TY - JOUR T1 - Density Dependence Triggers Runaway Selection of Reduced Senescence A1 - Seymour, Robert M A1 - Doncaster, C. Patrick Y1 - 2007/12/28 N2 - Author SummarySenescent aging is an irreversible deterioration in physiological condition with age, which many organisms express even when removed from harmful environmental influences. The inevitability of senescence for repeatedly reproducing organisms has well-developed theoretical foundations. Since reproduction carries physiological costs, natural selection in a hazardous environment favors reaping early benefits, and delaying the cost in physiological decline until later in life when there is a greater chance of being dead from exogenous factors. But some organisms show negligible senescence, and a few, such as Hydra and the Bristlecone Pine, appear to have indefinite lifespans. We ask how such species could have evolved from ancestors with senescent life histories. In large populations, juveniles attempting recruitment into the adult population can be “crowded out” by already established adults. We show how this phenomenon can trigger a process of runaway selection on ever-reducing senescence, which can even result in the evolution of intrinsic immortality. Contrary to previous hypotheses, we find the rate of senescence to be insensitive to environmental hazard, which instead influences background, age-independent rates of physiological decline. JF - PLOS Computational Biology JA - PLOS Computational Biology VL - 3 IS - 12 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030256 SP - e256 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030256 ER -