A comparative perspective on longevity: the effect of body size dominates over ecology in moths

Both physiologically and ecologically based explanations have been proposed to account for among‐species differences in lifespan, but they remain poorly tested. Phylogenetically explicit comparative analyses are still scarce and those that exist are biased towards homoeothermic vertebrates. Insect s...

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Published inJournal of evolutionary biology Vol. 29; no. 12; pp. 2422 - 2435
Main Authors Holm, S., Davis, R. B., Javoiš, J., Õunap, E., Kaasik, A., Molleman, F., Tammaru, T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2016
Subjects
ageing
allometry
Animals
Body Size
Butterflies & moths
capital breeding
Ecology
Evolutionary biology
Geometridae
Larva
Lepidoptera
lifespan
Longevity
metabolic rate
Moths
phylogenetic comparative method
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
polyphagy
ageing
allometry
phylogenetic comparative method
Geometridae
capital breeding
lifespan
polyphagy
Lepidoptera
body size
metabolic rate
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Summary:Both physiologically and ecologically based explanations have been proposed to account for among‐species differences in lifespan, but they remain poorly tested. Phylogenetically explicit comparative analyses are still scarce and those that exist are biased towards homoeothermic vertebrates. Insect studies can significantly contribute as lifespan can feasibly be measured in a high number of species, and the selective forces that have shaped it may differ largely between species and from those acting on larger animals. We recorded adult lifespan in 98 species of geometrid moths. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were applied to study variation in species‐specific values of lifespan and to reveal its ecological and life‐history correlates. Among‐species and between‐gender differences in lifespan were found to be notably limited; there was also no evidence of phylogenetic signal in this trait. Larger moth species were found to live longer, with this result supporting a physiological rather than ecological explanation of this relationship. Species‐specific lifespan values could not be explained by traits such as reproductive season and larval diet breadth, strengthening the evidence for the dominance of physiological determinants of longevity over ecological ones.
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ISSN:1010-061X
1420-9101
DOI:10.1111/jeb.12966