Sexual selection, sexual conflict and the evolution of ageing and life span

Abstract

1 Classic evolutionary models interpret ageing as a cost of reproduction, but evolutionary research has thus far largely neglected the conceptual links between the evolution of ageing and a key mode of selection on male and female reproductive strategies – sexual selection and sexual conflict. 2 We synthesize ideas and evidence linking sex and ageing, and make the case that a focus on this fascinating problem will ultimately lead to a more complete understanding of both the evolution of ageing and the evolution of sexual strategies. 3 The primary and secondary differentiation of male and female reproductive strategies is expected to produce sex-specific optima for traits that affect longevity and ageing rate, often favouring a ‘live fast, die young’ strategy in males, relative to females, although numerous exceptions to this pattern are observed and sex-differences in ageing rate, in particular, remain poorly understood. 4 Conversely, environmental factors that influence life expectancy or ageing rate can thereby determine the magnitude or even sign of sexual selection. 5 Sexual conflict is expected to displace the sexes from their sex-specific life-history optima through sexually antagonistic interactions, as well as sex-specific selection on loci expressed in both sexes. 6 Despite the availability of interesting and testable hypotheses linking sexual selection and ageing, relevant empirical studies are remarkably sparse, and the complex relation between sex, mortality rate and ageing remains poorly understood.