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Related Concept Videos

Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.For one, natural selection can only act upon existing genetic variation. Hypothetically, redtusks may enhance elephant survival by deterring ivory-seeking poachers. However, if there are no gene variants—or alleles—for redtusks, natural selection cannot increase the prevalence of...
Conservation of Declining Populations02:07

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
Life Histories01:29

Life Histories

Constrained by limited energy and resources, organisms must compromise between offspring quantity and parental investment. This trade-off is represented by two primary reproductive strategies; K-strategists produce few offspring but provide substantial parental support, whereas r-strategists produce much progeny that receives little care. These strategies are related to an organism’s survival likelihood across its lifespan, which is represented by a survivorship curve. Three general types of...
Lethal Alleles02:41

Lethal Alleles

Agouti: A Lethal Allele
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.Positive Frequency-Dependent SelectionIn positive...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Left Atrial Ligation in the Avian Embryo as a Model for Altered Hemodynamic Loading During Early Vascular Development
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Published on: June 16, 2023

Is avian mortality preprogrammed?

E Curio1

  • 1Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Fakultät fur Biologie, Arbeitsgruppe für Verhaltensforschung, Postfach 10 2148,4630 Bochum 1, FRG.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 14, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Life history theory explores how species-specific mortality patterns and geographic variations in avian mortality relate to aging. Understanding if lifespan is predetermined or influenced by environmental factors is key to aging research.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Gerontology
  • Ornithology

Background:

  • Life history theory has spurred interest in species-specific mortality patterns.
  • Geographic variation in avian mortality offers insights into fundamental aging processes.
  • Aging in birds is defined by an increasing likelihood of death with age.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interplay between programmed lifespan and environmental hazards in avian mortality.
  • To examine the extent to which species life spans are genetically determined versus environmentally influenced.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of geographic variation in avian mortality data.
  • Application of life history theory principles to aging research.

Main Results:

  • Geographic variation in avian mortality provides a lens to study aging.
  • The study highlights the complex interaction between intrinsic (programmed) and extrinsic (environmental) factors in determining lifespan.

Conclusions:

  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the genetic and environmental contributions to avian aging.
  • Understanding these factors is crucial for comprehending the evolution of lifespan across species.