Analyses of ovarian activity reveal repeated evolution of post-reproductive lifespans in toothed whales.

ABSTRACT: In most species the reproductive system ages at the same rate as somatic tissue and individuals continue reproducing until death. However, females of three species - humans, killer whales and short-finned pilot whales - have been shown to display a markedly increased rate of reproductive senescence relative to somatic ageing. In these species, a significant proportion of females live beyond their reproductive lifespan: they have a post-reproductive lifespan. Research into this puzzling life-history strategy is hindered by the difficulties of quantifying the rate of reproductive senescence in wild populations. Here we present a method for measuring the relative rate of reproductive senescence in toothed whales using published physiological data. Of the sixteen species for which data are ava

SUBMITTER: Ellis S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6110730 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature