The long lives of primates and the 'invariant rate of ageing' hypothesis

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 Emery Thompson; Linda M Fedigan; Claudia Fichtel; Milou Groenenberg; Catherine Hobaiter; Peter M Kappeler; Richard R Lawler; Rebecca J Lewis; Zarin P Machanda; Marie L Manguette; Martin N Muller; Craig Packer; Richard J Parnell; Susan Perry; Anne E Pusey; Martha M Robbins; Robert M Seyfarth; Joan B Silk; Johanna Stärk; Tara S Stoinski; Emma J Stokes; Karen B Strier; Shirley C Strum; Jenny Tung; Francisco Villavicencio; Roman M Wittig; Richard W Wrangham; Klaus Zuberbühler; James W Vaupel; Susan C Alberts

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

The long lives of primates and the 'invariant rate of ageing' hypothesis

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 Emery Thompson, Linda M Fedigan, Claudia Fichtel, Milou Groenenberg, Catherine Hobaiter, Peter M Kappeler, Richard R Lawler, Rebecca J Lewis, Zarin P Machanda, Marie L ManguetteMartin N Muller, Craig Packer, Richard J Parnell, Susan Perry, Anne E Pusey, Martha M Robbins, Robert M Seyfarth, Joan B Silk, Johanna Stärk, Tara S Stoinski, Emma J Stokes, Karen B Strier, Shirley C Strum, Jenny Tung, Francisco Villavicencio, Roman M Wittig, Richard W Wrangham, Klaus Zuberbühler, James W Vaupel, Susan C Alberts

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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.

Original language	English
Article number	3666
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	12
Issue number	1
Number of pages	10
ISSN	2041-1723
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3
Publication status	Published - Jun 2021

Keywords

Age Factors
Aging
Animals
Female
Humans
Life Expectancy
Longevity
Male
Models, Statistical
Mortality
Primates/physiology

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10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3Licence: CC BY

Open Access VersionFinal published version, 1.13 MBLicence: CC BY

The Long Lives of Primates and the 'Invariant Rate of Ageing' Hypothesis
Alberts, S. (Creator) & Colchero, F. (Creator), Dryad Digital Repository, 12. May 2021
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4b8gthtb4
Dataset

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Colchero, F., Aburto, J. M., Archie, E. A., Boesch, C., Breuer, T., Campos, F. A., Collins, A., Conde, D. A., Cords, M., Crockford, C., Thompson, M. E., Fedigan, L. M., Fichtel, C., Groenenberg, M., Hobaiter, C., Kappeler, P. M., Lawler, R. R., Lewis, R. J., Machanda, Z. P., ... Alberts, S. C. (2021). The long lives of primates and the 'invariant rate of ageing' hypothesis. Nature Communications, 12(1), Article 3666. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

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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.",

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author = "Fernando Colchero and Aburto, {Jos{\'e} Manuel} and Archie, {Elizabeth A} and Christophe Boesch and Thomas Breuer and Campos, {Fernando A} and Anthony Collins and Conde, {Dalia A} and Marina Cords and Catherine Crockford and Thompson, {Melissa Emery} and Fedigan, {Linda M} and Claudia Fichtel and Milou Groenenberg and Catherine Hobaiter and Kappeler, {Peter M} and Lawler, {Richard R} and Lewis, {Rebecca J} and Machanda, {Zarin P} and Manguette, {Marie L} and Muller, {Martin N} and Craig Packer and Parnell, {Richard J} and Susan Perry and Pusey, {Anne E} and Robbins, {Martha M} and Seyfarth, {Robert M} and Silk, {Joan B} and Johanna St{\"a}rk and Stoinski, {Tara S} and Stokes, {Emma J} and Strier, {Karen B} and Strum, {Shirley C} and Jenny Tung and Francisco Villavicencio and Wittig, {Roman M} and Wrangham, {Richard W} and Klaus Zuberb{\"u}hler and Vaupel, {James W} and Alberts, {Susan C}",

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Colchero, F , Aburto, JM, Archie, EA, Boesch, C, Breuer, T, Campos, FA, Collins, A, Conde, DA, Cords, M, Crockford, C, Thompson, ME, Fedigan, LM, Fichtel, C, Groenenberg, M, Hobaiter, C, Kappeler, PM, Lawler, RR, Lewis, RJ, Machanda, ZP, Manguette, ML, Muller, MN, Packer, C, Parnell, RJ, Perry, S, Pusey, AE, Robbins, MM, Seyfarth, RM, Silk, JB, Stärk, J, Stoinski, TS, Stokes, EJ, Strier, KB, Strum, SC, Tung, J, Villavicencio, F, Wittig, RM, Wrangham, RW, Zuberbühler, K, Vaupel, JW & Alberts, SC 2021, 'The long lives of primates and the 'invariant rate of ageing' hypothesis', Nature Communications, vol. 12, no. 1, 3666. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

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AU - Colchero, Fernando

AU - Aburto, José Manuel

AU - Archie, Elizabeth A

AU - Boesch, Christophe

AU - Breuer, Thomas

AU - Campos, Fernando A

AU - Collins, Anthony

AU - Conde, Dalia A

AU - Cords, Marina

AU - Crockford, Catherine

AU - Thompson, Melissa Emery

AU - Fedigan, Linda M

AU - Fichtel, Claudia

AU - Groenenberg, Milou

AU - Hobaiter, Catherine

AU - Kappeler, Peter M

AU - Lawler, Richard R

AU - Lewis, Rebecca J

AU - Machanda, Zarin P

AU - Manguette, Marie L

AU - Muller, Martin N

AU - Packer, Craig

AU - Parnell, Richard J

AU - Perry, Susan

AU - Pusey, Anne E

AU - Robbins, Martha M

AU - Seyfarth, Robert M

AU - Silk, Joan B

AU - Stärk, Johanna

AU - Stoinski, Tara S

AU - Stokes, Emma J

AU - Strier, Karen B

AU - Strum, Shirley C

AU - Tung, Jenny

AU - Villavicencio, Francisco

AU - Wittig, Roman M

AU - Wrangham, Richard W

AU - Zuberbühler, Klaus

AU - Vaupel, James W

AU - Alberts, Susan C

PY - 2021/6

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Age Factors

KW - Aging

KW - Animals

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Life Expectancy

KW - Longevity

KW - Male

KW - Models, Statistical

KW - Mortality

KW - Primates/physiology

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34135334

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 12

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 3666

ER -

The long lives of primates and the 'invariant rate of ageing' hypothesis

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The Long Lives of Primates and the 'Invariant Rate of Ageing' Hypothesis

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