove deleterious age-specific mutations with age. In herbaceous perennial plants, trends in age-specific mortality are often confounded by size. Age-indeterminate senescence, where accumulated physiological damage varies strongly with environment, may be a better model of senescence in these species. 2. We analysed trends in size and fertility in Plantago lanceolata, using a long-term demographic census involving >10 years and >8,000 individuals in 4 cohorts. We used elasticity and pairwise invasion analysis of life history function-parameterized age × stage matrices to assess whether the force of natural selecti

SUBMITTER: Shefferson RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4652582 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature