[BIO 111] - Midterm Exam Guide - Everything you need to know! (53 pages long)
Document Summary
Lahdenpera et al 2004: fitness benefits of prolonged post-reproductive lifespan in women. Some animals reproduce until the die because that is the best way they spread their genes. Other animals have a longer post-reproductive lifespan because their fitness increases by them helping their offspring survive. Women with a prolonged post-reproductive lifespan have more grandchildren. The fitness benefits of prolonged lifespan diminish as the reproductive output of offspring declines. This makes sense because the offspring are now enjoying the benefits of prolonged lifespan and the parents of the offspring can no longer help them towards reproductive success: female mortality accelerates as their offspring terminate reproduction. Grandchildren have significantly higher survival probabilities if their grandmother is alive at their birth (depends on the age of the grandmother and the grandchild) Fertile offspring help the fertile organisms raise their offspring. This is not true though because one must assume there is no migration between the groups and that there is sufficient selection pressure.
