Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: May 18, 2022
To age, to die: parity, evolutionary tracking and Cole's paradox
Mohammed Zeineddine1, Vincent A A Jansen
1School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway - University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom. m.zeineddine@abdn.ac.uk
Abstract:
The existence of semelparity or "big bang" reproduction (reproducing only once in a lifetime) and iteroparity (reproducing more than once in a lifetime) has led to many questions investigating the evolution or persistence of these strategies. Here we investigate semelparity and iteroparity for their evolutionary importance. A mathematical model is used to illustrate how a population's ability to evolve depends on this life-history trait, and how this rate of evolution impacts the individual. We find that the ability of a trait to evolve is greater toward a semelparous strategy and this expresses a fitness advantage. This leads to an optimality between survival, population tracking ability, and lifetime fecundity.
Related Concept Videos
Life Tables
Replicative Cell Senescence
Replicative Cell Senescence
Life Histories
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Hardy-Weinberg Principle
