Senescence: Demographic Data for 475 Multicellular Species

475 multicellular species provide demographic information challenging established theories of aging. Mark Roper from the University of Oxford compiled this data to analyze age-based trajectories of mortality and reproduction. The dataset exemplifies a discrepancy between theoretical predictions of universal senescence and observed biological patterns.

Use Cases

• Test theories of senescence based on mortality and reproduction trajectories.
• Analyze patterns of aging based on demographic information for 475 species.
• Investigate correlations between mortality and reproductive decline based on fitness components.
• Explore the role of ecological context and kin selection in shaping senescence patterns.

Strengths

• Data covers 475 multicellular species, providing a broad taxonomic scope.
• Analysis directly compares mortality and reproduction trajectories, two key fitness components.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

University of Oxford

Collection Method

Likely compiled from published demographic studies, as described in the associated paper.